I was planning on something else for today, but a long afternoon rehearsal followed by spicy lip-licking-delicious Korean food left me feeling pretty tired.
Here is a quick NOTD post instead!


Revlon Nail Enamel Revlon Red has been around forever.
This is definitely a cult classic that everyone should take a look at least once in her makeup life.

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter is an excellent drugstore range, although I am not entirely happy that the texture and the color payoff is quite inconsistent.
I currently have six of them after giving a couple away and repurchasing the favorites.
The initial swatch post was full of my excitement for the new drugstore gems of the moment but not all that accurate in colors due to the lighting condition, so I wanted to do a new one.

I like to rotate my skincare regimen based on the active ingredients. I usually go back and forth between anti-wrinkle/firming products and brightening (or "whitening", some say) ones.
Seeing any visible difference from a skincare product is a rare thing to begin with, but brightening skin tone (not to mention erasing dark spots!) is a notion that is plain ludicrous.
Having said that, I still use brightening products periodically because I also know from my experience (although most of it was frustrating) that it does make difference if I use them consistently and correctly.

After another term with Avène retin-aldehyde products, I chose Kose Sekkisei line for my following brightening regimen.
Kose Sekkisei line has been around close to 30 years now, which was the main reason for my choice.
That kind of thing speaks louder than anything, and I didn't mind having pretty blue things on my vanity for a while, either.

Here is my second holiday look for you.
I wanted a sweet "barbie" like look using lots of pink, but also aimed it to be more age-appropriate and refined.

Collective swatch time again!
Lately I am having so much fun swatching my pretties and adding texts on the images.
(This post is picture heavy!)

Today I have some stila eyeshadows for you.
They are not my absolute favorites anymore because I slightly outgrew the buttery soft texure, but I still think they are one of the finest. Many makeup beginners would find them very useful as I did in my early days.
I love how easy it is to blend the color in. I rarely experience harsh edges with stila eyeshadows. Some of you might find the pigmentation is not as strong as MAC or Urban Decay shadows for example, but stila eyeshadows clearly differ from (some of) those chalky drugstore ones.
Most of them work wonderfully as all-over-wash colors for everyday use.

While I am perfectly happy with my L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow collection, there still are a few colors I want from the higher-end-more-squeeshy-soufflé-type eyeshadows.
Chanel Illusion D'ombre Mirifique was one of them, so I didn't really have to think twice when I saw it from Liz's blog sale a while ago.

LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer has easily achieved the holy grail status for me, which is rather ground breaking since I had been deeply devoted to Too Faced Shadow Insurance.
I think I have used two of the original Shadow Insurance and one Candlelight, and that is a long time if you know how little you need for each day.

I really enjoyed the soft shimmery finish and light color of the Candlelight, but the shimmer sometimes interferes with my eyeshadow colors (and that's actually the idea of it) and it started flaking off a little at the end (which is perfectly understandable).
I was so ready to go back to the original Shadow Insurance, but then I saw the price was dramatically increased. I think they adjusted the price twice while I was going through those three tubes. Again, it is understandable since we are looking at a long time here, but it was too much this time.

Feeling a bit betrayed, I started looking at other options.
Enter LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer.
After all, it was a good thing Too Faced raised the price of the Shadow Insurance.

Lately I have not been very inspired to try new makeup looks but also feel bored of the same neutral combinations of the norm, so I decide to push myself a little by putting some holiday-appropriate(?) looks together.
(Gosh, I don't know why I always feel I need to explain the reason. It is "No sin for a woman's transformation", after all.)

But then, it is not much of a transformation. I just used two colors that I wouldn't normally wear together.
The image of "Chocolate and Berries" came to my mind, and I thought this scrumptious dessert combo sounded quite "holiday". :)

Many people say L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder is almost identical to the much-raved Giorgio Armani Maestro which is revolutionarily different from traditional foundation. I guess I wanted to experience "the difference" without paying too much for it.

I think I have been a bit chatty lately. Let's have a quiet swatch day, shall we? ;)

Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss is an excellent drugstore range (and actually, excellent even compared to higher-end), and I actually think they are close to liquid lip colors.
All the colors are very pigmented and coverage is better than most sheer lipsticks.
They feel very comfortable and moisturizing on lips but a tad gloopy despite of the "weightless formula" claim of Revlon, so it is best to wear them during the winter months.

Oh, a quiet swatch day, right? Ok.

So Pantone has announced the color of the year 2014 - Radiant Orchid (18-3224), and the beauty world is already buzzing about it.
I still am not so sure of the importance of "declaration of a color" each year, but hey, I always (secretly) look for a reason to buy new makeup and if it is good for the economy, I don't know. (Feel free to enlighten me, though.)

Still, not having to buy a new Radiant Orchid item right away is a good start, because I remembered I had this purple polish.

I tried my best to stay sensible during the past Black Friday/Cyber Monday storm, and I survived after making (only) a few makeup purchases (for now anyway, since these crazy companies extended their sales and I am sure they will run new ones in the name of holidays).
However, I effectively ruined my lippie ban and even managed to make an impulsive color choice at that.

I have always loved perfume, and choosing one in the morning accordingly depending on my mood, outfit and the weather of the day is such a pleasurable thing.
I started my perfume journey with the mainstream where most of my current collection stays within, but I did have some crazy perfume phase sniffing through many e-tailer scents and hand-poured niches.
Nowadays I just go easy about it spritzing whatever strikes my fancy. I haven't made a full bottle purchase lately. I don't feel guilty using the same scent two days in a row, either.

Still, I have a cabinet full of perfume and since I hardly reapply my perfume, I am pretty sure I won't be able to use up the stash, ever.

As I promised, I have swatches for the Infallible collection of mine. I only (?) own seven out of the eighteen core shades available in the U.S., but I feel that I have acquired all the colors I need for now.
I nearly fainted to realize the initial swatch post was made about two years ago. Time does fly!
The good thing is that my swatching skills are a little better (although I still can't draw straight lines) and now I am equipped with better lighting as well.
(Oh, and I haven't gone blind or anything from using two year old eyeshadows. Good indeed.)

Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss is probably the first thing that ignited my love for drugstore makeup.
I remember the old version of the Super Lustrous Lipgloss (with the rectangular body) was introduced around the time the Estee Lauder Pure Gloss came out, and I was struck by the similarities, both in the packaging and the performance.
For a long time, I had shameless collected so many of them. I would hunt down for the LEs hopping from one drugstore to another.
I also gifted many of them to my friends proselytizing for my new found faith.
Although I slowly grew out of them as my lipgloss phase is behind me, the Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss will always have a place in my makeup heart.

Revlon revamped this range a while ago, repackaging it in the taller and round tube as well as introducing twelve new shades.
Some of them remind me of the great classic shades, and the Super Natural is one of them.

Some of you know I've had quite an affair with L'Oreal goodies for the past year.
Among other things I love from the brand, Infallible eyeshadows have become my favorites and I reach for them many times a week.
However, it is quite frustrating (and annoying) to see all the different names for the same colors depends on what country you live in.
Fine, I can deal with the name discrepancy. I can use my magic eyes to compare the swatches online and figure out which one is what, plus there are many wonderful bloggers with awesome swatches out there.
What I can't stand is..there are some colors that are not avail in the U.S. Ugh.

When I saw Liz's post on Infallible Black Star, I literally drooled. I wanted it. I looked to see if there is an identical one with different name from the U.S. line, but no, sadly that wasn't the case.
Some time had passed and I forgot about it (you gotta move on, right?), then I saw it on her blogsale pile. Can you imagine how excited I was?!

Long story short, the Black Star is well loved here at her new home.
(Thanks, Liz! ^-^)