Palty DIY Part One etc.

Another point I forgot to add about In2it Oil Control & Oil Free 2-way foundation powder. When I touch my face with it on, a bit of sheer powder comes off on my fingers. This does not happen with Fasio, which feels completely matte -- almost like I have on a rubber mask, if that doesn't sound too weird. In2it also comes off a lot when I remove excess oil, as I think Mistine Diamond does. I think the Diamond is a lighter colour when it comes off though. In2it, like some other foundation powders I've tried (I don't remember which ones), tends to look thick and old after you apply it a second time on top of the first and your face has become oily. So from now on, after applying foundation powders, it's powders only for retouching!

Today I dyed my hair with Palty all by myself! A first for me! I ended up using a bit too much of the cream on the top and front part of my hair because I thought I'd have enough -- the cashier told me so (though in retrospect she probably thought I was only going to use it for my roots). So I didn't leave enough cream for the rest of my hair although I tried to put a lot of cream on the more obscure parts. The roots at the top, then, were completely covered in cream and turned out a light shade of brown that blends in with the rest of the hair -- which has turned a more vibrant shade of the colour I already had. The more obscure bits turned slightly lighter maybe but the underside of the roots on the back of my head are especially noticeably dark.

All in all, not bad for a first-time DIYer. Now I know that I should get two boxes next time for hair of this length (just past shoulders). That way I'll be sure to have enough cream to completely saturate all of my hair, which I think is the trick to get an even colour throughout with Palty.

I know from experience, and confirmation by other people's webboard and blog posts, that the roots of your hair will change colour faster than the rest of your hair -- that's why instructions on DIY hair colours say you have to leave the roots alone first, which is exactly what hairdressers do (yet my roots always turn out lighter anyway -- maybe because they have to leave the cream in my hair for longer than they expected, as my hair is very thick -- every hairdresser remarks upon this, every one). With Palty this time, however, I knew that my priority was my roots, so I simply covered the roots at the same time as the rest of my hair. That turned out well in the case of the top/front part of my hair, and I think it would have turned out fine for the rest too if I'd had enough cream for it.

After reading the forums, I now know why the tips of my hair never turn out quite as light as the middle or near the roots of my hair. It's because my hair used to be dyed a darker colour. Perhaps with more cream I would have fixed this, but maybe we'll know next time. (I did try and put my tips into the bottle to get at the last residue of cream in there, however.)

Next time I might try mixing the colours in a bowl instead of in a bottle so that the cream is easier to reach. A brush would also be easier to use than a squeeze tube and comb applicator.

I'm impressed with the results of my first ever completely DIY hair colour (I've had mostly salon dyed hair and before that I got Mum or someone else to do my hair) but apart from the fact that it covered up most of my noticeable roots and intensified my existing colour -- and I was right about my choice of colour while the cashier was wrong -- I find myself kind of wishing I'd got a different colour. I mean, the red is awesome and brings out the playfulness in me, but I think it's almost time for a change.

Damn. I just found some English instructions online and it says you have to use conditioner too before rinsing and then using the included leave-on treatment.

Anyway for graduation I'll have to dye it a dark colour. I'm kind of interested in trying more Palty in Bitter Cappuccino, but I'm not sure what kind of results I'll get with my red hair. I'll have to check the swatches next time I'm near a shop that sells Palty.

The swatches on the Beauteen website don't appeal to me, and besides, Palty's supposed to be more accurate with their swatches and the actual colour you get. (Beauteen's instructions also says you should shampoo twice, but I thought shampooing just once produced enough foam -- or maybe that's just because of the colour cream?)

When I first washed Palty from my hair, my hair felt dry, just like it felt last night when I washed my hair with the remains of my Sunsilk damage care shampoo without conditioning. (When I woke up, however, my hair felt soft as if I'd conditioned with Asience. Weird.) But as soon as I put shampoo in it, it immediately felt super soft!

So maybe now I haven't washed all the chemicals out of my hair because I only shampooed once.

The colour will change once I shampoo more, inevitably. Some have said that the colour gets even brighter, golder. Interesting.

I think my hair now feels a tiny bit stiffer than it did before dying with Palty, but that could just be because of the chemical residue.

I might wash it soon, when I do the washing. Doing my washing is always a good time to condition my hair. It's also an excuse to use up the Sunsilk as I'm eager to try out the new L'Oreal Elseve with Royal Jelly. It's supposed to be a new deep conditioning formula. I really had a hard time finally buying this as the other formulas were tempting as well. A veteran hair coloring lady on Jeban recommended using shampoo for dyed hair, like the red Elseve. If Royal Jelly doesn't do it for me I might switch to the red. But I'm pretty happy with the Asience conditioner. So indecisive ...

I'm really looking forward to a nice deep dark chocolate hair colour so I hope the Palty does it for me!

Anyway, about makeup ...

Today I wore Lash Enamel Glamour Neo. Still slightly clumpy. I'm pretty sure it's partly its brush (forgive the pun) with Fasio and partly its shelf life. The second brushing helped things. Still, I think the whole problem could be avoided with the help of Lash Bone.

Speaking of which, my renewed red hair colour gives me an excuse to use the golden brown Lash Gorgeous Wing more! *cringes at the thought of fibres in my eye*

Oh -- about the Revlon lip gloss I mentioned earlier -- I read some reviews and found that it doesn't have that see-through look of normal lip glosses. So I felt a bit discouraged. I want a gloss that is see-through but not too shiny or too glittery.

Today I tried a Maybelline lipstick tester -- one of their Water Shine lipsticks, I think. The cream texture collected in the lines of my lips. I'm really craving that Bloom lip collagen!

Today I also tried putting the coral orange Body Shop gloss on with the Liplife gloss on top. This time, the Liplife glided on much more easily! And the two colours blended gave a lovely pale peach colour, almost nude, very nice on me with my current curiosity about peach tones!

Trial & Error: Body Shop lip glosses, Natural Collection Illuminating Loose Powder, Sheene blushes, MM Lash Bone with Lash Enamel Glamour Neo &

Tonight I decided to do a little test that I've been thinking of for a little while now. But before I got to the test, I did some side experiments.

Today I didn't go out (I got up about 6pm) so I had no makeup on my face at all. I splashed some water on to remove excess oil, towelling dry. Then I put on the Natural Collection Illuminating Loose Powder. Mine is the green one. It has some tiny sparkles which don't turn out too obvious on your face. I dabbed the powder on with the cute fluffy puff that comes with it. It toned down my redness but didn't completely hide it. Other than that, there is no coverage to speak of, but then, I don't think that can be expected without any use of foundation or makeup base. I tried using my old blush brush with it and I think that helped a bit. Then I put my old orangey-brown Sheene blush on my left cheek and its red, slightly sparkly twin on my right. There is only a slight difference between the two colours.

Then I dug up my old yellow Body Shop lip gloss which I can only remember using once. It's called Liplife Gloss and I think the colour is called Apple. It comes in a tube that reminds me of a test tube (I remember when I first bought it I was afraid it would break like glass -- then I realised I could squeeze the tube) and there's 7 ml of it. I thought maybe I could use it in place of beige-toned lip gloss to tone down the brightness of my real lip colour. So I put some on and, well, it's incredibly sticky, probably stickier than it was last time I used it -- I can't brush it onto the rest of my lip the way I can with the Body Shop lip balm that I'm still using and which has almost run out, or even the coral orange gloss in a tub that I also recently rediscovered. I just tried applying it with the use of a brush that came with my old Oriental Princess eyeshadow/blush palette cases (I think it might be some sort of liner brush but I use it for applying lip gloss) and that helped make things easier. It gives a pale yellowish shimmery look to my lips, toning down the orangey-pink natural colour. So, yes, it does the job, but it's so sticky and I doubt it's safe to be swallowed with food and drink. Maybe it'd be easier to apply with lip balm. I'm keeping it for now.

As for its buddy, Lip Prism, which is about half its size (3.4 ml) and is a pearly combination of yellow and bright pink in its tube, when I brushed it on my top lip tonight (I used the Liplife on my bottom lip), it turned out looking a horrible gaudy shade of fuchsia. I don't remember it being quite this garish. I might be throwing it out as I can't see myself wearing such a colour. Again, I'm not sure it would be safe to swallow it with food or drink.

Now for our main event, the mascara test.

First, I brushed Lash bone on my lashes, top and bottom, on both my eyes. Then I used Fasio Shock Free Curl Volume mascara on my left eye and MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo on my right.

Turns out that Fasio can be used on top of MM Lash Bone. I think it does make application easier, or maybe it looks that way because I can see the Fasio covering the whitish Lash Bone bit by bit. However, Fasio is still pretty dry and clumpy.

MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo has always applied smoothly so far and it experienced no difficulty gliding on top of Lash Bone, as I knew would happen from previous use.

The result?

On the MM side, my lashes are well defined, fanned out, long and pitch black. No clumps.

On the Fasio side, my lashes are fanned out and long, not quite as black, and riddled with tiny dry clumps.

The clear winner is MM.

I don't know what I'll do with the Fasio. I'm sentimental so I don't think I have the heart to chuck it out until it's completely dried up, but I can't see myself using it when I go out again.

More mascara-related goss: I did some searches on Canmake Eyelash Essence and found that it's a very good eyelash care mascara. Lots have people have experienced great results -- longer and stronger lashes. It can even be used as a mascara base and it's completely clear. I might get it and use it as a base instead of Lash Bone when that runs out.

Meanwhile, the Fasio Easy Mascara Remover looks just a little bit complicated. After brushing it on, you have to wait two minutes before wiping the residue away with cotton pads. Then you have to wipe the wand clean before putting it back in the tube. And it can only be used with waterproof mascara, not with mascara that can be washed off with warm water.

Maybe it's easier to just stick with the L'Oreal makeup remover.

I still want to get the Mistine Debutant powder and lip gloss (or lipstick). I wonder when they'll stock it at Boots. Maybe in April?

Oh and when I looked at the new Fasio mascaras the other day, I noticed that they'd increased the amount of product per tube to 7 ml. On ya, Fasio.

Makeupdate: Gino is In2it

So today (I mean Saturday) I wore just the new In2it powder foundation, the new Pink Passion Gino blusher applied with the separately-bought Gino brush, my navy In2it eyeliner and MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo.

It wasn't just the effect of foundation powder upon foundation powder. In2it really is amazingly smooth. It is slightly whiter than my real complexion but I think if I'd bought a darker colour, it would have made me look darker. I'd rather look lighter than darker. (On a side note, I love that widescreen mirror.)

The peach-coloured Gino blush, applied on its own with the special Gino brush, requires a little more effort to bring about a noticeable hue to my cheeks. At the end of the day I tried the Gino brush with my previous Gino blush, the Mystique Potion line one in the palest pink I could find in that line (which isn't too pale, in fact -- looks almost the same colour as my red Sheene blush). With this more obvious colour, it was much easier to achieve noticeable colour -- one sweep on each cheek was quite enough.

The Navy In2it eyeliner does make my eyes look bright and noticeable. I took as much time as I dared applying the MM mascara. Maybe less clumps than yesterday. But at the end of the day, I found that my bottom lashes were half gone and on my eye bags! Plus I experienced slight flaking, as I did yesterday -- but less than the Lash Gorgeous Wing would have produced. Oh, and the Navy In2it eyeliner flakes upon application too, probably because I need to exert more force with it than with its brown and dark brown sisters.

Oh and last night I tried using my old Body Shop coral orange lip gloss again. It's very shimmery. Quite nice. And I might have been hallucinating or something but I think it left my lips feeling moisturised, which I never experienced with this particular lip gloss before! I am sure I was told by the BA that it's not a moisturising lip gloss.

So I think my hunt for the perfect foundation powder is over. I still have to find ways to use up and give away all the other ones though. I no longer feel the need to try Etude BB Magic Pact, Lotree, or Skinfood. In fact, I don't really feel the need to buy more makeup now at all. I am a bit tempted to buy some Bloom lip collagen, as today I realised how lined my lips are. But maybe they're just malnourished at the moment. The Bloom lip gloss in Amour has served me very well. I realise I need to use pale lip colours as when I apply foundation and powder, the colour of my lips ends up standing out and I have to tone it down so as to draw more attention to my elaborately-made-up eyes. My lips are quite full so I don't need lip plumping (the Sexy Mother Pucker notwithstanding -- the name is too naughty, I had to get it!) but I can't really bring myself to use lipstick as I think it looks to opaque. I like the clearness of gloss but I don't need loads of shine and glitter. I think I'll look for a beige and/or coral colour next. When my Body Shop one runs out, perhaps.

iWant: Boots Natural Collection blush

In my idleness, I OCD-ly checked out Boots.com for Boots makeup. I was already interested in the 17 mineral blush, but I realised I'd forgotten about the Natural Collection blush. I am intrigued!

Tomorrow I'm going out. Hopefully I have time to raid Boots before I meet my friend. Depending on which is cheaper and how gullible I am, I'm gonna get either the Natural Collection blush or the 17 mineral blush.

Natural Collection also has or used to have a Shine Away foundation. I'm interested as their foundation powder (which I used to have but gave away because it was too dark) was good at oil absorption. However, there is no added sun protection.

Their mascara is pretty cheap too, but I have no business buying more mascara at this point. Besides, I don't put much faith in brands that have specifically lengthening, volumising, curling, and a waterproof-only mascara. But if I'm ever caught out with no mascara and little cash, I might just give the Natural Collection waterproof mascara a try.

Oh I'm also intrigued by Natural Collection's tinted lip balm! Their lip gloss looks nice too. But again, I have enough lip products to be getting on with already. Lately I've been using the Bloom in Amour pretty much every time I put on makeup so the Berry Sorbet Natural Collection lip gloss and the Sexy Mother Pucker haven't been getting much attention -- in fact, I can't remember the last time I used them.

So, my makeup pet hates seem to be: 1. non-moisturising (non-SPF is excusable as there are many cheap SPF lip balms available) lip colours (such as my old Body Shop lip glosses), 2. non-waterproof mascara, and 3. non-SPF powder and/or foundation.

P.S. Update: Just checked out Bootsthai.com and found out that the 17 blush powder is 6 grams and the Botanics blush is 5 grams. Plus Boots is having a sale. Must check it out! Oh and some reveiws said the Natural Collection mascara is lacklustre.

P.P.S. Just tried 17 Lash Illusion completely on its own. One coat blackens and lengthens my lashes (the impact on my lower lashes is especially obvious). Two coats give me lovely, almost doll-like, lush-looking lashes. Yay :D Three coats -- even darker, even lusher, even longer :D

Also just remembered I gotta check out the cheap makeup in Watsons too. That's the 4u2, In2it, and what have you.

Makeup Roll Credit & First Impressions: Boots 17 Skin Perfecting Balancing Foundation & No 7 Maximum Volume mascara in Navy

First of all, last night I forgot to say that I bought a new eyelash curler from Watsons -- mostly because it cost only 15 baht. My old one still works although a couple of days ago I thought it was broken -*- Oh well. Now I have a really cheap spare one.

So last night, because I'm such a mascara addict now, I put the No 7 Maximum Volume navy mascara on top of the MM combo I was already wearing (Lash Bone + Lash Enamel Glamour Neo -- a friend actually asked if I was wearing falsies!). Couldn't see the difference, of course, because the MM is so deeply black. But I tried putting water on my eyes and the non-waterproof No 7 didn't budge. Then again, maybe that was because of the waterproof MM ones.

Today I am wearing the new 17 Skin Perfecting Balancing Foundation in Natural. It's supposed to moisturise dry areas while mattifying oily areas. And guess what? It offers absolutely no oil control at all. Oh I'm not wearing any powder over it. One good thing is the colour fits my skin perfectly. In the bottle it looks a little lighter than my skin, but when it goes on, it looks like I'm not wearing any foundation at all. That's right -- almost no coverage. It evens up my skin tone and makes my nose look smooth, but that's it. It also has a nice, moist and cool sensation when I put it on, just like the Maybelline Clear Smooth Aqua Gel Foundation.

I also tried the No 7 mascara on its own today. First I curled my lashes with the new 15-baht curler. Oh and I am wearing my In2it dark brown eyeliner.

The colour of the mascara, on the brush, looks a lovely shade of dark blue, very subtle. The brush, during application, feels soft and cool and nice. The colour on my lashes, however, is even more subtle than on the brush. It may as well be black. It's not the glossy black of MM and it's not even as black as the Fasio, of course, but even when you look closely, it does not resemble a blue shade at all. The overall effect of the colour is, it's almost black, but not quite. I really wanted to try a blue mascara that was not too bright but not so subtle that it looks no different, so I'm a bit disappointed in that department.

It's supposed to give you Maximum Volume, but, as other reviews I've read claim, it's not that spectacular. I have two coats on and now it looks a bit more impactful. I will say this, however: it separates lashes beautifully. You can't see every individual lash on its own, but the effect is pretty close to that. Beautifully fanned-out effect. It also accentuates my natural lash length. And when I used my old eyelash curler on top of it after it was dry, that just made the curl, the fanning out, and the length even better. No clumping.

So it certainly gives you 'lusher lashes' like it says on the tube. It's pretty close to 'perfect separation' too. I'm happy with that. I would have liked the blue to be a bit more noticeable though.

And it does not run on my oily face.

I must admit I'm kind of tempted to get the 17 mascara in Teal to see if that colour is better. On the testers at Boots, the colour looked a bit too bright for my faint heart. But 17 mascaras are supposed to be selling at 99 baht now, so I'm tempted. Maybe I can get one next time I raid Boots to get that Natural Collection pressed powder!

Yeah, I'm such a mascara junkie. And mascara is only supposed to last 3 months >_<

I now have one lash primer mascara (MM Lash Bone), two black mascaras (MM & Fasio), one brown (MM) and one blue (No 7). That's five mascaras -- not including my two eyebrow ones!

Well, at least I use the Lash Bone every time I use an MM mascara, so at least that one will be used frequently. I haven't tried using it with other brands yet.

If I get another (blue) mascara, that'll be 8 mascaras in total, including the eyebrow ones!

And maybe I'll donate the too-dark foundations (Maybelline mineral and 17 mineral) to Mum and she might give them to a couple of her students. That'll help get rid of too-dark powders.

That still leaves me with two loose powders (Natural Collection and Mistine BB) and three liquid foundations/BB creams (Mistine BB, Maybelline Clear Smooth, and 17 Skin Perfecting Balancing Foundation).

And if I really dig the blue mascara thing, I might get some dark blue or navy eyeliner... Oh Cod >_<

Oh BTW, last night when I cleansed all my makeup off, the navy mascara did show some colour -*-

At least my too-light Mistine Number One Platinum is running out quickly. That still leaves me one Fasio and one ZA powder foundation. Not counting the Etude Dream On powder. Four pressed powders in total (not counting the 17 mineral one). And I don't yet know if Mum's got the ZA fuschia foundation case -- that'll gain me two more ZA refills!

The Natural Collection lip gloss and the Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss are used regularly so they're running out well. I still have a Body Shop lip balm that's almost run out and three Body Shop lip glosses that I haven't used in a long time and aren't running out yet!

And a multitude of eyeshadows that I don't use because I only use eyeliner and mascara for everyday wear! No sign of running out!

And three blushes that I use alternately. The pink Fasio one seems to be running out quickly but the Sheene duo ones don't seem to be even though I use them quite as often.

P.S. Another thing that attracted me to the Boots mascara, apart from the price, is the packaging, which I can only describe as elegant. It's a black tube with greenish sparkles and gold lettering. Gorgeous. For waterproof formulas, Boots have a slightly sparkly dark blue tube instead.

And why do volumising mascaras (apart from MM) have to have fat tubes and really thick brushes?

My No 7 one is actually more voluptuous than fat actually. It really does have sexy packaging appeal.

I have now applied it for the third and fourth time. I might be imagining it, but I think the colour is starting to look a little more noticeable. And my lashes are super lush :D Fluttery sexiness :D

P.P.S. I forgot to count the Bloom lip gloss that my babe sent me for Christmas (cos I haven't got it yet; it's at home).

P.P.P.S. I have just put on the 17 mineral foundation on top of the 17 Skin Perfecting Balancing Foundation. They are both supposed to be in Natural, so how come the mineral foundation is loads darker?

I really think I prefer powder foundations to liquid foundation + powder.

Anyway so I tried experimenting with my other powders to see which would help lighten the 17 mineral foundation best. I tried the Mistine BB loose powder, then put the Natural Collection green Illuminating Loose Powder (using the Maybelline kabuki brush) on top of that. Finally I put the Mistine Number One Platinum on top of it all. I didn't think it helped all that much, but when I took pictures, it turned out that my face was very bright indeed and stood out from the rest of my skin.

So it's 17 mineral foundation followed by Mistine Platinum from now on :p A good way to make both of them run out muhahaha!

And once the Mistine has run out while the 17 has not yet run out, I'll try some other powder -- the Fasio, maybe. Hehe :p

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!