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.

Blogging away the time ...

So last night I washed my hair with the last of the Sunsilk and started using the Elseve with royal jelly extract. I conditioned with Asience as usual and went to bed with a towel on my pillow. My hair is noticeably softer, but that may be the effect of sleeping on a towel, and maybe because I didn't use Mum's leave-on crap (which seemed to actually make my hair feel drier and fluffier :s).

Funny thing is, my hair seems to be a little less shockingly bright red. On camera-phone with flash it looks the same, though. Maybe it's just the gloomy rainy-day light. But if the colour is indeed less vibrant, it must be my unusually frequent washing.

I've been reading some pointers from Kirari @ Jeban. She did this kind of famous review of sixteen hair colours she's had in the past couple of years and people keep asking her stuff as if she's a hair colour guru, which I think she sort of is. She says she heard from some hairdresser that it's good to change your shampoo every three months or so, which is a good thing because I'm always changing shampoos :-) I think next I'll try Asience shampoo or the Elseve colour care one. More leaning towards the Asience as it's got Camellia/Tsubaki extract, which is good for damaged hair. I'm more interested in making my hair soft and nourished than keeping the colour vibrant.

More tips from Kirari: Palty is indeed better than Beauteen. Its cream is thicker and its colour is more consistent. So I hope to get Palty in Bitter Cappuccino for graduation. Hopefully Rabbo @ Platinum has enough boxes of that, or I'll have to get them more expensive (+10 baht) at MBK. If worst comes to worst, I'll have to get Beauteen in Natural Brown instead. I'm afraid to try Natural Black because I hate the artificial-looking blackness of black dye. I just hope Palty in Bitter Cappuccino is dark enough for graduation -- but not so dark that I look totally ordinary and boring.

Still no sign of the new Etude collection on the Rabbo website. And when will Mistine Debutant hit Boots??? Grrr ...

P.S. Yesterday at Watsons I saw this cheap (about 70 baht) pack of 30 cleansing wipes. Very interested.

All dressed up, nowhere to go ...

... or no money to do anything when I go out, more like.

Yesterday I went and saw Milk with a friend. While waiting for her to show up, I raided Boots and Watsons. At Boots, I found that there was a new Mistine powder on sale -- Mistine Number 1 Diamond Bio Skin Complex Super Powder SPF 18 PA+++ (wow, what a long name ... let's just call it the Mistine Diamond). I of course bought it despite the fact that I have many powders already. Mostly the packaging attracted me. The wrapping has a rather nice image of a popular Thai actress and the powder case is made to look like a huge diamond -- rather hi-so, I must say.

I chose number S2 because my previous experience of Mistine powder -- Mistine Number 1 Platinum -- taught me that S1 is way too light. Plus, it was the only number available at that particular Boots store.

This powder is imported from Korea where it was made by Kolmar, the same company that produces Mistine BB cream. This powder claims to have the secret to Korean women's flawless-looking skin. It claims to, basically, have similar ingredients to real skin, thus blending in perfectly smoothly.

Aside from this, my eye was also caught by some new Maybelline mascara -- the Volum' Express Hypercurl Cat Eyes mascara. It caught my eye because of its packaging -- it looks kind of like the usual Volum' Express tube except it is slimmer, and the lid or applicator handle is shiny magenta or hot pink with black tiger stripes! It excited me a bit because it has a comb type applicator -- the first I've seen in Maybelline in this country! The comb has two sets of teeth, I'm guessing to help build lash volume. And yes, it's waterproof! I was tempted, sorely tempted, but I had to remind myself that I have at least two perfect MM mascaras that need my loving. I told myself that Maybelline is lo-so mascara to me now, and moved on.

I was wearing Fasio powder foundation yesterday but I couldn't wait to try the new Mistine powder when I got home, so I put it on top of the Fasio after removing excess oil. It turned out that the S2 looked no different to the Platinum in S1!! Despite the fact that the powder itself looks darker, it ended up making my skin look vampire-like!

I thought maybe it was just the fact that I put it on over another foundation powder, but no! Today I woke up and simply washed my face with water before trying the Mistine Diamond on and it still looks vampire-like! Oh well ... I guess I gotta blame it on the fact that it's Korean-made powder ... Korean powder is whiter than anything ...

Anyway, a little more comment on the packaging ... I love the "glass bottom" look of this thing, I really do ... so much less tacky than the white bottom of Mistine Platinum ...

And the puff is also nicer than the Mistine Platinum one. Gotta hand it to them for the design. It actually looks good and not like a copy of something else ... although I slightly suspect them of taking inspiration from Shiseido's Maquillage case, which is also kind of diamond-like, but pink. And when I think harder, I realise the "D" logo on the front kind of reminds me of Christian Dior. But no matter. This is one Mistine case I really won't be embarrassed to use.

Anyway I really wanted to go out and buy the Skinfood White Grape pact from Rabbo today, as yesterday my friend told me that Skinfood is better than Etude. And I've read enough rave reviews of the White Grape pact to convince me to try it. And even if I don't have enough for it, I thought, I could just get that Palty hair colour that I've been wanting, or maybe even MM blush, as none of the pink blushes I looked at in Watsons or Boots yesterday cut it for me.

A little mascara musing here. Yesterday I wore just the Lash Enamel Glamour Neo. Wonderful, but where did those solid clumps come from?? I'm blaming the Fasio for the clumps. I'm sure Lash Enamel Glamour Neo on its own would never clump until it was nearly out of date.

And today I'm wearing Lash Expander Frame Plus on its own. Two coats, actually. One coat makes my lashes long, two make them longer and thicker too! Yay! But I don't think it's such a good idea to brush the other side of my lashes on the second coat.

So I might stop getting Lash Bone after my current tube runs out. I don't need it that much except to oomph up Lash Gorgeous Wing.

So what am I gonna do with this too-white Mistine Diamond? Use it on my neck, I guess. I would give it to Mum but the case is too adorable!

Oh I also put my new True Match in G5 on top of the Mistine Diamond, hoping to tone down the brightness. It's much yellower, the True Match. In fact, after comparing Mistine Diamond to my other powders, I found it's a bit more pink than the other ones, which are yellower. Not satisfied, I put the ZA on top of that again. Now I think the True Match and the ZA are slightly darker than my real skin, which is actually a kind of pale olive/yellow. Should I be surprised that when, at the end of the night, I tried to wipe my makeup off with my Boots cleansing wipes, it didn't manage to clean up all of the foundation powder? I made sure I was completely clean with the L'Oreal after that.

Oh, when I did my usual OCD-like searches for reviews on the makeup I just bought, I came across this other Korean imitation Mistine powder -- Debutant. It's also got its own line of lip glosses too. Very interesting. The powder case is average but it's got nice Korean Gothic (as I've just now coined it) graphic designs on the front and a Korean-style plastic tray for the puff. Maybe I'll get a Debutant lip gloss instead of Etude.

P.S. It is all too easy to get finger marks all over the shiny Mistine Diamond case. But meh. It's still too pretty to give up.

P.P.S. I just tried re-doing with Mistine Diamond to see if a fellow Thai reviewer is right about its not caking after re-do. And she's right. But then, I haven't been out today so I haven't really faced extreme weather conditions, therefore not much excess oil. This powder is actually so pale -- or good at covering up -- that I have to re-do my Gino McCray blush too! I might have to get a more orange blush and lip gloss to go with it though: since it's a bit on the pink side it won't do with my pink blush and gloss.

I forgot to add that Mistine Diamond does have a fragrance. A very perfumey one. I can only hope it fades soon.

I might start using Mistine Diamond for whenever I go out, both for before going out and for re-doing.

Oh and there are tiny sparkles in it. You have to look closely though.

P.P.P.S. Okay, upon the third re-do, the Mistine Diamond is starting to look cakey. It does make my face feel soft and smooth though.

I hate being poor. I want that Skinfood White Grape pact. And I wanna buy some orangey and pale pink blush. I want that Mistine Debutant powder and lip gloss and maybe even lipstick too. For the blush I might wanna try MM or even Etude, if I can get them cheap at Rabbo. Or maybe there's some nice Mistine blush I'm overlooking down at Boots. I can't get any of that until I have more money :(

A really quick makeupdate just to get my writing glands going...

Okay, so first things first -- the MM Lash Expander Frame Plus mascara. Lengthens pretty well on its own. My lashes are a good length already but this adds a little oomph to them length-wise. The fibres are soft unlike the Lash Gorgeous Wing ones. During the day I do get slight fibre flakage but it's nothing to get upset about. However, the more you apply the mascara and the more fibres get on your lashes, they start to get a little ... cobwebby. A good trick is to brush the other side of the tips of my lashes -- I find that gives my lashes a bit more definition. But be careful not to get mascara on your eyelids.

As my lashes are a bit long already, I prefer mascara that gives me big volume. This one, obviously, is a lengthening mascara. So I use it with my Lash Bone and I get just the right amount of volume and length -- and compliments, of course :D My lashes are almost as thick as with the Lash Bone + Lash Enamel Glamour Neo combo, but they're longer.

What else is new?

Oh -- I bought the MM Pressed Pore Cover at Watsons the other day. I tried it on top of the Mistine BB the other day and today I used Mistine BB plus Boots 17 Skin Perfecting Balancing Foundation with the MM Pressed Pore Cover on top of it all. The puff is very soft and velvety. The powder appears almost white and kind of shimmery. On the puff, it looks a pale skin or cream colour. It goes on slightly lighter than whatever I'm wearing as foundation. But I think it does a good job as a finishing powder. The whiteness isn't too obvious (unlike Mistine Platinum) and it blends in after a while. Today I was also kind of impressed with its oil control capabilities too -- but that may be due to the 17 foundation and/or the Mistine BB. It was really hot and humid today and I was sweating in the faculty library but when I got to the bathroom, my face wasn't as shiny as it normally would be, just moist and modestly shiny. And I think it does cover up the pores -- but that, again, may be the work of the Mistine BB and/or the 17 foundation. And it doesn't cake! That's the best part! However, it offers no sun protection so it must be used with lotion, base or foundation that does.

As Watson is having a Revlon sale with a buy-one-get-one-plus-one-baht promotion, and I'm kind of looking for a round powder refill for my Etude Dream On case (not that it's running out anytime soon -- it's like 12 grams and I don't even use it normally), and Mum was here this weekend, I kind of helped the BA sell us the New Complexion Oil-Free Wet & Dry Compact Make Up. First we got refills for the both of us -- hers in Tender Peach and mine in Ivory Beige (the lightest one in this range) at the suggestion of the BA. That night I tried to put my refill into the Mistine Platinum case but it was a bit too big. Tonight Mum instructed me to get some more of the Revlon stuff (is it powder or is it foundation powder?) because she said it was really good. I suggested we get the case plus refill this time as the refills aren't going to fit into our Mistine Platinum cases. So I got them. And I hate the Revlon case. Not only is it an old-lady olive green and gold, but it is so flimsy. I am considering getting an Anna Sui case or two -- at a cheap price, of course -- instead. Whenever the Etude Dream On runs out, I can put one refill there and the other one in the cheap Anna Sui case (if I can get my hands on one or two).

I plan to discard my Sheene Oil Free sample, my Garnier Light powder in Natural, and my ZA refill (22) by giving them to my mum. The first two powders are too dark for me and I suspect the ZA might be too. More importantly, when I tried to put the ZA refill into my new MM Pressed Pore Cover case, it wouldn't fit. It's just a bit too big. And it put hairline cracks into my gorgeous black MM case T^T

What to put in my MM cases once my Pressed Pore Cover and Fasio are gone? Well, I might just get some more Pressed Pore Cover. Or I could get the L'Oreal True Match or Ideal Balance. Or some In2it. Maybe I'll even get the MM Skin Remaker or some other Shiseido-owned powder from my locale at Platinum Fashion Mall.

P.S. I'm kind of tempted to get Lash Gorgeous Wing in black too. I haven't quite learned my lesson on that range yet. The short fibres sometimes get in your eyes during application and they do flake onto your face during the day but the latter is tolerable and the former can be endured.

Makeup merit-making

Whoopee! I managed to get rid of my brown Fasio eyebrow mascara, the 17 mineral foundation, and the Maybelline one too! I gave them all to my mum. She'll probably keep the eyebrow mascara but the two powders are too dark for her so she'll probably give them to someone else.

Boots 17 Lash Illusion & Ultimate Length in Teal

Phew! Now that Mum's rescued me with a bit of money, I can afford to eat out and buy mascara again lol. Lucky the 17 ones are selling at only 99 atm so I got two for just 198 baht :D

I got the Lash Illusion in Midnight Black (there is only one colour) and the Ultimate Length in Teal (that's the only blue one I can find). Neither are waterproof. I don't understand why anyone bothers to make mascara that isn't waterproof. Anyway, they are 8ml each so that's pretty good value!

The Ultimate Length one, like most 17 mascaras and other makeup products, comes in a dark grey tube with slight sparkles. The Lash Illusion one is a bit more chic though: the tube is black with sort of green/blue sparkles, kind of like No 7 mascara.

The Ultimate Length has a thin brush which is convenient, unlike the brushes that come with many volumising mascaras. I tried putting it on over the MM Lash Bone & Lash Gorgeous Wing today so I can't really comment on the Ultimate Length's performance.

Lash Illusion, according to online reviews I've read, has a rather big and cumbersome brush. I don't find it to be too much of a problem -- or maybe I'm just used to getting mascara on my eyelids -*- The brush has bristles which kind of remind me of a toothbrush. The formula seems to be dull, thick and dry, but then this bottle was produced two years ago. The performance, when I brushed it on over all the other mascaras I'm wearing today, however, was very satisfying. Good lash separation. Makes my lashes look very thick and black indeed. I've yet to try the Lash Illusion or the Ultimate Length on their own, however. I don't think Lash Illusion is as good as MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo though.

So I think my favourite waterproof volumising mascara is MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo. For non-waterproof, I think Boots No 7 and 17 will probably take the cake.

Tomorrow I'm going to my Chorus Bye Nior so I have to wear waterproof mascara. It'll be the MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo for sure, cos we're supposed to dress in a 'celebrity' theme. (With the extra oomph of Lash Bone to boot, of course :p)

P.S. The other night I cried while wearing No 7 Maximum Volume in Navy over Fasio. There was some slight flaking but no rivers of blue.

Confessions of a Fasio Ho

Okay so today I gave in to temptation and bought a Fasio pack consisting of their eyebrow mascara in Golden Brown, their Hyper-Stay mascara in black (Shock Free Curl Volume) and a little makeup bag in gold, brown and orange tartan.

I tried the eyebrow mascara over my existing eyebrow mascara of the same brand (but in Brown, which I felt made my brows too dark). It looks okay. Maybe the Brown and the Golden Brown can even be used together to achieve the right shade.

I tried the Curl Volume mascara on over what I'm already wearing -- Majolica Majorca Lash Bone with golden brown Lash Gorgeous Wing over the top. The Fasio made my lashes very black, all right, but I don't think their chunky brush does the job that MM's comb does. Or maybe the Fasio will work better on its own. I'll try it tomorrow. As for Fasio's reputation for being hard to wash off, I'll report on that when I do wash it off! Which brings me to another point -- today I bought the L'Oreal De-Maq -- the oily Elixir one which claims to be good at washing off the hard-to-wash-off. I will not be trying it yet though as my Ziiit Milk is not finished yet, although it is close to.

Today was the first time I washed my hair since I dyed it, making it almost exactly a week of not washing my newly-dyed hair. I used what was left of my Herbal Essences conditioner and then put the Asience conditioner on top of it. My poor hair feels dry :( I think I need cream-based shampoos and conditioners and maybe even leave-ons but I have plenty of shampoo and conditioner left waiting to be used.

Oh, plus the Fasio mascara, like the MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo, can accidentally stain your eyelids and be hard to remove. If this mascara really doesn't work, I'll have to give it to Mum. Poor Mum lol.

Fasio also have a mascara that promises to separate lashes to make them fan out beautifully. It's about 400 baht though -- around the same price as the package I bought today. You can get that kind of mascara with a little glitter mascara that comes with a comb brush for like 450 baht or something, but I resisted that temptation.

P.S. The Fasio mascara is only 6 ml while MM are 7.5 (Lash Bone & Lash Enamel Glamour Neo) and 7 ml (Lash Gorgeous Wing). At least it'll run out sooner! ^^"

P.P.S. Maybe next time I buy mascara, I'll focus on length rather than volume. Volume can actually be quite "shocking."