FASHION, Meme quizzes, Uncategorized COSMETICS 11 December 2009

Since there were 10 or more people asking me about what cosmetics I usually use, particularly in the photos below of me… I thought I’ll do a post on what cosmetics I swear by. Perhaps if people are interested soon I’ll do one on skincare too 🙂

So anyway, the opinions below are mine only. I’m not endorsed by any of the companies (I wish!). My opinions and preferences are based on years of *ahem* obsessive makeup buying and using. I’ve used and reviewed a few thousand (!!) products – because I have an obsessive compulsive personality to try EVERYTHING out there.

My skin is Normal to Combination. It’s generally pretty good. I don’t break out much, but sometimes I get oily on my nose so I use oil blotting papers. My key skin concerns are:

1) Too pale – I know Asians love pale skin, but mine is (unfortunately) the wrong kind of pale. It’s the “I’m not feeling well” kinda pale! Sallow skin, I guess you could call it. People in real life often mistake it and say “Ohhh you have such smooth glowy skin!” but actually, I’m just pale 🙁 And they’re only trying to be nice about it.
2) Dark eye circles – out of everyone I know, mine are the worst. They scare small children.
3) Disappearing makeup – it’s like magic, makeup just disappears off my face by after-lunch! And thus my quest for all sorts of makeup that stays on my skin, yet looks great.

SO, let’s get started.

I don’t start off with any base. A lot of people say you should.. but I don’t because 1) I’m too lazy to do it and 2) I don’t feel it does anything special. And so, after moisturizing, I skip straight to foundation. I made a post about this recently so you already know, but my all-time favourite is Covermark’s liquid essence. NOT the horrible Covermark brand that you get in the USA and other Western countries – the Covermark owned by Japan.

The foundation is quite thin to the touch, so I can’t feel it on my skin. Yet it has amazing medium coverage. A few drops is all you need BUT it must be used by their special sponge. It makes all the difference. The result? Smooth skin that looks radiant. Yay!

Covermark’s liquid essence foundation

With that done, it’s time to tackle Problem 1) Too pale. This one’s easy – just whack on some blush. However, this is one of the HARDEST items to find! I have tried *ahem* basically every blush cream and/or stain out there on the market, in my quest. I have found only ONE that 1) looks great with a pop of colour and 2) lasts the ENTIRE day. So many blushes claim that but frankly, it’s gone on me after lunch. The only one that works? MAC gel stain. A teeny bit goes a long way and it honestly lasts. I have tried virtually every blush available in the past 10 years, and this is the ONLY one that will last. The downside? It’s discontinued. I’m down to 1.5 tubes left and truly am fearing the day it is gone and I revert back to a scary pale weirdo. Sigh!

Now, I have found a good #2 blush. Nowhere as good as the MAC, but the best out there otherwise. It’s iNuovi gel blush. Blends very well and gives a great colour, and actually lasts for a decent amount of time (til late afternoon).

MAC gel stain blush and iNuovi gel blush

Now with smooth skin and rosy cheeks, I really need to focus on Problem 2) Dark eye circles . Mine are truly scary. I get tons of sleep, so I don’t know why. A doctor once said it’s cos i don’t have “enough fat under my eyes so the veins are visible, thus it shows as dark eye circles”. I don’t think that’s fair. Why can’t my butt-fat go to my under-eye-fat area instead?!?! Hrmph.

So, again, I’ve tried basically every concealer that has been out in the past 10 years. I have no choice! And, again, my #1 long-lasting concealer is discontinued (Estee Lauder double wear concealer – the one that comes in a little white square bottle, not the new wand one). But at least I’ve found a very good replacement – Covermark’s stick concealer. It’s a chic little tube that contains powerful stuff. A thick concealer that somehow looks so natural on, and dries to a powder finish so it doesn’t smear or cake. It’s amazing and I want to buy another one to pop into my bag for touchups.

Covermark’s stick concealer

Now that I’ve got my staples (foundation + blush + concealer) done, I set it all with Covermark’s loose powder, gently patted onto my face. Makes my skin matte (but natural looking) and helps the makeup to stick.

On some days, when I’m going out or for an occasion, I’ll use Shu Uemura eyelash curler on my lashes. It’s the best one – no other curler comes close so I dont’ even bother trying them out – I’ve been using Shu Uemura eyelash’s for the past 10-12 years. Then, a quick thin swipe of Fiberwig mascara. Again, NO other mascara comes close. This one forms actual physical threads on your lashes, so the whole lash is coated and is thicker and longer. It doesn’t smudge because it’s a physical thing on your lash, not a stain/colour. It comes off with warm water and you see all the long black threads on your fingers when you stroke them across your lashes – very cool.

Also, sometimes, I’ll line my eyes with MAC eyeliner in ‘uniform’. This is the only colour I like – a very deep brown/black with very very fine gold shimmer. It’s very subtle and makes eyes look amazing. So many eyeliners look silly or don’t wear well, but this one is just fabulous. Apart from this, those Japanese long-last gel eyeliners are great too.

And on the inner corners, I use Urban Decay’s eyeliner in ‘dime’ – which is a bright silver so I use sparingly. It really opens up the eyes cos it’s so eyecatching. Plus, you can’t go wrong with silver 😉

Finally, I need a bit of something on my lips. I’m actually not a lipstick kinda girl.. I lick it all off my lips anyway. I’ve been using Lucas Papaw Ointment for years and years. I use it at home and every night before bed – without fail. No lipbalm even comes close – don’t even bother trying to find another one.

But for colour, I use coloured lipbalms, not lipsticks. My favourite is MAC Hello Kitty balm which is, (again!!!) now discontinued. Man, cosmetics companies must really not want me to wear makeup or something. The balm suits my skintone really well, and is so moisturizing. Adore it. Otherwise, a very close alternative is Maybelline’s lip smooth. It comes in a stick which I adore, and the balm is moisturizing (unlike many coloured lipbalms that end up dry after awhile).

And so there you go! With this entire look, I’m ready to go out with friends or to a party. Plus, it only takes 10 mins to slap on ‘cos it’s so easy. Hope you found it interesting.. and from now on, no more questions about what makeup I use cos I about 5 emails every week asking me that same question – d’oh! 😛

What does all the above look like? Well, that’s EXACTLY what I used in this post – no more, no less:

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amazing cosmetics

actually I’ve gone into a couple of Sephora stores here asking for Amazing Cosmetic’s concealer but they don’t seem to even know the brand.

Re: amazing cosmetics

Odd, it’s here http://www.sephora.com/browse/brand_hierarchy.jhtml?brandId=Amazing%20Cosmetics

amazing cosmetics

actually I’ve gone into a couple of Sephora stores here asking for Amazing Cosmetic’s concealer but they don’t seem to even know the brand.

Re: amazing cosmetics

Odd, it’s here http://www.sephora.com/browse/brand_hierarchy.jhtml?brandId=Amazing%20Cosmetics

hi again,
i posted re: covermark and MAC foundation shades. could you also let me know what the cost of the foundation is in asia? i live in canada and found it on ebay, but for $73 USD plus shipping?? i’m guessing this is an inflated price….?
thanks again 🙂

That price is around retail… It’s $$ cos itr’s Japanese and really good!

covermark foundation shade

hi there,
do you know what your covermark foundation shade is equivalent to in MAC shades? i’m a MAC NC20-25 – any chance you would know what covermark shade i would be based on this info?
thanks 🙂
ps – i found your livejournal through mua (love your reviews!) and have been reading ever since 🙂