Beauty chat: Rediscovering old loves

I've been sighing and shaking my head at myself. 

It beats me why -  when I KNOW something works, have even raved about it in the past - I'd just sort of forget about things that work and stop using them. 

Perhaps its because they became such basic and intrinsic parts of my beauty routine that I sort of forgot what they did, took them for granted, neglected them... and skin paid for it. 

Take for example, Neutrogena's Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Scrub. It wasn't readily available in Hong Kong when I arrived so I just shrugged and did without. Well on a recent trip back to Malaysia I toted a tube back to HK with me (I had one sort of just sitting around) and dear goodness. My skin's been keeping clear up, my scars fading, it feels smoother, makeup goes on better... WHY did I ever think I could live without this?

Thank goodness that before I go into a full-scale panic attack about the lack of this baby in Hong Kong, they launched it! It's now in every Watsons and Mannings praise the skincare gods. 

Favourite Things: Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams. They rock.

If you're one who's into cream shadows, chances are, you'd definitely heard of Make Up For Ever (MUFE)'s Aqua Creams. Their reputation within the beauty blogging world is, frankly, quite legendary.

And so when I decided to head the way of the cream shadows, of course I had to try these.

EOTD: Going brown with the Naked palette

No. I do not yet own Naked 2. I wish.

But all this hype about Naked 2 has, of course, turned my attention to the original Naked palette which I do own. And this was the eye I decided to go with for yet another recent wedding.

This look was really simple, but I was really happy with it.

Tried, Tested and Tried Again: Reviewed Products Revisited

We are frightful enablers here on So Loverly: our reviews not only inspire lemmings in others but amongst ourselves. I have lost count of the numbers of times I have read a review by Kahani or Syen and thought, I want to try that.

Unfortunately, not all products recommended by Kahani and Syen work for me and vice versa due to our different skin needs. Kahani has mad oily skin, Syen's skin combo-oily while mine is oily-dry. The cleanser which broke Syen out works great for me but I won't touch Kahani's HG acne treatment with a 10 feet pole. Clinique's DDM gel works for Kahani and Syen but not for me.

There was that one product which all of us agreed on disliking albeit for different reasons; Syen hated the scent, Kahani got breakouts while it gave me rashes AND made me sneeze.

Here's my take on some previously reviewed products:

Review: MakeUpForEver Super Mat Loose Powder in Translucent No12

I've long known about this powder, and have given it a try twice in the past. Both times, I tried a yellow-translucent shade, and a skintone matching shade. Both times I was disappointed. The finish was ashy, it barely controlled oil, even in England, and I just gave up on it altogether. I couldn't see what everyone else loved about it. And then I read ParisB's rave review of it, and I know how exacting her standards are. So then it hit me, maybe the shade you choose makes a difference. I got the one she recommended, Translucent No 12, and guess what? I love it!

Here's my theory
MUFE are a sly bunch. Their much-hyped HD Powder, has been proven to be simply 1o0% silica powder, in a much smaller jar. This large jar of powder is also silica-based. And my guess is, the more translucent it is, the less colouring additives you opt for, the higher the silica content. This results in the poreless, mattifying coverage this shade provides that the others cannot.

Why I love it
It provides a beautiful finish without altering the shade of my foundation. It holds off the oilies as well as Mac Blot, it makes me look poreless, and I can apply and reapply as much as I want during the day without it ever looking cakey. What's not to love?

Oh and when I do decide to have a light day and use a powder foundation or a mineral foundation, this powder helps them adhere and last so much better without getting patchy or sinking into my pores. I'm not sure if it will help on a very very long day. But so far it's helping on half-days. Who needs a primer? Whee!

Conclusion
At RM110, it's not the cheapest of powders until you calculate it's value per gram. As ParisB pointed out, for 28g, it's a worthwhile price. I remember checking out L'Oreal's Translucide loose powder and finding that gram-for-gram MUFE is STILL cheaper. It's also cheaper than MAC's loose powders. Awesome!