NOTW: O.P.I Mini Mariah Carey

Hi everyone,

Long time I didn't update my Nail of the Week post :( But today I'll review one of recent O.P.I's collection. It is O.P.I Mariah Carey Spring 2013. The collection was actually released in January 2013, so it should be available now wherever O.P.I products are sold in your area.

There are 8 colors available in the collection. Four of them are 'studio' shades, and the rest are 'stage' shades or well known as their liquid sand polishes. I was wondering why they are called as liquid sand polish? Apparently because they have a sand textured matte finish. 

Here are their names:
Studio shades (normal shades)

1. O.P.I Anti Bleak

2. O.P.I Butterfly Moment

3. O.P.I Sprung

4. O.P.I Pink Yet Lavender

Stage shades / Liquid Sand

5. O.P.I Get Your Number

6. O.P.I Can't Let Go 

7. O.P.I The Impossible 

8. O.P.I Stay The Night

Since I actually purchased some of them, I'll eventually write the review in my next NOTW post. However, for today I'll talk more specific about the O.P.I Mini Mariah Carey. As some of you might already know that if you bought the mini pack, you will get 4 mini bottles of 3,75 ml size, all in different colors. 
From this O.P.I Mariah Carey mini pack, you will get the complete Liquid Sand shades: O.P.I Get Your Number, O.P.I Can't Let Go, O.P.I The Impossible, and O.P.I Stay The Night.

Now, let's see how I like all the colors!!

O.P.I Get Your Number, is a sheer blue jelly base with micro and small round glitter.

O.P.I Can't Let Go is a purple with slightly blue tone base. It also has micro- glitter and some medium silver hexagon glitter.

O.P.I The Impossible is a red orange-y jelly base with silver micro-glitter, medium silver round and hexagon glitter. It was claimed that O.P.I The Impossible supposedly to have the holographic star glitter mixed in, but I miss the stars. I tried to dig into the polish but I got none :(

O.P.I Stay The Night is a sheer black base with bright pink micro-glitter.

Formula

In my opinion, the formula on all of them was great. They applied very smoothly with no streaks. Some of them have more sheer consistency, named O.P.I Stay The Night and O.P.I Get Your Number. I normally applied up to 3-4 layers to get them nicely opaque, while the other two only need 2 coats. They also dry pretty fast. 

L to R: 
O.P.I Stay The Night, O.P.I The Impossible, O.P.I Can't Let Go, O.P.I Get Your Number
under natural light, with no top coat

For its Liquid Sand finish, I really like how it turned out. They are meant to be worn alone with no top coat. It looks and feels like actual sand with some sparkles on it. I found that the effect looks the best in O.P.I Stay The Night because the contrast of the base and glitter color is more obvious. For others, I feel the base color might be too opaque to let the glitters shine through.

L to R: 

O.P.I Stay The Night, O.P.I The Impossible, O.P.I Can't Let Go, O.P.I Get Your Number
under natural light, with a layer of top coat

Meanwhile if you love the glossy and sparkly nails, you still could add a layer of top coat afterward, and it just completely changed the look. 

Overall, I'm really pleased with this new innovation in the nail industry. I know that O.P.I have added a new Liquid Sand color in their newest collection, O.P.I Oz & The Wizard Disney. If you are curious with this trend or bored with the normal polish texture, you should give this mini pack a try!!! ^^

Have you tried this polishes before?? How do you like it??

Amour,

Review: Maybelline Dream LumiTouch Highlighting Concealer

Dear girls,

Oh my God... It has been ages since I wrote my last blog post. Can't believe it!!

I'm truly sorry for this delay. Lately, I had a lot of things happened in my life, that's why I was MIA.

In order to pay back, today I gonna share one of my most favorite product from Maybelline. It is Maybelline Dream LumiTouch Highlighting Concealer. If you are a fan of beauty gurus in YouTube, as I am, I'm sure you have heard so many raves about this particular product. I was actually had this highlighting concealer from last year and kind of forgot to talk about it. Recently I have purchased another one, and now I'm going to tell you all about it.

Maybelline Dream LumiTouch Highlighting Concealer is a combined gel-based concealer and highlighter. This product is really good for covering redness and gives illumination effect to your face. As concealer, this product is very hydrating and blend really well into the skin. Importantly, it doesn't give cake-y result. And as a highlighter, it gives a natural shine to your face where you applied on. The sheen leaves your under eye area and cheek bones with a nice lifting effect. There are 6 shades available in the market: Radiant, Ivory, Buff, Nude, Beige, Honey

Why You'll Love it??
A brighter idea in concealers:
• Gel-based formula diffuses light to provide on-the-spot perfection in just one touch
• Illuminates as it conceals
• Dermatologist, Allergy Tested
• Non-comedogenic
• Suitable for sensitive skin and for all skin types (info by maybelline.com)

Ingredients: 

Aqua/Water/Eau, Cyclopentasiloxane, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Glycerin, Sorbitan Isostearate, Propylene Glycol, Titanium Dioxide, Ozokerite, Phenoxyethanol, Magnesium Sulfate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Methyl Paraben, Acrylates Copolymer, Alumina, Butylparaben, Aluminum Hydroxide, Tocopherol, Silica, Chamomila Recutita Extract/ Matricaria Flower Extract.

Packaging

It comes in the pen style packaging with brush applicator, which is really easy to use for applying under the eyes and around the nose. After dab it on, I usually blend it with my ring fingers. This product is really practical and convenient to bring along during traveling.

Formula

It is claimed as a gel-based concealer, and the formula is very light but creamy and doesn't flake or dry up at all. I got mine in the color Radiant/ Eclatant, and the shade blend really well with my skin. In my opinion, this particular shade will match with any skin color. 

How To Use

(info by maybelline.com)

For your first use, twist the pen-like bottom of Dream LumiTouch Highlighting Concealer around nine to ten times, dispersing product into the brush. 

1. To Cover Imperfections

Apply product to the back of your hand, working it into the bristles of the brush for even application. Then, apply on under eye circles and other imperfections and blend it.

2. To Brighten Up

To brighten and open up the face, dot the highlighting concealer along your cheeckbones and down the bridge of your nose and blend. To open up the eyes for a well-rested look, apply in the inner corner of the eyes and under the arch of your brow and blend with tip of finger.

3. To make lips look fuller

Outline lips with lumi concealer and blend.

Coverage and Staying Power

In terms of coverage, I would say that it has light coverage. The coverage is buildable but it won't completely cover my undereye circles as I hoped. But it works quite well to cover some of my blemishes. Besides, it lasts all day long without need of touching up.

Price

You might find this product at Walmart or Amazon at USD 6.44 and has the same quality as higher priced alternative products. It is such a great value!!!

Overall thoughts

I heard that this product is often compared to YSL's Touche Éclat Luminizing Concealer. I have never tried the YSL version yet, so I can't say much about the difference. However if this product is comparable to YSL, that means this product is worth to try/buy. 

For me, overall this is a great product. It is moisturizing and the staying power is unbeatable. The shade is also easy to blend and the coverage is buildable. Last but not least, it definitely illuminates naturally and give a fresh and awake look for a whole day long. To let you know that I have drier skin and it work perfect for me. I think if you even have oily skin this will be fine too.

Definitely recommend you all to try this product!!! <3 <3 <3

Have you ever tried this product before?? If you do, how do you like it??!!

Amour,

NOTW Valentine's Day 2013: Love Is In The Air

Hello everyone ^^

First of, Happy Chinese New Year for all of you who celebrated <3 Hope you all had a wonderful celebration and may the year of snake will be better in everything :D

Moreover, I do apologize that I was a bit behind for publishing blog posts lately. I was overwhelmed with my work and personal matter. But I always try my best to spare some time to write a blog post at least once a week. Today's post will be another nail art tutorial, dedicated specially for this coming Valentine's day <3

I can't believe that Valentine's day is only 2 days away. I know that most of you might spend this special day with your beloved partners. It could be your boy/girlfriend, husband/wife, family members or best friends. Therefore, to make it more special let's make something fun with our nails too ^^ 

The theme of this nail is still all about love and hearts, and I named this design as "Love Is In The Air", because I personally believe that love could be everywhere, just like air. 

Products used:
1. Base coat and top coat
2. Light blue polish - China Glaze Flyin' High
3. White polish - Orly French Manicure Nail Lacquer
4. Red polish - Revlon 745 Frankly Scarlet
5. Dotting tools
6. Blank paper

Tutorial:
1. Apply base coat to protect your natural nails
2. Apply your choice of base color, for example light blue color to represent the sky
3. After applying your base color, start drawing clouds.
a/ Using a dotting tool dipped into the white polish, start to create white dot next to each other until it looks like cloud
b/ Repeat the same steps to create random other clouds
4. Add little hearts between clouds using dotting tool dipped into red polish. Place two small red dots next to each other until it looks like heart.
5. <<Optional>> You could add fimo (heart shaped with love sign) for nail decoration, like what I did on my both thumbs.
6. Let it dry for 30 minutes, then finish with top coat to seal your design.
7. And voilà...you are good to go with this cute Valentine's nail!!!

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial and having a lovely Valentine's Day celebration; whether you are going on a date with special someone or just chilling with your family and friends at home, you can still have fun look on your nails, just for you :)

Happy Valentine's Day <3<3<3

Amour,

Review: NYX Pumpkin Pie Round Lipstick

Dear lovelies,

Today's post will be my first review about lipstick. Honestly I don't wear lipstick on my daily basis. But if I do, I tend to pick more nude and natural shades. Therefore, today I will share one of my nude lipstick from NYX. Yes, NYX again!! Hahaha.. because as you know, I just can't get enough of NYX products ^^

It is NYX Round Lipstick- Pumpkin Pie (LSS630). I have actually picked up other shades too and generally impress with NYX's Round Lipsticks due to price, color selections, and color payoff. I have also noticed that Pumpkin Pie has particularly snatched everyone's heart for nude choices. So, I was so happy when I finally picked it up.

Packaging

It comes in a small and convenient black tube with the shade name is written on top of the cap. The base of the lipstick shows the color/shade you get.  This is really effective because you don't have to open the cap to see the actual shade. 

Ingredients

Bees wax, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) wax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelila) wax, Ceresin, Microcrystaline Wax, Polyethylene, Octyldodeanol, Polyisobutene, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Diisostearyl Malate, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Isostearyl Isostearate. bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipade-2, Tocopheryl Acetate, B.H.A., Fragrance. MAY CONTAIN: Mica (CI77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI77891), Iron Oxide Red (CI77491), Iron Oxide Yellow (CI77492), Iron Oxide Black (CI77499), D&C Red No. 6 (CI15850), D&C Red No. 7 (CI15850), D&C Red No. 28 (CI145410), D&C Red No. 36 (CI12085), FD&C Yellow No. 5 Al Lake (CI19140), FD&C Blue No. 1 Al Lake (CI42090).

Color, Texture and Pigmentation

Pumpkin Pie is a peachy nude color. It has semi matte finish which looks natural and wearable for anytime. The pigmentation is rather light with one swipe, and you really had to layer it on to build up the color. But I'm totally like it because I don't need to worry if the color will look tacky on my lips. The texture is creamy and smooth but slightly dry and doesn't moisturize enough. I must apply lip balm before put this lipstick on to avoid dry lips with crack.  The wear time was also quite good - two (2) to three (3) hours depending on how much you are eating/drinking/talking during that time.

Price

Considering the price and the color selection, I couldn't resist to pick some shades from them. It retails around IDR 47,000 or USD 4.00.

Overall thoughts

Before I continue, a little heads up for you that actually each of NYX Round Lipstick has slightly different texture. I bought other two shades and they are not as dry as Pumpkin Pie. I have no idea if in this case I unluckily got the bad quality one. Another concern is that most of NYX Round Lipstick tend to be easy to melt due to the heat. If it happened to get your lipstick start to melt/break, put it immediately in the refrigerator for few minutes to avoid further breaks. 

Other than that, Pumpkin Pie shade is really beautiful and natural. The application is very smooth, creamy, and buildable. Not forget to mention, that the price is not expensive at all. 

Lastly, I'd recommend using this particular lipstick on top of lip balm and maybe clear lip gloss to seal it and make it work a lot better. And after all, I would still buy this again just for the price and colour.

Let me know which shades of NYX Round Lipsticks that you adore the most??!!

Amour,

NOTW: Essie Like To Be Bad

Hi pretties!!

Another NOTW post for you today! Lately I often painted my nails with more bold statement colors. But for this week I want to wear more natural shade. There's nothing more natural for girl to have healthy and good looking manicure with soft and delicate nail color. That's why I'm rocking soft pastel pink nail this week.

-under natural light-

My choice of soft pink polish this week is Essie Like To Be Bad. It is one of Essie's Wedding Collection for 2012. There are actually four shades released from the collection which are mostly pastel-y colors. All of them are very girly and romantic shades.

-indoor-

Like To Be Bad is a pretty soft pastel pink with slightly pink shimmer. I would say it is a 'barely there' pink shade; not a statement color but gives you a polished look manicure. However, it might look a little bit peachy on me. But overall, the shade is really girly and versatile for everyone on any occasions, including your big wedding day. 

Besides,  it has a nice formula with semi sheer consistency. I normally applied three coats to get nice full opacity. There was slight streaking, but it still could be controlled. However, I was a bit disappointed with how the shimmer seen on the nail. If you look at the bottle, you should notice the gorgeous micro shimmer in it, but in fact after you put it on the nail, the shimmer is hardly shown. Such a bummer!! Other than that, the finish was perfectly shiny and glossy. 

I would recommend to try this polish especially for fan of pink polishes and pastel-y colors. It is such a sweet and delicate color to add in your collection ^^

You'll never go wrong with this! What do you think of the shade?? Love it or hate it??!!

Amour,

Review: Etude House Drawing Eyebrow - 01 Dark Brown

Dear beauties,

In this post, I'm gonna share my love for this particular eyebrow product. Honestly, I has never done anything to my eyebrow before, kind of just let it grow. I got them shaped few times only if there was a special occasion where I should go to get my makeup done. But lately I'm really liking to do my eyebrow on my own. I like to search about how to get the perfect eyebrow shape or how to fill in my eyebrow. That's why I picked up this product. This is my first eyebrow product I own. Overall, I am really impressed with the product. And now, I always feel my make up hasn't finished yet once I forgot to fill my eyebrow with Etude House Drawing Eyebrow.

Product description

Silky smooth eyebrow pencil fills in, defines and shapes brows to perfection. Ultra-fine tip lightly deposits pigments, mimicking actual brow hair for a natural look that highlights the sparkle of your eyes. For natural looking brows, apply liner with precise and short strokes, following the natural growth of your brows

Available (Net Wt. 0.2g) :
No. 01 Dark Brown
No. 02 Ash Brown
No. 03 Brown
No. 04 Dark Gray

No. 05 Gray

No. 06 Black

I got my Etude House Drawing Eyebrow in Dark Brown (01) shade. It is an auto pencil eyebrow that comes with the brush at the other side. It is really easy to use, especially for beginners like me.

Likes:

• It has medium pigmentation which is best for enhancing eyebrow.
• It leaves a natural color to eyebrow, without make it appear too thick.
• Smooth texture.
• The shape of the pencil is really effective to fill in brows. Its triangular shape make it easy to use.

• For particular shade I got, dark brown, it looks like a bit greyish. But it's actually the perfect shade for my eyebrow, since currently I also have dark brown hair.

• The packaging is practical and completed with a brush at the other side to tidy up the eyebrow.
• It stays on and doesn't fade during the day.
• Nothing can beat the price. It is really cheap yet good quality. Besides, you could actually buy the refill separately in certain stores.

Dislikes:

The only downside for me is the size of the pencil. It comes with really little product. I nearly finish it after using everyday for a month. I wish the refill is a bit longer than that and could last for over than a month.  

Repurchase???

Definitely. It has become my favorite eyebrow pencil. I have actually repurchased the refill in same shade after I finished my first one last month.  

I highly recommend Etude House Drawing Eyebrow, especially for beginners like myself who still trying to figure out what to do with our eyebrow. It is cheap, easy to use, and amazing finish..Great investment!!! <3

Do you have any suggestions for good recommended eyebrow kit?! Please let me know below ^^

Amour,

NOTW: O.P.I Color So Hot It Berns

Hi girls,

Today I'm gonna feature one of my all time favorite red polish!! It is another polish from O.P.I called O.P.I Color So Hot it Berns. It was one of their Swiss Collection for Fall 2010. I know that this polish might be outdated if I just talk and rave about it now. But believe me, there is nothing's late if you just discover this polish! You should definitely grab it and I'm sure you will love the shade. Now, let's jump right into the review and you will see why I pick this particular polish as my favorite red.

Swatch of one coat O.P.I Color So Hot It Berns

Color So Hot It Berns is a pure bright red creme, slightly towards to warmer red. This color is absolutely perfect for spring and summer time. I think it is a versatile color and would look great on most people. Every time I wore this shade, I often got compliments. It looks great on and such a classic shade, yet sexy!

You don't need to worry about the formula. It is fantastic!! It has opaque and creamy finish only in one coat of polish. However, I normally put two coats on for most O.P.I polishes for better lasting and coverage. Besides, there is no streaking whatsoever, it applies smoothly and flawless. It also lasted for quite a long time without chipping.

I highly recommend this polish if you are looking for pure bright red shade. I know that most of O.P.I polish is slightly into higher nail polish brand, but I guarantee that this polish is absolutely worth the price. Even if you ask me if I only could get one polish from O.P.I, I definitely will pick O.P.I Color So Hot It Berns. It just the perfect shade for me, doesn't look tacky, just bright and beautiful. Moreover, this polish will be great color for this coming Chinese New Year and Valentine's day <3

Last but not least, let me know below if you only could pick one polish from O.P.I, which shade/polish would you pick?? Or if you have any favorite red polish suggestion from other brand, please let me know in the comment below. Thank you all for reading through.

Amour,