More Hair Product Wars & Sneak Peek: In2it Light Reflecting Liquid Eyeliner in Caribbean

Okay so today I went to MBK and hunted for Palty but I could only see one box of Juicy Peach left among the dodgy-looking shops. Then I looked again at the Beauteen in both Watsons outlets. I decided that if I was ever going to use Beauteen instead of Palty to darken my hair, I'd use Caramel Chocolate instead of Natural Brown because they're about the same colour and I don't want to look completely dull. What really decided me against buying Beauteen was the fact that it clearly states that it cotains Hydrogen Peroxide. Some websites claim that Palty does not, but I can't know that because all the writing on the boxes is in Japanese.

If I can be bothered, I'll go to Platinum and see if I have better luck finding Bitter Cappuccino or Ganache Tart this time.

While I was at Watsons, I also had a good look at the potential replacement shampoos and conditioners that I might buy after Asience and Elseve Royal Jelly are gone. Asience remains the only product on the shelf that contains Camellia/Tsubaki (if you don't count the old versions of Herbal Essences, which I'm sick of). Elseve is more expensive. But there was something else: Herbal Essences now has a new shampoo, conditioner and treatment trio called Long-Term Relationship -- it's a formula for long hair! I sniffed it; it's nice. It's got raspberry and satin, apparently. It's supposed to strengthen your hair against split ends. I might be interested, but next I might be more interested in protecting the colour of my hair, in which case I'd better get the Elseve for colour-treated hair. However, Asience conditioner is cheaper. Or maybe I'll throw caution to the winds and just get those huge bottles of Shiseido Golden Repair??

Nah, when I'm abroad, I won't be able to get Asience, so I may as well use it while I'm here. However, some places sell Elseve shampoo for 99 baht and you get 250ml as opposed to 138 baht for Asience's 220ml. I still want to try the Asience shampoo though! ... All right, all right, I'll try the Asience shampoo and leave the Elseve until I get overseas :D

Phew.

I also finally gave in to curiosity and bought In2it's Light Reflecting Liquid Eyeliner in Caribbean RL 03 -- a pearly deep sea blue-green that looks darker or lighter depending on the angle of the light. I've read good things about In2it eye makeup so I'm confident this will be a winner. It should be better than its cousin, the Navy eyeliner, anyway. That's so dry I'm giving up on it.

Speaking of dry, I think my MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo is finally drying up :-( It definitely feels more congealed than it used to and I can see more clumps. It's still good, though, but it won't stay good for long if it's drying up. I'm using it past its advised shelf life anyway.

Can't wait to try this eyeliner out.

Oh today (Tuesday) I wore the Sheene Oil Free on my cleansed, toned and moisturised face. It's a pretty good match for my skin colour, not too light at all, but not too dark either.

I can't wait to dye my hair! When I tie it up I can really see the black roots on the underside and the back where I didn't put enough cream! And the difference between the red-brown roots and the lighter orangey-red of most of my hair is much more noticeable now than when I first dyed it.

I just remembered something. I have to look for the new MM Summer 2009 collection. I want to get that solid perfume if it's nice. I didn't look at the MM stand at MBK today because the BAs were in the way, waiting for victims to come along. Brrr.

If I ever really need a light nude lip gloss, I'm gonna get one of MM's beige ones.

OMFG I just remembered at Watsons today I saw Palgantong's Zebra Eyes Mascara or whatever it's called in a paper tube at the counter! Must search!

Miscellaneous Makeupdates

It's official. I think my hair colour, recently revitalised by Palty in Orange Biscuit, has started to lose its ravishing redness. Only a little, though. A very tiny bit. The red is more visible at this time of night in the bathroom light for some reason. I remember I managed to deliberately tone down the rampaging red after the first couple of vigorous washes.

I dyed my hair on the 31st of March. It'll have been exactly three weeks since then tomorrow. So the colour has lasted pretty well. I hope it doesn't go really dull or ugly before I have to colour it again. And I can see almost a centimetre of dark roots coming through.

I'm pretty much decided on getting Palty in Bitter Cappuccino (two boxes this time!) for the graduation season. Today I searched the Boots and Watsons at Siam Square and MBK but couldn't find a DIY hair colouring equipment kit (I don't fancy using the lame nozzle that L'Oreal Creme Gloss has -- I'm much more confident with Palty's comb applicator) so I think I'll have to abandon the L'Oreal Creme Gloss idea. I'm just really hooked on Palty, I'm not confident trying anything else. I really hope Bitter Cappuccino turns out dark enough for graduation so that I don't have to go over it with Beauteen in Natural Brown or Natural Black.

I think my L'Oreal Elseve royal jelly shampoo and Asience conditioner have worked together to make my hair softer than it was just after I last coloured it. I wash it once every two days usually. The shampoo is in a 250ml bottle so it might just last me until I have to go abroad. If not, I'll try Asience shampoo when the Elseve runs out. Today the sun and heat dried my hair out, I think, and I'm starting to scratch my scalp, so I'll wash my hair tonight.

I made a mistake today. I gave in to my curiosity and bought Maybelline Moisture Extreme lip colour in Iced Peach Tea. Due to a lack of any light nude colours that would suit me, I had to get this one, the orangest one in the selection (which is a bad one -- mostly pinks and dark colours). And it turned out too bright orange on me. Ick. I'll have to try and sneak my unwanted lipsticks and powders into Mum's makeup bag without alarming her with the vast amount of such items.

And it does not smell like watermelons as foreign reviewers say. In fact, I can't pick up any smell at all. Or maybe that's just cos I'm still a little sick.

I don't want to risk disappointment with another lipstick but I already spotted one: L'Oreal Star Secrets in Guava Crystals. It's a lovely pale shade of coral that I think should suit me well. I hope I'm right because 350 baht is a little expensive for me, and the lippie doesn't even come with special properties, as far as I know.

The other night I decided to crack open the Nivea Q10 Lip Effect instead of using the old Body Shop lip balm for a change, cos I felt my lips were in desperate need of it. The formula is thick and a pearly white colour and smells faintly, I think, of grapes. As it's so thick, it's not as easy to spread as regular lip balm, but not too hard either. My lips feel instantly pampered, moisturised. It might be my imagination, but after a couple of nights of use, the deepening lines in my lips seem to be less severe. That may have something to do with my sleeping pattern, which I've been trying to get back to normal (whatever that is -- I don't remember going to bed before eleven since ... in fact, I don't even remember when I started going to bed late and what time I used to go to bed before that!) and with my lack of vitamin C -- I haven't been drinking vitamin C -rich fruit juice for a while now and I've just started again.

About the Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen -- yes, number 244 is closer to my natural lip colour while number 204 is a bit brighter, a bit more garish. So I'd really like to get some nude lip colours next time. I've been reminded by these lip colours that any colour close to pink seems to accentuate the yellowness of teeth -- even though I always use whitening toothpaste!

Saw some new Axe today -- their limited edition summer scent. Very fruity and lovely, from the test whiff I took. I want it.

Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen in 244 & 204

Okay, so I caved in and bought not one, but two more Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen lip colours. First I bought number 244 at the second-floor Watsons at MBK, then when I went to the Watsons on the sixth floor, I realised that number 204 looked more orange -- or darker, anyway -- so I bought that too, as well as Nivea Q10 lip care (which advertises "UV Filter" but doesn't actually say how much SPF).

Anyway after some tests (including photos) I've decided to take back the number 201 from Mum, keep number 244 and give Mum number 204. I don't think she'll notice.

201 is the lightest pink of the three and has mostly gold shimmer, 244 is more orange with mostly purple shimmer, and 204 is darker than both, on the reddish pink side, with gold shimmer.

Gosh, lipstick is so hard to buy! Maybe next time I should opt for nude/beige colours. I actually picked up the MM Honey Pump Gloss testers in the beige tones. 6.5g each @ 220 in Watsons and 200 at Rabbo. Not bad. Maybe next time. (I heard MM lip products are quite sticky though.)

Oh, what ever happened to Moisture Extreme? Well, I picked up Iced Peach Tea, tested it on my hand or forearm (can't remember which) and just didn't like the colour -- too dark red -- and the texture -- nowhere as moisturising a feel as the Water Shine 3D Collagen ones, and going on less easily. The colours available were a bit on the dark or pink side.

Out of all the lip colours I have at the moment, I think the best colour is my Bloom gloss in Amour. The website described it as a barely-there pink, and that's exactly what it is. Not too showy but just enough shine and colour -- and it feels smooth and moisturising.

Anyway back to the Water Shine 3D Collagen. It really is very shiny. And the colour intensifies the more you layer on. It certainly feels moist when on.

Maybe when Moisture Extreme releases its purported collagen range, I'll be brave enough to pick out a new colour. But for now, that's enough lipstick for me. I've already bought three of the four coral shades in the Water Shine 3D Collagen range - -"

Oh -- a little Etude mineral BB pact follow-up here. I put it on once while I was doing my makeup, wiped off excess oil and put some more on before I went downstairs and didn't retouch again for the rest of the night. When we came home from MBK I asked Mum if my face looks less shiny and oily than usual and she said I was right.

Retouching the first time did not cause visible problems but now, so late at night, I can see evidence of caking. But that's okay.

Could this be my HG powder foundation??

I'll have to try it with my other stuff first -- the Mistine BB, the Maybelline Clear Smooth Gel Foundation, the 17 balancing foundation. And later, the Maybelline White Stay Base, and maybe even Kiss base once I get around to trying it (after I've used up the rest ... is that even possible?).

How the hell am I going to get through all this makeup??

I keep hearing ZA is good but the colour I bought is too dark. Gah.

Mistine BB is selling at 99 baht at 7-Eleven. And Watsons nose pore packs are now selling at 69 baht instead of the usual 99. So tempting!

P.S. 10 April: Just tried the Water Shine 3D Collagen number 244 without putting on any makeup at all. It's quite close to my natural lip colour so I think it must be the best colour for me. Still not sure if I should keep number 201 or number 204. One is too light a pink and one is too red.

Day Two with Etude Precious Mineral BB Pact

Face (after cleansing [Ponds Perfect Matte; Ziiit Wash], toning [Nivea for oily/combination skin] and moisturising [Olay Complete lotion SPF 15])

- Etude Precious Mineral BB Pact

- Boots Natural Collection Illuminating Loose Powder (green) -- because the BB pact didn't do a good job of covering up, especially my redness

- Etude Dream On (but not on nose) -- to relieve the greenness!

- Mistine Diamond and In2it on top for neck

Cheeks

Gino McCray Pink Passion blusher in No. 4 Sugar Peach

Lips

Bloom lip gloss in Amour

Eyebrows

Fasio eyebrow mascara in Golden Brown

Eyes

- Oriental Princess eyeshadow in white for brow bone and a sort of peachy pink for lids

- Brown In2it eyeliner

- MM Lash Bone

- MM Lash Gorgeous Wing in Golden Brown (about three coats)

Top

A peachy pink top/short dress I recently got from UFO on sale

The results

Gorgeous!

My face even looks a more natural colour, not too white!

I just retouched my face with more mineral BB and it looks a bit brighter, which I can live with (it's not as obvious as the In2it) but also smoother. My skin isn't as oily as it usually is. One thing I forgot to mention the other night was that the powder collects in the sides of my nose, but that happens all the time with me. I can live with it.

I did a bit more research and decided I should get Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen in number 244 which is a more orange coral colour than my first one. I might still get Moisture Extreme in Peach Colada or Iced Peach Tea if I can stand to spend that much. I'm pretty sure, from my need to use the Boots green powder today, that I should get the green White Stay UV Base now.

MakeUpdate: Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen

It feels like such a chore to write now, for some reason. Maybe I'm just in need of refreshment(s).

Let's see ... So today I actually got up at like 8.30 in the morning after half-accidentally drifting off to sleep last night while reading Tuesdays with Morrie. I would have liked to read on but I was so inexplicably tired -- I still kind of am today -- must be the bad sleeping and eating patterns I've adopted. I'm sure my physical condition is tied to my emotional condition, and vice versa.

Anyway so I did the washing and showered, washing my hair with as much Sunsilk as possible, hoping to finish the remaining supply, and conditioned with Asience. After doing my makeup, I put on the green leave-on conditioner Mum brought. I also put on the Sweet Princess SPF50 sunblock with its Strawberry Scent and its tiny glitter. It is easy to put on and not sticky. At the end of the day I feel my skin is still hydrated and soft.

So this morning I had time to cleanse, tone and moisturise my face properly. After doing all that, I used the Boots 17 Balancing Foundation and set it with the Natural Collection Illuminating Loose Powder (even tinier glitter than the sunblock and not over-the-top at all). I wore the orange Sheene blush, Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss (whose lid cracked -- noez!!! T^T), brown In2it eyeliner, Lash Bone, and golden brown Lash Gorgeous Wing.

I realised there's a trick to applying Lash Gorgeous Wing without getting a load of fibres in your eye. All you have to do is look down while you apply it. I find this really helps. Although I still get some fibres flaking off onto my face during application and fewer fibres during the day, I only get one or two fibres in my eyes at most. Oh and I had to brush on two coats of Lash Gorgeous Wing on each eye today. I must say the effect is not as spectacular as Lash Enamel Glamour Neo or Lash Expander Frame Plus. Maybe it's just the light colour. Lash Expander would, of course, beat it in terms of lash length.

Today I raided Watsons and finally bought Maybelline lip colour -- the Water Shine 3D collagen one. I thought I could use this instead of the Bloom lip collagen. This is pretty much the first lipstick I buy myself, and I think it will be the last. I chose the lightest colour I could find, number 201, which is a kind of young, sweet pink. It is too bright. And the lipstick cream collects in the cracks/creases in my lips! Even if I'd chosen a better colour, this tendency to collect in the creases just will not do -- accentuating my creases is exactly the opposite of what I want!

So hopefully when I get paid for my translation job I'll go get myself a good tube of Bloom lip collagen.

I guess I'm just not made to wear lipstick. I hate their obliqueness. Only glosses and balms for me. I love their transparency.

Oh and I retouched my face with Etude Dream On today. I don't know if it's because the puff isn't clean, but this powder keeps caking up my face, especially my nose! Or maybe it's the combination of moisturiser and foundation that makes it happen. Or is it the loose powder? Not sure. But I think I'll be glad when I've gone through the whole powder pact.

While at Watsons, I checked out the Beauteen Turn Colour in Natural Black and Natural Brown. I think the brown looks nicer. I don't want to go too black. The Caramel Choco also achieves similar results. But I think Palty is supposed to be better. Luckily I saw a box of Palty in Bitter Cappuccino today. I think it looks a tiny bit lighter than the Beauteens, but you never know. And I trust Palty. I don't know, but their packaging with pictures of human models instead of Beauteen's manga models just seems more assuring to me. I know, I know, I'm superficial!

Bases that I'm interested in at the moment:

- Maybelline White Stay UV Base (in green)

- Biore SPF50 (the white, oil-controlling one)

- Kiss Mat Chiffon Base

- Etude Precious Mineral BB Base (the oil-controlling one)

Gosh ... I still have Mistine BB, the Boots 17 Balancing Foundation, and Maybelline Clear Smooth left ...

I also heard, according to Musings of a Muse and Lotus Place, that the Etude Precious Mineral BB Pact is also good and oil-controlling. I'm interested in getting it once Rabbo carries it. No sign yet.

Gahhh so much makeup to get through and get to T^T

P.S. Last night I put on the 17 Teal mascara just for fun. I used about three coats. Pretty good. Long and lush and thick. Slightly dry and clumpy once you start layering though. I fell asleep and woke up and it was still on -- no smudges, but some flaking off (the clumps fell off). In the shower, the water dampened the mascara but it wouldn't go liquid and trickle off. Rubbing wouldn't remove it completely. Cleansing did. But I wouldn't go out in the summer heat and rain with it though.

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!

Sloth & Spending

Today I went out to MBK and got more toothpaste (I don't remember toothpaste running out this quickly), shampoo (L'Oreal Elseve -- the new one with Royal Jelly) and hair colour (I got Palty in Orange Biscuit at Platinum because the ones at MBK were ten baht more expensive -*-). I also ran into a shoe trap at Platinum and picked up a pair of white snakeskin heels.

I was also tempted by the Lotree, Beauty Credit and Innisfree powders (there was no Etude or Skinfood in sight) but the BC case doesn't cut it for me and Innisfree is so hard to find online -- reviews, I mean. But their cases are quite pretty. All pearly-like. So maybe when I get my paycheck from my translation job I might treat myself a bit. I might even get the Etude BB pact too.

I found a cheap potential buy today: Revlon Beyond Natural cream lip gloss. I'm interested in the peach one. Only 200 baht! That's cheaper than Maybelline lip gloss! ... Okay those are the prices at Boots at least, maybe Watsons is cheaper (as it usually is).

Etude and Canmake both have lip concealers, however. Lip concealers can be used for a nude lip look.

Then there's the MM Honey Pump gloss. I doubt they're as much value for money as the Revlon though -- the latter has about 12 or 13 ml in the tube.

Oh today I used MM Lash Expander Frame Plus on its own -- no Lash Bone. I also curled my lashes prior to application, but somewhat clumsily, as I didn't want to wreck the pink and and peach OP eyeshadows and Navy In2it liner I had on. (Note to self: don't wear very similar lip, cheek and eye colours again -- I had on the Bloom Amour gloss and the Gino Sugar Peach blusher.) Somehow I think either Lash Expander looks better on its own without the help of eyelash curler, or it just looks better with the help of Lash Bone. Gotta test that out later. Haven't tried curling before Lash Bone then mascara yet.

P.S. Just tried adding up known and estimated prices of Etude BB pact, Lotree, Innisfree and Beauty Credit. I know the Etude at Rabbo is 500 baht but I didn't see any at the shop today -- maybe I just need to ask -- but if they don't have it and I really want it, I either have to wait till they have it or go buy it at the Etude House where it's more expensive. I know the Lotree is 750. I don't know the prices of the BC and Innisfree but I know the BC at Watsons is like 888 baht -- and the cashier said something like, "This powder is about 900 baht at the official shop." Whatever the case, the Lotree alone is almost a thousand baht already.

I also saw the black butterfly Anna Sui case at Platinum today but I wasn't really tempted. There are prettier cases than that around.

P.P.S. I still wanna try Mistine Debutant. I didn't see it at Platinum although I saw Mistine Diamond there. Maybe at MBK the stalls have it but I overlooked it.

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.

Majolica Madness!

OMG. This is RawkKitteh reporting live from her iPod at Central World.

Okay, scratch that, this is RawkKitteh reporting live from her laptop at Starbucks, first floor, Central World.

I went to Watsons for a little OCD makeup browsing today before my meal. And what should I find at their Majolica Majorca stand but two new lip gloss colours, a new black version of their 24-hour powder case, and -- a new mascara!!!

I just checked it out on the Japanese MM site and yes, it's true, MM have come out with a new collection.

The mascara is a new version of their Lash Expander line.

iWant!!!!!!!!! Both the mascara and the powder case! >_<

*is an MM addict*

Majolica MAJORca FAIL!

Well, okay, the title is an exaggeration, but hey, I tried to be creative...

Today I quickly did my makeup before taking our Arts class photo. I used Maybelline Clear Smooth gel foundation (in Natural) with the Natural Collection pressed powder (in Warm). I'm not sure cos I didn't have a mirror (or a puff, for that matter) on me at the time but I think I achieved a light and natural-looking coverage and colour. I used the pink Baby Blossom Fasio Pure Blush, Sexy Mother Pucker nude lip gloss, dark brown In2it eyeliner, and two coats of MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo.

Now I clearly see the difference between using just a mascara with no Lash Bone. Even with two coats, my lashes, though blacker and more defined, were still thin. Thinner than I like, anyway. Or maybe I'm just used to the thickness achieved with the help of Lash Bone or multiple coats of other mascara.

Not only that, in the evening, I found that there was even some slight smudging! It seemed all the mascara on my bottom lashes was gone and on my lower lids instead. The mascara also smudged my upper eyelids where the tips of my lashes would have brushed against my skin. And the eyeliner was also gone.

But then, we were out in the sun for ages waiting for the photographer to finish his job. It could be that and/or incompatibility with my foundation and/or powder.

P.S. The other day I found some Teal 17 mascara, but it was the Ultimate Curl variety. I didn't like the look of the brush.

Happy Chinese New Year / Happy Australia Day

This post has nothing to do with Australia Day or Chinese New Year; I just needed a title :p

Today I wore the 17 mineral with Natural Collection pressed powder on top and I added the Mistine Platinum on top of that because the Natural Collection didn't brighten the mineral foundation as much as I wanted. I wore my pink Baby Blossom Fasio Pure Blush, Berry Sorbet Natural Collection lip gloss, no eyeliner, and the No 7 Maximum Volume mascara in Navy over crimped lashes.

One thing I noticed about the mascara today. The cool and wet feeling formula seemed to make my curled lashes droop a teeny tiny bit. But the brush (I think) made my lashes fan out so much that it didn't really matter! And the more coats I applied, the longer and curlier my lashes got! And once again, crimping after the mascara was dry was no problem at all.

Once again, the Mistine whiteness seemed to wear off at the end of the day. Re-applying the Mistine, however, made me look a bit cakey. So maybe I'll re-do with the Etude Dream On instead from now on. (I still have to take the Mistine with me to do my neck, though.)

Last night I experimented with the mascara, layering on layer after layer (that's a lot of layers!). Then when I went to cleanse for the night, I sprayed water on each eye with the shower head. It took a bit of time for the mascara to start flaking and bleeding off. And when the mascara was wet, the colour was brighter!

Today I checked out the 17 Teal mascara again and decided I might actually get it ... when I have more money. If I can get a waterproof one, even better. Most 17 mascaras are selling at 99 baht at the moment. No sign of that ZA Wide Eyes Mascara yet. I might actually get it in violet if I'm happy with my No 7 Navy and my future 17 Teal.

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 Musings

I wore my red Sheene blush, In2it dark brown eyeliner, and Fasio mascara with Mistine Number One Platinum today. Oh, and the Natural Collection lip gloss. Looked great. Natural and beautiful. But I think -- unless I put it on too hurriedly -- the Fasio mascara isn't as thick as MM! At least not as thick as MM with the Lash Bone, anyway!

Oh, the above is about Monday. I realise that it is now, technically, Tuesday.

Today, if I have enough time in the morning, I'll try the Lash Bone and Lash Enamel Glamour Neo and see how it looks :D