All The Things I Can't Live Without...

Picture-heavy post

This tutorial was heavily hinted for by Charlene - yes, I finally got down to it, dear friend. :) And since I'm such a noob at making videos, I could only do picture tutorials. I think this was rather crudely done too at that, but hopefully you'll still be able to recreate this look after following through the steps.

This was the look that was requested for:

This is the end result of this tutorial:

It's slightly different, cos I included a few more steps. When I did the former look, I was actually rushing for work so I didn't add in much colour. The outer-V in this look is more accentuated and coloured in. Enjoy!

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This is me without any makeup on, except for some concealer and Kose's Tinted Makeup Base. Plain jane.

Before everything else:

We're gonna be using the shading technique for this eye look. What it means is that the highlight and contour of the eye will only involve pencils and lots of blending, similar to sketching in real life. I really can't remember where I learnt that from, but I saw the method online once and I loved how simple and effective it is.

I'm using my UD 24/7 Eye pencil in "Zero" (really short pathetic stub) and my Essence Metallic Eye Pencil in "White Divine". Any black and white eyeliner will do, preferably those that can be smudged out. "Zero" is too oily for my waterlines, but perfect for shading.

Onto the application proper (click on the image to enlarge it):

Up until step 6, you should get something like this:

Then taking a fluffy e/s brush and the e.l.f. Eye Transformer palette, select the blue shade. We're going to be using it all over the lid; this shade in this palette is crucial for the blurple-to-light blue iridescent effect, once it goes over the shading.

And you'll end up with something like this:

This was where I stopped for my previous look, and you can too. Just top it off with eyeliner and mascara, and you're good to go. However, I'm going to bump it up a notch since I have more time on my hands now.

(P.S. I really dislike calling the dip in our eye socket "the crease". Cos it's anatomically wrong for most of us Asians. Our crease is our double eyelid, which doesn't coincide with our eye socket at all. The westerners call their socket "the crease" just because they have more pronounced double eyelids and it coincides with their eye sockets.)

You will get this, after accentuating the outer-V and eye socket:

Almost done! All you need to do is to draw a winged liner, preferably with a liquid eyeliner pen...

... like so. Remember to allow the wing to follow the cut-crease that you made.

And fill in your brows and put on mascara (defined brows are important for this look). The eye makeup is done!

Put on some orange-coral blusher along your cheekbones, and some natural pink lipstick and the look is complete!

Hope it wasn't too confusing for a first-time tutorial. Hah, who am I kidding..? But I feel satisfied bringing this to you, so thank you very much for viewing it!

After 5 pm today, the 20th of May 2011, I'll be a free man! YESSSSSSS!!!

Ha ha, I'm going ballistic with excitement just as I'm typing away merrily on my laptop at 2 in the morning~ It's gonna be my last graded paper in NTU, marking the end of my 3rd year and the launch of an exciting 4th year!

Why did I say that? Well, many an exciting things are gonna happen, i.e. I'll be starting on my honours thesis, aka Final Year Project at the 2nd half of my 4th year. That means I'll be attached to some research company/professor and seriously doing some research.

But the more exciting thing would be this:

(lol at that stupid ID pic of me, I look spastic. xD)

Yep, I'll be based in Montreal, Canada for 4 whole months. To complete the first half of my 4th year; instead of doing it in NTU, I'll be doing it in McGill University. Plus, I'll be leaving a few weeks before school starts to go to New York for sight seeing (so tentatively I won't be in SG for 5 months).

What it means to me: SHOPPING.

MASSIVE. COSMETICS. CLOTHING. HAULS.

I'm gonna be so broke...

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But anyway, things aside, here's part 2 of my 150160-followers giveaway!

Prizes to be won:

The winner gets the whole bunch of goodies.

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How to join:

Step 1: Just leave a comment behind on anything you wanna tell me. I would very much like to hear about things to do/see/buy in Canada, for those who has been there. Or any tips on living/going to a temperate country? If not, just a comment on this blog, e.g. what's good, what's bad, will do. :D

Step 2: Leave your email and name behind too, so that I can contact you if you win.

Example:

Name: Cheryl

Email: xxx@lah.com

You have to haul "Wet n Wild" stuff like crazy in Walmart!

Rules:

1) Everyone is allowed to enter 3 times a day.

2) Please leave a different comment if you enter on a different day. It's ok to repeat the comment thrice for that day, but if you join the next day, try to talk about something else ok?

3) The winner will be randomly selected through random.org.

4) Must be a follower of my blog.

5) Opened to readers in Singapore only.

6) Prizes will be given, hopefully, through a meet-up. If not, I'll post it via normal mail.

7) It's not compulsory to re-post this on your blog, but I'll definitely appreciate a little mention. ;)

Dateline:

29th May 2011, 11:59 p.m.

The best of luck to everyone, I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing all the comments! And again, thanks to all who have been following my blog and reading my posts~

Just wondering if anyone will be going for the mega flea market which is on this weekend at the Expo?

I'll be going straight after class, early in the morning, just because of Smoochiezzz's booth there (click on the link for more preview pics!). Look at the stuff she'll be bringing there!

e.l.f cosmetics, both studio and the $1 line~

OPI polishes are going at $8.

Marc Jacobs Braclets~

Nyx stuff!!! *squeals*

And heard she's bringing MAC cosmetics and brushes, and selling them at very discounted prices too! There's also clothes and shoes from Forever21 and Gmarket that people didn't claim. :)

I'm not advertising her flea sale cos I'm her fan/supporter or what; I just feel that the things she sells are authentic, cheap and really good. Since it's such a good bargain, why not spread the word right? And not forgetting there'll be other booths around, selling equally nice stuff I should think.

Anyway, anyone wants me to CP anything? Do leave a comment, with your handphone number, quick alright? I'll be checking once before I leave school tomorrow, and I'll sms you to confirm the stuff you want. Please note that I'll be happy to get the stuff for you guys, but payment should be done through internet bank transfers and promptly after I have confirmed your stuff. We can meet up to pass you the stuff, or through mail if meet ups aren't convenient (given that I'm still having school).

The flea market will be on from tomorrow (Fri) till Sunday though, so no hurry. You guys can always go down when you have the time. :) Hope to see some familiar faces then, cheers!

I seriously don't know what to do when it comes to naming posts like these. Ok, straight to the point then!

First up, I bought myself an e.l.f Kabuki Brush~~~

Like finally. I kept putting off ordering it cos I was not looking forward to the waiting time at all; but at the same time, I really wanted a nice BIG fluffy brush to use with my loose powder. So I finally ordered it, and it wasn't so bad...waiting for it...what am I talking about?! It took at least 2-3 weeks but the wait was worth it!

I didn't take a picture of the box, cos it was a little squashed from the shipping. But the packaging was also a bit weird - there was the box, all big and rectangle and nice, but when I opened it, nothing was inside. I thought the brush had dropped out and was lost on the way, but apparently, the people at e.l.f had squeezed the brush into this tiny compartment at the base of the box. Which seems really ridiculous. I mean, why would include a nice spacious box, only to squish the brush into a small, cramped space at the bottom???

But the brush is really VERY soft and big! Here's the size comparison between the brush and my MAC MSF.

I would say it's comparable to MUFE's kabuki brush. I'm not sure if you guys have seen it before but that brush and this e.l.f brush look totally alike. They even feel alike! Which is good, since that brush cost S$60++ and this is like US$3.

Brush-nose~ :)

Ohh, and not forgetting, I got some freebies from Jones (miwitch)! She's really nice to give away these, thanks a lot sweets!

Etude House's Tear Drop Liner, a lip gloss and some samples (I forgot to snap a pic of the Body Shop sample she threw in too).

Here's a shot of how glittery the eye liner looks. Though it's quite sheer and doesn't really dry when you layer on too much, I'm liking the 3-D glitter in it! So shimmery~

Last but not least, BloodBank @ HSA gave me this to commend me on my...generosity with my bodily fluids! :D

That's a postcard on the right, which was made on-the-spot, after they snapped a picture of me and my friend posing by the banner thing.

Not bad a medallion for giving away 6 packets of blood so far; I wasn't expecting it in the first place, so it's a nice surprise. I'll be aiming for the 10-times medallion next! :D

Anyway, sorry for the lack of updates. I haven't been hauling much after the last burst of spending and I don't really need anything right now, so saving up the money for the christmas period. Thanks for reading this post, and take care everyone!

Guys, the American e.l.f website has offered another 50% off discount code, so it's a great time to order their wonderful brushes, blushes and face powder!

Do go to this website to browse the items on sale: http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio

Note that only Studio items are applicable, the rest aren't.

If any onsugarette is able to open an e.l.f spree for this, I'd appreciate it lots and gladly join it. If not, there's this spree opened (click here) on the SG Motherhood forums. You'll have to register to PM the spree organiser though, and I'm unsure about her credibility (there's always a risk ordering stuff online and the last mommy spree organiser from this forum was trustworthy and very responsible).

Found another spreer: Nas_romeo's spree (I see her quite a bit in sg_beauty, she might be more trustworthy)

There's a bit of discrepancy on the discount offered but I've PM-ed the spree organizer to clarify, hopefully she replies me soon. I'm planning to get a few more brushes (they're AWESOME!) and maybe some blushes..? Ho ho, whatever it is, do order quick cos the discount ends soon! I'll update this entry if there's any changes!

Warning: Product picture spam

Back in June, e.l.f was having a 50% discount off their studio items on their american website (which means pathetic Asians like us didn't get to enjoy it >"<) and I found a spreer who was willing to take in my order. I found her through a mommy's forum while desperately googling for e.l.f spreers, and she's such a nice lady to accommodate my huge order. Plus we totally hit off when I went to her place to collect my items - in 2 minutes flat, we were both gushing about Urban Decay and how some drugstore brands can rival those upper end ones.

Enough with the long-winded story, let's see the stuff I got!

First up, 4 eyeshadows (as if I don't have enough e/s, now I've got some more, wheee!). These are a bit on the powdery side and they definitely need a primer to get the colour out, but once I use UDPP they're really not bad at all.

Raspberry Truffle, a nice rusty red. I swear I've got so many dupes of this, but I just can't help ordering this kind of shade.

Amethyst, a sparkly purple. Once again, I failed to order a blue-toned purple, this is another red-toned one.

Mystic moss...seriously, how can moss even be mystic? Ahh well, a deep green which is almost close to grey-black.

And Charcoal. This looks like an exact dupe of UD's Zero, but the sparkles don't really come out when you apply the e/s, so in the end it's still a flat black colour.

From top to bottom, Raspberry Truffle -> Amethyst -> Mystic Moss -> Charcoal. These were swatched over UDPP, without the primer, the colour payoff is much less intense.

And how I can not get their blushers and shimmer palette? Initially, I put an order through for their eye transformer, but it went OOS.

This blush is called "Peachy Keen". Once I swatched it on my hand, I fell in love with the colour and it looks even better on the cheeks cos it totally compliments my skin tone. It's not like those pinky-peach blushers like NARS Orgasm, but  a nice perky orange that shows up subtly on the cheeks. The colour payoff for this is a little sheer, so you'd have to layer more on for it to show. But I don't like my blushers strong (gawd, I look like Pikachu when I was working in Sephora cos the lighting there requires us to put on a lot of blusher) so this is just nice for me.

\

And this lovely baby is called "Fuchsia Fusion", and that's like 1 swipe on my hand. This blusher's colour payoff is intense! So different from "Peachy keen" so I'll definitely be using a much lighter hand with this. Kinda reminds me of NARS Mata Hari, or Angelika because of the gold particles. Honestly, I don't like the chunky gold glitters at all but I 'd just blow/shake them off before buffing in the blusher.

And a shimmer palette close-up! The instructions said that these shades can be used on anywhere (cheeks, lips, face, body) for a good highlight, and I think it's possible cos these are sooo creamy and smooth. They feel almost like silk when I swatched them.

As you can see, the colours don't really show and they look more or less the same, but the highlighting effect is brilliant! So shimmery and bright! I've tried it on the inner corners of my eye and it does the highlighting job perfectly.

And a summary of all the swatches~

Last but not least, I got 3 Studio line brushes as well.

The (in)famous powder brush, which is soooo soft and dense and an absolute darling to use... but dries real slow after washing. =___= It took, like what, 18 hours to dry completely...?

Comparison between the normal US$1 contour brush and the Studio line contour brush. I'm liking the Studio line one more, as it's smaller and stiffer which makes it easier to draw the outer-v and contour. The normal contour brush is sometimes too big to place the e/s precisely at the outer-v, but it's a very good blending brush.

And the small precision brush is really too small and flat to do any smudging, but it's awesome for eye-lining! I use it when I line my eyes with my MUFE Aqua Cream #1.

All in all, 10 items for S$30, inclusive of shipping. Which is dead cheap IMO, cos that's like S$3 an item?! It's a pity that e.l.f has got a separate webbie for Asia and they don't offer as many items or discounts, because I think their products are really not too bad. But thank god for nice spreers and global shipping! Thanks for reading this haul post, and sorry for the picture spam, hope you liked it! Cheers~

Lol, yep, this is the last of the last of my Sephora LOTDs and there really wasn't any theme for that week. I dunno why, maybe it's because my assis. sup was down with diarrhoea and she didn't have the strength/time to think of new themes... ...or maybe I was going away, so they got no mood!!! Ah ha ha ha ha! That'll be what I'd like to think, that I'm sooooo important, but I don't think so lah. Self-delusion, seriously... =___=

Anyhoo, I still wore makeup to work and these are the last 2 looks I wore.

Look 1 was just some really random smokey-beige look that I decided on at the last minute when I was rummaging through my e/s.

You can probably tell that my falsies were half falling off, cos I didn't really stick them properly. Ahh, what the heck, it's my 2nd last day of work, who cares seriously?

Look 2 is my usual neutral look with nice winged eyeliner and fabulous falsies. See? Once they stop giving me wacky themes to do, I'll just fall back into my neutral eye rut again. Haiz...

My eyes are blue this time! That's because I threw away my old brown GEO lens and switched to a new blue pair; the old ones were getting uncomfortable anyways. I love the deep blue colour, it's not too stark and outlandish but if you look closely, you can see the blue shade. So nice, gotta get myself more GEO lens~~~

You guys probably cannot really see it, but I was wearing this peachy-orange blush in the 2 looks and it's actually the new e.l.f studio blush in "Peachy Keen" which I just hauled. I'm loving that blush to bits, it's soooo pretty! So the next update will be on my recent e.l.f haul, keep reading! Cheers, everyone~

I had to get my laptop repaired cos remembered I mentioned dropping it on my specs? Yeah, well, it fell from quite a height so I think my hard disk went kaputt after that. So off to the HP Service Center I went today, and thus another opportunity to doll up and test that eyelid primer of mine~

Neutral glittery look with L'OREAL's Open Eyes Quad (Open Cocoa). Applied over e.l.f's eyelid primer.

I'm always doing neutral looks cause I'm forever under the impression that we simply can't do out there looks in Singapore. You get people staring weirdly at you once you walk out with blue or green eyelids, do you guys feel so also? The most adventurous looks I've done so far is a rusty red and green smokey eye to school (on separate occasions. I shudder to think of doing both simultaneously). Already with my green smokey eye, my friend took 1 look at me and went "Ohh my God, Cheryl! Your eye!!!" So awkward, but of course later she said that it looked nice. Just that I took her by shock. Ha ha, see what I mean. I've got a feeling weird and out there eye colours would be more accepted in the U.S though.

Okay, ready to go out and face the world (and the HP repair guy), MWAH HA HA HA!

Then 7 hours later, after being under the sweltering sun and caught in a bit of drizzle...

It's still there. e.l.f's eyelid primer has pulled through! I actually wouldn't know how it compares to TFSI and UDPP, whether with them the eyeshadow will be more intense or it would stay even longer and more vibrant than this, cos I've never used them before but e.l.f's primer seems to be working fine. To me what matters is that the eyeshadow is still there despite the slight pespiration and rain, and the shading gradient of the dark over the light colours can still be seen. Not bad, afterall, for S$3+. :}

P.S. I dunno if it's obvious enough but the blush I was wearing is still showing strongly. Guess what? It's the S$2 Daiso blush! I swear it's like the longest lasting blushing EVER! It even outlasts my L'OREAL Blush Delice and NYX blush, woots!

P.S.S. I also got my eyebrows threaded. I will never stop being amazed how a little trimming of 2 rows of face hair can neaten up a face instantly. But saying that, it was blardy painful when I had them threaded yesterday. Periods, bahh! -___-

Ha ha, and If you guys have noticed, I've also changed my specs. My previous pair was a wreck after my laptop fell on it so I had to get a new pair.

I like it - it's orange, and flashy and a statement piece. No need to put on any extra accessories, these specs will funk up any look. I especially like the sides, so chio~ And for the frame together with multi-coated, high-indexed lenses only cost me S$108. What a steal, gahh! xD

Hope you guys enjoyed the entry. Apologies for the lack of updates, cos school has been terribly hectic and I don't bring my cam to my hostel, so no pictures of my daily school looks. Cheers~

Painted my nails with the L.A. Girl Rockstar "Groupie" nail lacquer. Actually, it should be nail-of-the-last-week cos I painted them a few days ago but I got too busy with school/lazy to upload the pic. =p

And I also bought some e.l.f cosmetics from beautypandora for 3 for $10. Super deal, especially when JL and Metro sales are selling them for $6.90 outside.

Left to right: e.l.f eyelid primer, healthy bronzing powder in "Luminance" and "Warm Tan"

Yessssss, I finally got my hands on the ever exclusive eyelid primer! The last time I ordered it through Magical Tannsu's mass spree, it went OOS. Then when I tried ordering it again through Smoochiezz's spree, it also went OOS. So frustrating, so I went on a blogshop-viewing binge and I chanced upon beautypandora's and she already had it in stock. Lucky~ I do think though, that the mineral line's eyelid primer is even more exclusive -  it never seems to be instock on the e.l.f website.

Swatch time! Left to right: eyelid primer, bronzing powder in "Luminance", then in "Warm Tan"

Top: With primer

Bottom: Without primer

I tried a pink eyeshadow on the eyelid primer and on bare skin. It was super difficult to capture a shot with the correct colour showing (kept having a weird blue tinge, or the colour just washes out) and without my hands becoming veiny. Cos my hands are big-boned and veiny...

I was rubbing viciously to get the eyeshadows off after the shots, then I realized the staying power of the primer... I dunno if you can see it clearly but the top pink streak is still there, albeit very light. The bottom primer-less streak has long gone due to my vicious rubbing.

So I tried it again, this time with a olive green eyeshadow. Left with primer, right without.

*rub rub with toilet paper*

Can see...? Left with primer, right without. I think this is more obvious. So the eyelid primer really has got staying power as it proclaims to have on the e.l.f website, but I'm still a bit apprehensive about it, so I will be testing it on my eyelids soon. The only major downside I've noticed so far is that the primer stinks. Literally, it is smelly. Smells like some kind of crude oil... but ahh! It's only S$3+ for a primer. I shall try it out and see how ti goes. ^^

And my sweet little kitty, Mocha, was waiting outside the bathroom when I was snapping pictures inside. Actually, sweet is an understatement, cos she can be pretty temperamental (unleashes her claws) but I love her too much~

I hope you guys enjoyed this post, cheers~ :]