CRAZY HAULS FROM SEPHORA AND RUSTANS

Okay, my biggest haulage for the week. :)

CRAAAAZZYYY HAULS! :)


A gift from mom. Nice 1920's red lippie from shiseido. :)

My biggest MAC haul to date. My hauls from the Pret-A-Papier collection. I'm so inlove with the collection. And I'm passing up To The Beach 'cos I'm almost broke. :p

The Chromagraphic eyeliner is not yet available here. :) I got the ff: MAC eyeshadows in Tissueweight and Memorabilia, MAC Powder Blush in Instant Chic, MAC Lipsticks in Kraft and Dressmaker, Dressmaker, and of course, the Chromagraphic liner. :)

Benefit goodies. Benetint and Dallas. And a free do it daily moisturizer

Look! Free Benefit catalogue. :)

Ralph Lauren romance always yours perfume and burt's bees royal jelly body lotion, courtesy of mom. :)

Smith's salve craze! :p

Finally, Sephora brand goodies. :)

MORE REVIEWS TO COME! :P

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: SEPHORA EYESHADOW IN SWIMMING POOL

Here's an initial review on SEPHORA EYESHADOW IN SWIMMING POOL

PLACE BOUGHT: SEPHORA, ION MALL, SINGAPORE
PRICE: AROUND 15- 19SGD
OTHER LOCATIONS: SEPHORA OUTLETS; SEPHORA ONLINE

THE VERDICT:

I've had this for a long time now but I don't really wear eyeshadow on a daily basis so it's really taking me some time before I can review all the eyeshadows that I buy.

Swimming pool is an aqua blue color with silver shimmer. It goes off shimmery, and is quite pigmented. When applied, there's little to no fall out. Consistency is buttery and smooth. It transfers and blends like a dream on your lids.

Swimming pool might also be the dupe of MAC's eyeshadow in Clarity. The only difference is, the former is matte.

Here's an EOTD using the eyeshadow. The photo actually made me realize that this can also be a dupe of MAC's Electric Eel!

Overall, Sephora exclusive products are pretty impressive. They're cheap, but their quality is great. By far, this is the only good store exclusive brand that I've tried. I want more of their mattifying powder 'cos I use mine up too quickly! I also want to try their primer too. I want to try every single Sephora exclusive cosmetic! :p

REVISITING: SEPHORA LIPSTICK

After I wore this lipstick once, It has fallen into obscurity in the deep, and dark depths of Karl. I never found myself reaching for it in my stash. In fact, I might've forgotten about it completely!

One major reason is, I don't like glossy lipsticks. It just melts on my lips, and I can always taste the lipstick in my mouth. I don't want to to die of lead poisoning! And the gloss made this lipstick look sheer. I like my lipsticks pigmented and bold thank you very much.

But when I was playing with my make- ups one day, It just showed itself to me. I found it underneath my stacks of lip liners and eyeliners. And to my surprise and dismay, the lipstick has melted. I was wondering why it melted when in fact, my make- ups are stored in my room, and would always experience air- conditioning when I'm home. It's either this lipstick's quality is really bad, or El Nino is really getting worse!

I opened the tube and it's soiled with melted fuschia pink lipstick. But It didn't melt totally. A good amount of the lipstick still remained solid.

After cleaning the tube, I tried the lipstick on my lips. And the melting may have done a good thing to the lipstick because it became much better as opposed to the first time I used it! The lipstick became more pigmented, and it just looked pretty. And with this on, I can say that my lips looked juicy, and smooch- worthy!

I'm definitely wearing this to my beach trip with hubby. I don't know what the heck happened, but it just became a must- wear shade this summer!

After all, there will always be some good in the bad. And this Sephora lipstick is the proof! :)

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: SEPHORA MINERAL POWDER FOUNDATION IN TAN

Here's an initial review on SEPHORA MINERAL POWDER FOUNDATION IN TAN

PRICE: 30- 40SGD

PLACE BOUGHT: SEPHORA, ION MALL, SINGAPORE

OTHER LOCATIONS: ALL SEPHORA OUTLETS; SEPHORA ONLINE

THE VERDICT:

I've had this powder for a looong time so finally, here's what I have to say.

Sephora Mineral logo

I love Sephora's powders. They're cheap yet very good for a store brand.

Let's first look at the packaging, It's fatter than MAC's Studio Fix. But I like that it has a separate compartment for the powder puff.

Here are pictures of the two sides of the powder puff.

The black part is used for heavy coverage. It's made of latex.

The white part is used for light coverage. It's made of a foam- like material.

The thing I like about this powder is, there's no need to wet the sponge so you can get a heavy coverage when needed, which is the case for my Prestige Wet/Dry powder foundation. I don't like it when I have to apply my foundation wet because my face itches, no matter what brand I'm using. And besides, the foundation, apart from literally looking thick, feels really thick.

Here's the foundation applied with the sponge intended for light coverage. It looks very natural and not cakey at all.

Another plus, this is from the Mineral Cosmetics line of Sephora. It's paraben- free, so you don't have to worry about harsh chemicals touching your skin. It's also unscented so you don't have to worry about perfume clogging your pores.

However, this is unavailable locally so you'd really have to ask your friends or relatives who live in the USA, Singapore, China, etc. so you could purchase one. And the downside of that is, you might end up buying the wrong shade. You can actually purchase through pre- ordering pools but, be ready to pay for the miscellaneous costs.

Will I buy this again? Yes, if I could find someone who'll go to a country where there's a Sephora store. And no, because I wouldn't pay too much for this one through pre- ordering pools. If the cost of this through pre- ordering will reach or almost reach the price of MAC Studio Fix, I'd just buy my HG MAC Studio Fix again. At least I don't have to wait for months, and I wouldn't worry about the powder getting cracked while in transit.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: SEPHORA LINER ELECTRO IN PURPLE

Here's an initial review on SEPHORA LINER ELECTRO IN PURPLE

PRICE: AROUND 15SGD

PLACE BOUGHT: SEPHORA, ION MALL, SINGAPORE

OTHER LOCATIONS: SEPHORA SHOPS; SEPHORA ONLINE

THE VERDICT:

Okay, so this is actually part of mum's Sephora hauls for me. She got these for me, but the color is her choice. She said that she wanted to give me something unique, and at the same time, something that she would use. Haha! Great strategy ma!

Here's a closer look of the product. The actual product is soft, not like those cheap and pencil- textured colored eyeliners.

Here's a swatch of the product. It's a violet shade with hints of gold glitters. Perfect for accentuating purple eye make- up or just simply adding some unusual color to your peepers.

In terms of quality, it glides easily and color pay- off is good.

Staying power is quite nice, though it might crease a bit if you don't have any eye primers on, which I experienced.

Will I buy this again. Prolly not. I'm not really a fan of colored eyeliners. I'm pretty fine with good ol' black and brown. :)

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: SEPHORA MATTIFYING COMPACT POWDER IN D35 WARM NATURAL

Here's an initial review on SEPHORA MATTIFYING COMPACT POWDER IN D35 WARM NATURAL

PRICE: 20SGD

PLACE BOUGHT: SEPHORA, ION MALL, SINGAPORE

OTHER LOCATIONS: SEPHORA OUTLETS; SEPHORA ONLINE

THE VERDICT:

I've already reviewed the quality of this powder so please do check the SEPHORA label. The review is mainly for the shade.

D35 Warm Natural is in the Doree or Gold shade range, which means it's made for girls with yellow or gold undertones. I'm quite suspecting that since it looks a bit white on the pan, it'll be a shade whiter than my skin tone.

But boy, I was wrong!

Check that it completely blended with my facial and neck skin! Can you tell that I'm wearing powder? It's even better than NC42! I think if I were to compare this to MAC's shade system, this is an NC43. NC42 has the tendency to become a tad lighter than my neck's shade, making me look as if I'm wearing powder, but it ain't too unnatural at all. But this just blended like second skin!

I'm willing to purchase more if I have the chance. Grrr... should've asked mom to buy me back- ups. :p

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: SEPHORA MATTIFYING COMPACT POWDER IN COGNAC ROSE

Here's an initial review on SEPHORA MATTIFYING COMPACT POWDER IN R40 COOL COGNAC

PRICE: 30SGD

PLACE BOUGHT: SEPHORA, ION MALL, SINGAPORE

OTHER LOCATIONS: SEPHORA ONLINE AND OTHER BRANCHES

SEPHORA DESCRIPTION:

A silky, lightweight, shine-reducing pressed powder.

What it is formulated to do:

Smooth and feather light, this pressed powder glides easily over bare skin or foundation, leaving a natural yet flawless appearance. The unique formulation includes finely milled talc and corn starch, for superb shine reduction, and Nylon 12, for excellent adherence and long wear. Plus it contains fruit and Jojoba oils, which softens skin by preventing essential cellular water loss.

What else you need to know:

The "R" and the "D" in the shade name reflects Sephora's French background. The "R" stands for Roseé (pink) and is for those with cool undertones. The "D" stands for Doreé (gold) and is for those with warm or yellow undertones.

THE VERDICT:

This is actually mom's powder. However, she found it too dark though I think it's her match. She has this fondness for powders that are a shade lighter than her skin tone. It's weird but, we have our own preference. :)

So she told me that I can have it.

The first time I applied this on my face, I found it a tad darker than my skin tone. It's like an NC43. So there's no way for this to be used neither by mom or me. I saw this lying around the dresser so I decided to experiment with it. I'm running out of setting powders and I don't have the budget for a MAC Blot for now so I decided to settle for this one.

Cognac rose is a medium dark shade with pink undertones. I try my best to always apply this lightly because the pink hue might be too obvious if I apply this heavily, making me look dark or burned.

Here's my face after 4 hours. It's kinda' moist due to sweat but my oilies are still kept at bay.

Overall, I like this because it kept my face matte for long in the same way my MAC Blot powder would.  And it's cheaper than my MAC Blot!

However, this is not available locally so if you have relatives who are abroad, make sure you ask them to get you this color. But, the only risk is, you might get the wrong shade because you won't be able to gauge your shade match accurately.

I also like the fact that I could use this for a long time because I would have to use this sparingly to set my foundation!

Next time, I'd get the D colors, which are made for warm and yellow undertones.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: SEPHORA LIPSTICK

Here's an initial review on SEPHORA LIPSTICK

PRICE: 20SGD (?)

PLACE BOUGHT: SEPHORA, ION MALL, SINGAPORE

OTHER LOCATIONS: SEPHORA STORES

THE VERDICT:

This is not actually mine, this is my mom's. I forgot the name of the shade so I'll get back to you on that.

Here's the swatch on my lips. It's a fuschia colored lipstick. Perfect for that pop of color on your lips.

Swatch on my skin

It does actually smell fruity, which I didn't like. I don't like fruit- scented lipsticks. They make me feel dizzy. Also, it does have a taste, "chemical- ish fruity" as how I would describe it, which I didn't like also.

Here's the lipstick on my lips. It gives a water shine coverage yet it does build up nicely. You can also choose to wear a sheer coverage, depending on your preference.

It just looks pretty natural when applied, despite the shocking pink color.

**Would I buy a Sephora lipstick again? Maybe yes, but I don't like this formulation since it's too watery. I might check the satin and matte variants. Hope they don't have a taste and a fruit scent like this one.