Canmake Cream Cheek 05 (Swatch and Review)


these blushers are constantly in the top 5 of the cosme ranking, and it has been that way since the year i bought it (back in 2010 OMG). it topped the chart in 2013, and now it's taking the number 3 spot. not bad huh!

canmake is a drugstore brand in japan, and for their petite price (japanese way of saying really affordable price), they offer really good quality products. these are sold in japan for a mere 580yen, of course it cost a lot more in hong kong (HKD$76) and singapore (~SGD$18), but it's still cheaper than many other brands.

in summary, these cream blushers are easy to blend, true to colour, and has buildable pigmentation. in fact, the colour is pretty strong, so you only need a tiny bit to give your face a healthy glow. the formula makes it a breeze to blend on my cheeks without any patchy-ness. it's super easy to work with even for beginners as you won't have to worry about leaving streaks or marks on your face if you don't work it in quick enough.


i got it in shade 05 sweet apricot. it's a coral shade.


please ignore the two tone differences, the product has aged so the colours appear darker on the untouched surface. the true colour is the well in the middle - a peachy coral shade.


concentrated swatch on the left, blended out on the right.

when applied on my hand, it is a healthy glow of reddish orange colour. it comes with glitters, however they're quite invisible when viewed from afar. i feel like the product goes on matte, but it doesn't mattify the face. it feels like a super finely milled powder after blending out with my fingers.


seen from three different angles to show the sheen and finish.


IMHO:
i can totally understand why the japanese love this product so much - the formula is easy to work with and the colour is just amazing. application is smooth as breeze as there're no issues with patchy-ness or product not staying on the skin nicely. the effect is super natural, just what the japanese likes. it actually makes my skin looks as though it's glowing from within. the fact that it's a cream (slightly moussy) formula makes it blend into my skin that much better to give off that illusion.

the product is also really pigmented such that i only need to tap my finger lightly to get a little product for my two cheeks. a little goes a long way (i learnt this the hard way).

i like to dab and tap this in a circular motion until it's spread throughout my cheeks. it would be best to apply this prior to any powder products. if you must use a powder foundation, all the more you should tap (instead of rub) the product onto your skin to prevent caking.

i used this a lot more in the past as compared to of late, i think it's time i show it more love again.

i bought this for HKD$76.

MAKEUP LOOK:


applied lightly.


applied very lightly.

Essence Sun Club Shimmer Bronzing Powder 10 Sunkissed (Swatch and Review)

definitely an impulse buy. i was lusting over a bronzer for some reason a while ago (and i still am). i'm not one who tans, so i'm actually looking for a shading powder.. but.. i must have gotten them mixed up. i ended up with this shimmery bronzing powder - not only does it NOT shade my face appropriately (as my skin isn't thaaaaat fair), it's also loaded with shimmer so... shading? nope. not gonna happen.

essence is pretty new in singapore, however i've seen them online before. they originated from germany and it's aim is to provide affordable and trendy makeup. it's so affordable that.. this purchase was made entirely on impulse, and that happens very rarely to me because i usually think thrice before buying anything cosmetics. at SGD$5.50, i didn't see any reason to NOT give it a try. even if it doesn't work well as a shading powder for me, i'm sure i'd find some other use for it.


ooh-la-la, there's a sexy lady embossed onto the powder.


i got it in 10 sunkissed meant for people with fair skin.


in the pan it looks like a beige with a yellow undertone.


concentrated swatch on the left, blended out on the right.

when swatched, it appears a little more orange-y on my skin. when swatched heavily, the colour is quite striking. however, it blends out to a subtle sunkissed glow. this product is pearly AND shimmery. however, the micro shimmer is really fine and isn't captured by the camera. the sparkles is quite subtle and really very very fine (when i rotate my hands, i can see tiny specks of light being reflected back, it's actually kinda pretty).

the powder is very smooth and soft to touch, a lot of product comes off by swirling my brush (and finger) over it!

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: this product is scented - smells like vanilla to me. i don't like it. but it wears off after a while. i don't enjoy my face product smelling so artificially sweet.


seen from three different angles to show the sheen and finish.


IMHO:
while this product is definitely not suitable to give me more defined cheekbones, it works as a blusher for me! that is if i used my brightening foundation prior to that to lighten my skin tone a little first. otherwise, it looks too close to my skin tone and i look a little washed out - but with shimmer.

maybe i can get it to work by going really strong handed when applying this along the hollows of my cheek? but.. i'd not risk that. i think this powder can be used on my body to give it that glow! i've yet to try that though.

now i wish i've gotten this a shade darker, perhaps it can give me the effect that i was looking for. still on the search for a shading powder.

i bought this for SGD$5.50.

HOW TO: Glowy Skin With Powder Foundation (ft. My Go To MakeUp)

i put together this video because i struggled with unnatural and flat looking skin before i adopted this method. everything is pretty much trail and error and this is what i've got so far! i love the glowy effect these powder products gave me! it can't compare to the effects of liquid and moisturizing products, but i can't always rock those looks as it'll just melt off in Singapore's climate.

powder foundation is in fact one of the fastest thing that i can apply onto my face (as compared to liquid products), and i've found that a flat top brush gives me the best finish as of now. the buffing motion probably polished my face somewhat, the powder are sticking really close to my skin (thanks fo the moisturizing step prior to that) and it's pushed into every visible pore.

the secret to getting glowy skin is none other than the highlighter (and a shimmery blush too). the highlighter makes our skin shiny and a little more specular-reflective. i'm not saying matte foundation powder don't reflect light - everything that you can see (that don't produce its own light) reflects light, but powder foundation tends to produce scattered light, whereas highlighters produce more of a specular reflection. IN LAYMAN'S TERM, highlighter is making our skin more "mirror like".

i think an image would explain this better.


image taken from the world wide web.

as always, be creative! if you only have a matte blush, use the blusher before the highlighter! the highlighter will go on top of the blusher to give you that glow.

and i just had to throw in my "daily" 10 minutes makeup look. i call it daily because that's my default look if i'm not intending to look fancy, i would have called it my auto-pilot look but i'm not sure if anyone can relate to that. it took longer in the video (like 18 minutes?) because of the extra cuts. otherwise it's just 10 usually!

watch the video here!



PRODUCTS USED____________________________________________________________


from left to right, clockwise:
1. NATURE REPUBLIC super origin brightening CC cream
2. KATE mineral foundation powder (OC-B)
3. KATE gradical eyes A (BR-1)
4. KOJI eyelash curler (73)
5. BOURJOIS little round pot blusher (32 ambre d'or)
6. MAYBELLINE masterliner (brown)
7. HEROINE MAKE volume & curl mascara
8. REVLON just bitten balm stain (040 rendezvous)
9. L'OREAL lucent magique highlighter pen (fair)
10. CANMAKE highlighter (05)
11. KATE designing eyebrow N (EX-4)

BRUSHES USED


face: elf powder brush
eyebrow: kate eyeliner brush (cut into an angled brush by me)


the elf powder brush is a flat top brush, awesome for buffing in products.



PICTORIAL_________________________________________________________________ 

i just put the more important things into image form for easy reference!

BASE MAKEUP:




1. FOUNDATION
i tend to apply foundation on on the centre of my face for a more natural effect. that already helps to bring the centre of the face up due to the brightening effect of the foundation (i use a tone lighter than my skin tone). buff it out in small circular motions for a polished and tight fitting look.

2. HIGHLIGHTER
buff the highlighter onto the highest point of your face, namely the T zone and along the cheekbone. without makeup, these places will appear lighter in colour due to the amount of light they reflect. since we "flattened" our face by unifying the colour on our face, we need to lift these places up.

i think pearly highlighters are more natural as they only reflect more light under direct light source. if you want a more theatrical look, you can opt for a light coloured concealer to do the job.

buff it in for a tighter fit, the effect will be more obvious than if you were to use a fluffy brush to dust the highlighter over your skin.

EYE MAKEUP:


click on image to enlarge!

this is my most used colour placement. i tend to use this for most of my eyeshadow quads:
1. lightest colour as a base,
2. medium colour on the outer half for depth,
3. darkest colour along outer half of my lash line, blended upwards for a gradient effect, same colour applied on the outer third of my lower lash line too.
4. highlight colour either on the centre of my lid or just my inner corners.

FINISHED LOOK____________________________________________________________


because i find it hilarious to do a side by side comparison :X


flashed from the front.
the highest point of my cheek is being brought "forward" as it looks lighter in colour.


natural lighting from way above me.


flashed on the side of my face.


natural light on the side of my face.


flash on the side of my face. see that "C area"? that's the highlighter! you don't see it in the previous photos because pearly highlighters only reflect light when it receives a direct light source.


natural light. i think the highlighter helped to make my cheeks look fuller and more three dimensional!

hope you found this useful for days when you're rushing but still wanna look good!

xoxo
karman

Media Cheek Color A PK-1 (Swatch and Review)

i used to think that we only need one blusher, but i was wrong. i had a coral blusher prior to this, i thought i'd pick up a pink since i never tried pink. and i thought the japanese models carried baby pink on their face really nicely!

media is a brand under kanebo, it's a drugstore brand so it's price is really affordable. surprisingly, this is targeted at mature woman, so the finish of all of their product are very natural - colours are soft and diffused, not overly shimmery and glittery.

i feel that the quality of the product far exceeds the price of the blusher. i didn't want my blusher to be super pigmented as i feel that a sheer product gives me more control over the colour intensity. the powder is soft and is easily picked up. enriched with collagen as its moisturizing component, this blush claims to help with the moisture retention of your makeup. it contains micro pearl powder, giving it a very subtle and natural sheen to it when applied to my cheeks.


it comes with a brush (made of horse hair?), and i love using it! soft and very fluffy! for the price of HKD$49, you get 3.5g of product and a brush. why not?




in the pan, it looks like a beautiful reddish-pink. not too light like a pastel pink.


concentrated swatch on the left, blended out on the right.

when applied on the hand, it appears lighter than in the pan (maybe because it is not constrasted against my skin).
the pink looks more cool toned on my skin, and that pearly sheen is more obvious in this colour than the OR-1. there are micro shimmers when viewed very closely, however they are almost invisible to naked eye when viewed from a normal distance.


seen from three different angles to show the sheen and finish.

IMHO:
this is a nifty little blush that i enjoy using a lot. the fact that it's pearly means i can skip highlighter on my cheeks. this gives me a very natural glow. it's not overly pearly so i don't shine like a disco ball! i can use this to create soft romantic looks, or cute looks depending on where i apply this blush.

what i like the most is the brush that came with it. sometimes i use it to apply highlighter as well because it's soft and fluffy enough to disperse the product well. it's amazingly soft, so it's really nice for blending things out.

the only thing i wished for is.. a nicer packaging :X well, the packaging has no ultility and does not affect the quality of the blush at all, but i just like to see pretty things..! and the packaging is too simple to me. no frills design - hence the no frills price too.

i bought this for HKD$49 in hongkong's aster.

MAKEUP LOOK:


soft romantic: applied across my cheek bones.


young and fun: applied on the apples of my cheek, close to my eyes.


japanese gyaru style: applied across my cheek, as well as near my eyes.


used as an eyeshadow (together with OR-1)!

simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser (Review)

perhaps you've seen my old review on this cream, perhaps not. doesn't matter! i just want to add on to the previous review with more photos.

even though i wasn't quite happy with the ingredients lists being SO LONG despite the brand making me believe that it contains just a few ingredients, i have to say that i've been a fan of this cream for a good 6 years now. i've never come across a cream so moisturizing yet so light weight.


more information on the back of the bottle.

as the ingredients weren't printed on the bottle, i found them off the simple official website

Aqua, Glycerin, Paraffinum Liquidum, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Cetyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Panthenol, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Carbomer, Potassium Hydroxide, Bisabolol, Methylparaben, Pentylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Propylparaben, Lactic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Mica, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, Serine, Sorbitol, Urea, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Allantoin

the opening of the bottle is a small hole that dispense the product just right.


it's quite viscous - it can hold a shape for a while!


spreads out to be absorbed quickly.

IN A NUTSHELL

texture: viscous, holds its shape until you blend it.
after-feel: moisturized and hydrated. not sticky at all.
fragrance: not scented.

IMHO

i make sure i have a back up of this cream with me even though i have so many other creams to use. i used to use this at night when i sleep with a/c on, but these days i prefer to use it before my makeup because it makes my skin so hydrated and smooth, my makeup goes on easier too.

perfect for hot and humid weathers, however it may not be sufficient for cold and dry weathers.

VERDICT

if i constantly repurchase it, i think it means something :)

i bought this for SGD$6.50 from some toiletry shop in chinatown. it usually cost SGD$13 in watsons or guardian.

Fall Makeup #2: Korean Ulzzang Style Burgundy Eyes

i must be honest here: i purchased the etude house look at my eyes cafe eyeshadow in PK004 thinking it's a burgundy shade because it look like that via my monitor (i'm wrong). it turned out to be more of a wine shade, meaning it has more purple than red to make it burgundy-ish. just when i thought i can't rock this colour (because it gave me a case of bruised eye look), i managed to find a way to use it. it has gotta be korean style because by confining the colour within the eyelid fold, the wine shade suddenly look gorgeous instead of bruise looking!

you may wonder, what exactly is burgundy? it's just another name for ox blood (in the west). it's a reddish brown colour.



by mixing in some brown, it can make the wine look more burgundy-ish. this can also work for red/brown colour combination. pink brown may be stretching the limit but you can give that a try!

the entire point of this video is to show you how you can make use of whatever colour you have on hand to achieve a burgundy colour instead of buying one. well, no one usually buys a wine eyeshadow anyway, if you don't own one, i got you covered. you can use a lipstick or blush from the reddish/wine-ish spectrum. i think the chances of someone owning a lipstick in this shade is way higher than owning an eyeshadow in this shade. if you wanna learn how to work an lipstick as an eyeshadow, you can watch this tutorial where i used my wine lipstick for the look.




i illustrated the products above because i don't own so many colours, yet. :P



the end result! you can't really see the colours when my eyes are open. :P

watch the video tutorial here!



PRODUCTS USED____________________________________________________________


from left to right, clockwise:
1. revlon nearly naked 020 light pale
2. innisfree creamy tint lip mousse 05 vitamin red
3. etude house look at my eyes cafe PK004
4. kate colorcious diamond BR-1
5. heroine make volume and curl mascara
6. maybelline eye studio creamy gel eyeliner 02 brown
7. kate designing eyebrow N EX-4
8. maybelline lashionista mascara
9. nature republic brightening CC cream
10. revlon super lustrous matte 010 wine not
11. media cheek color A PK-1
12. etude house precious mineral any cushion W13 natural beige
13. lancome blush subtil (rose sable)
14. canmake eye nuance 13

BRUSHES USED:

from left to right:
1. elf studio complexion brush
2. essence eyeshadow brush
3. generic eyeshadow brush (flat and has a rectangular surface for picking up colours)
4. maybelline eyeliner brush
5. kate eyeliner brush (cut into an angled brush for eyebrow)

EYESHADOW COLOURS


from the canmake eye nuance (13) - gold


etude house look at my eyes cafe (PK004) - wine



from the kate colorcious diamond (BR-1) - shimmery peach and dark brown

COLOURS AT A GLANCE

the combination of colours for this look!

PICTORIAL_________________________________________________________________

simple pictorial for the eye to supplement the video! i've marked out all the different areas for different products!

FACE:

keep it hydrated and moisturized as fall tends to be drier. the brightening effect of the foundation allowed me to skip out on concealer this time round.

i went for two layers of foundation over my eyes to prepare it for the reddish/purplish colours as they tend to look like a bruise on my yellow skin.

EYEBROWS:

straighter eyebrows for a more korean look! i've done a tutorial on this before already so i won't go into much details.

remember to contour your nose after all that brightening.


EYES:

a little note: KEEP THE EYESHADOW WITHIN YOUR EYELID FOLDS.

this is the only reason why the wine shade can look good on my eyes. if i did the smokey effect like i did for my previous look, the purplish tone will seriously make me look like i was punched.

the magical step is probably when we add the dark brown to the wine, it changes it into a burgundy shade :D

extend the eyeliner according to your original eye shape (extend it horizontally when your eyes are half open). if you need a more detailed guide, you can find the eyeliner in my eyeliner tutorial. it's a combination of the "natural" and the "kpop" eyeliner.

use the glittery shade to help blend out any edges or boundaries (as shown in step 9).

for this look i used two mascaras - the waterproof volumnizing one for holding the curls, and a lengthening one to lengthen. i didn't use the latter on its own as fibre mascara tend to have a sucky holding powder. using the waterproof mascara as a base helps to hold the curls in place before i load up on the fibres.


click on image to enlarge!

CHEEKS AND LIPS:

i use two tone for both the cheeks and lips.

for the cheeks, it's baby pink on the apples of the cheeks and a darker rose shade on the outer half of the cheeks, swept along my cheek bone.

the lips uses a red as a base and the center of the lip is darkened with a wine lipstick. the red was too bright originally, while there are no rules saying i can't wear red in fall, i wanted to darken it just a little to suit the mood. adding the darker colour in the inner half of the lips is a good way to do that while retaining some youthfulness to the overall look.

FINISHED LOOK____________________________________________________________



i'm wearing my geo angel brown for a slight enlarging effect.









hope you like this look and tutorial! I LOVE IT! well, there isn't a time i don't like my look, right? hahaha! tweak this look to suit yourself!

xoxo
karman