Reaching Beyond the Realm of Spring with Blush Horizon de Chanel

Spring releases are my biggest weakness. With all the enchanting, water-colour inspired shades arising in the form of makeup, I find it difficult to resist their prettiness. One of the most anticipated pieces this season is the Blush Horizon de Chanel, and it is the star product of the Harmonie de Printemps 2012 collection.

"The luminous hues of sunset are now captured in one elegant highlighting face powder. Subtle gradations of rose, coral and peach can be applied on their own or blended together, to highlight and sculpt the face or achieve an overall warmth and radiance." ~ Chanel's description

* photo taken with flash to illuminate the golden shimmer *

The Blush Horizon consists of assorted strips in luminous pinks, peaches to berries and plums. The top half of the blush has a sheer and shimmery white strip, which is meant to highlight and impart a soft glow. The lower part is peachier with a mix of berries and is the more pigmented half of the blush. Ultrafine golden shimmer is strewn across the blush and I believe it goes all the way down through the pan. It comes with an angled brush in its own velvet cover but I didn't find the brush usable as it is rather small.

Dove Lathering Oil Makeup Remover

I came across a few new Dove products at a local drugstore recently and picked up the Lathering Oil Makeup Remover. I think this product has been released for a few months and is available in most drugstores (pharmacies) nationwide.

The Dove Lathering Oil Makeup Remover is not an oil cleanser in the traditional sense but dispenses as a fluffy foam instead. Dove recommends 3 pumps and the foam can be applied onto wet or dry skin. The foam feels soft, spreads easily and is not oily. The bright yellow bottle is quite a cheerful addition in my bathroom too.

I find that it takes off face makeup quite well but heavier or waterproof eye makeup may require a separate remover first. I have read this product can sting eyes but haven't experienced it because I try to keep my eyes tightly shut when cleaning my face. It doesn't leave my skin feeling stripped and uncomfortable. I still follow a double cleanse routine because I use the Dove cleanser more as a makeup remover and prefer my skin to be thoroughly cleaned before applying the rest of my skincare for the evening.

Overall, the Dove Lathering Oil Makeup Remover is a relatively good and affordable makeup remover. It is not particularly effective at removing eye makeup but if you generally wear light makeup and sunscreen, the Dove remover may be enough for you. This product can be found at most drugstores for RM32.90.


Ingredient List:
Water, PEG-8, Isopentyldiol, Glycerin, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Pottasium Cocoyl Glycinate, Lauryl Hydroxysultaine, BG Laurate, Lauryl Glucoside, Isopropyl Myristate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Methylparaben, Perfume, Tetrasodium EDTA, Ethanol, BHT, Sodium Carbonate, Magnesium Nitrate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Tocopherol, Magnesium Chloride

WINNER ANNOUNCED! BeautyCabby Blog Birthday Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS TO

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(drumroll, please)

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toh e. @electronicfly

You are the lucky winner of my first Blog Birthday Giveaway and you will be receiving some really cute, pink goodies :-) Congratulations!!! I will write to you soon so please check your mailbox and keep your eyes peeled for my email.

To everyone else who participated, thank you taking time to enter the contest and do stick around as I will definitely be organising more giveaways in the future. Thanks for all the Twitter follows, retweets, blog comments and rss subscriptions as I sincerely appreciate them.

Lots of Love,

~ lyn ~

CLOSED! BeautyCabby Blog Birthday Bash Giveaway

The Blog Birthday Giveaway is now CLOSED and the winner of the PINK LOOT will be announced on Sunday, 5th February at 1PM (GMT +8). I will write to the lucky person requesting for further details and a mailing address. I would appreciate if the winner can respond in 48 hours otherwise, it will roll to the next random person.

Thanks to all who participated and making this a success! I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to subscribe to my blog and going through the entries. There will be more fabulous giveaways in the future as I had so much fun organising this one. So do keep a lookout for exciting events to come :-)

Lots of Love,

~ lyn ~

Affordable and Effective Lipliners by SilkyGirl

Don't you just love it when you find a drugstore cheapie that actually works? I was honestly so chuffed when I came across these Silkygirl Long-Wearing Lipliners in Guardian. I don't really know much about the brand except that it is local and has a pretty good selection of very affordable cosmetics.

The Silkygirl lip pencil is an automatic liner and doesn't require sharpening (just my kind of thing). It comes in a simple plastic twist-up casing and is coloured to reflect the lipliner shade. The texture of these lipliners is waxy and slightly creamy.

I believe they offer five different shades and the ones I picked were in Nude and Rose. There are times when you want a more polished lip look and this is when lipliners really help to outline your lips and prevent lipsticks or glosses from feathering. Lip pencils can also help extend the wear of your lip products.

I sometimes wear lipliners on its own by filling out my entire upper and lower lip with the pencil and then adding a touch of lipgloss. It is quite a versatile product and is very pocketable since pencils are usually slim and can fit into almost anything.

Silkygirl cosmetics can be found in most local pharmacies (drugstores) nationwide and the Long-Wearing Lipliner retails at less than RM15 each. These lipliners are made in Germany.


PS:
My blog birthday giveaway is ending at 1PM today so do make sure you add your entries to the raffle to win yourself some fabulous goodies!

In a Buff Disposition with theBalm Nude 'Tude Eyeshadow Palette

theBalm Nude 'Tude palette was released in November 2011 and carries a fabulous range of neutral shades with a good mix of highlighters and middle to dark tones. I guess it is inevitable that most cosmetic companies will start naming their neutral palettes with words like "nude" or "naked" since the Urban Decay version has been such a big hit.

The Nude 'Tude palettes come in Naughty or Nice variations. Both contain the same eyeshadows but the Naughty version (pictured in this post) features a bunch of naked women with their hoo-hoos and ya-yas covered up by eyeshadow pans. I know some people will cringe at the images but I think it's quite fun!

There are twelve lovely shades in one palette and it comes with a dual-ended brush, which I find to be pretty rubbish. The angled side is probably more usable and you can use it as a liner or brow brush. It is a very well-rounded palette with shades to suit most skin tones and you can use them to create natural to smoky looks.

Sassy - Pearly white frost.

Stubborn - Light peachy-pink frost.

Snobby - Light golden shimmer.

Stand-offish - Peachy-bronze champagne frost.

Selfish - Shimmery taupe.

Sophisticated - Dark brown with slight shimmer.

Sultry - Satin warm medium-brown.

Schitzo - Shimmery copper-bronze.

Sexy - Matte burgundy with a hint of brown.

Serious - Matte medium-black.

Silly - Slightly red-brown with fine gold glitter.

Sleek - Matte brown-black.

The overall texture of these eyeshadows are of very high quality. They are satiny smooth and buttery but not too soft that it will create much fall-out. The eyeshadows are also pigmented and yet very blendable, if you'd like to sheer out the colours.

I really, really like this palette! Really! I would definitely recommend Nude 'Tude to all you neutral lovers. You can find theBalm Nude 'Tude palette at Sasa stores for RM115. Each palette consists of twelve lovely, mixable shades and is quite value for money. I got mine at RM97 because Sasa was having some year-end discounts at the time of purchase.

more of theBalm products previously reviewed:
• theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer a.k.a. The Luminizer
• Eye Combo from theBalm Shady Lady vol. 2
• theBalm Hot Mama! Shadow / Blush
• theBalm Cabana Boy Shadow / Blush
• theBalm Down Boy Shadow / Blush
• theBalm Frat Boy Shadow / Blush

PS:
There are still a couple more days to participate in my blog birthday giveaway, so make sure you don't miss out!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation ~ Original vs Serum

I have been meaning to write a quickie comparison review between Bourjois' Healthy Mix foundations in the Original and Serum formulas and finally got around to it. They are both in shade #51 Vanille Clair, which I think is the lightest available.

Packaging:
Original - Plastic, bottle is a little shorter and wider, has pump mechanism, solid brown cap that clicks in place.
Serum - Plastic that looks like glass, bottle is taller and slimmer, has pump mechanism, solid red cap that clicks in place.

* the foundation shades are the same but appear different in swatches due to lighting *

Texture:
Original - Liquid and not too thick.
Serum - Liquid but a bit more "gel-feeling" and fluid, not too thick.

* the foundation shades are the same but appear different in swatches due to lighting *

Consistency:
Original - Lightweight, smooth, spreads easily and applies evenly.
Serum - Lightweight, smooth, spreads easily and applies evenly.

Coverage:
Original - Light to medium, not cakey, slightly dewy finish and skin looks more glowy.
Serum - Light to medium, not cakey, more powdery finish and semi-matte.

Oil-Control:
Original - Skin gets oily within 4 hours and requires blotting, holds up well throughout the day and doesn't get patchy.
Serum - Better oil control but still requires blotting after 5 to 6 hours, holds up well throughout the day and doesn't get patchy.

Scent:
Original - Smells like fresh berry juice.
Serum - Smells like fresh berry juice and a tad bit fruitier.

I have been using both foundations without issues and they do not cause me to break out. In terms of texture and consistency, they are pretty much even. However there is a slight difference in the finish and oil-control properties.

I used to prefer the Original version because of the finish as it seems to look better on me in certain lighting but my skin does get oilier quicker. It is difficult to pick a favourite between the two now because they are equally good foundations.

So in summary, I like them both. And very much so! The Healthy Mix foundations help even out my skin tone, cover most redness and make my skin look brighter and better. They are still not Holy Grail material but they do come pretty close.

Bourjois Healthy Mix foundations are not available in Malaysia and the nearest place you can get Bourjois is in Singapore. I purchased the Original in Australia and the Serum version in Hong Kong but sadly, cannot recall the pricing on them as I have had both for a while now.


Ingredients (Original Version):

Aqua (water), Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium chloride, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Alcohol Denat, Parfum, Panthenol, Alcohol, Aluminum hydroxide, Silica, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Pyrus malus (Apple) fruit extract, Cucumis melo (Melon) fruit extract, Zingiber officinale (Ginger) root extract, Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) fruit extract, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid, [+/- May contain: Mica, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77007, CI 77891]

Ingredients (Serum Version):
Aqua (water), Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Aluminium Starch Octenylsuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chloride, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Alcohol Denat, Parfum (fragrance), Panthenol, Aluminium Hydroxide, Litchi Chinensis Pericarp Extract, Silica, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract, Pantolactone, Punica Granatum Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Sorbic Acid [+/- May contain: CI 77007 (ultramarines), CI 77019 (mica), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI77891 (titanium dioxide)] 10BMT001-1]