Daily faves: Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balms

Just before unboxing!

I'd been eyeing these lovelies for awhile now as I do just about ANY balm-stain formula. While my love for Revlon's affordable offerings is well-documented, I found myself longing for more wearable, fresh, easy colours in summer. Revlon's berry and bright pink shades are unrivalled but their neutral lip, Honey, had just a bit too much brown in it for me to be completely happy with. It's not too bad in winter but seems too dark and heavy for summer.

But at a full price of US$16 they were just too pricey to buy on a whim and a prayer. So when I spotted these on sale at Asos some months ago (yep, sorry) for HKD100 each (about USD$12) I POUNCED like a starving lioness on three shades: Unique Pink, Baby Bare and Rosy Red.

I haven't stopped using these babies since. In fact, I've worn Unique Pink down below the top of the pencil (they're twist-up btw) and Baby Bare is headed in a similar direction.

Update on SoLoverly & Tangle Teezer compact styler review

There's a lot more beach in my life now

Hello all!

Gosh it's been simply ages hasn't it? In case you're wondering what's happened to the three of us, don't worry it's nothing bad. We've just been occupied with well, the more major things involved with life and decided individually to take a break from blogging. 

Syen's got a new house to play with (she'll share it with you when she's good and ready) and Eli's off in another country, getting educated and seeing the world. 

As for me? Well I've been moving house, very busy with work, and generally getting out in the sun more (see above for proof) rather than sitting at home blogging. In short, I took a break from blogging and it felt so good that I decided to wait till I genuinely wanted to write again before coming back. As some of you know, I'm an editor now and the amount of planning, thinking, writing, creating and editing I do on a daily basis wasn't leaving me much juice to work with for the blog. But I'm back for now! Let's see how much I can keep going without getting strained. =)

About the beach, I've never been much of a beachgoer. But I now have someone(s) to go to the beach with and that, combined with a Vespa and living on an island, has turned me into far more of a beach babe than I ever anticipated. With new environments come new beauty needs so I've been stocking up on suncreen (will get to that later). But one thing I really really hate about the beach is what it does to my hair. Sticky, matted, urgh!

So when I saw a promo on BeautyBay for a compact, travel-friendly, Tangle Teezer I impulse bought it. As soon as I got it, I tore it out of its box, ran it through my straight hair and... meh. It's just like any other brush! I thought! Indignantly! With many !!!

Note to self: black may seem classier than hot pink but it's a boring photograph

Review of silicone-free Cargo blu_ray activating face primer

I may have finally found the only primer I can use all day that doesn't break me out, and I'm not sure that it really does anything, or anything much anyway.

*sighs*

I picked this primer up from BeautyBay some time ago and have been oh so cautiously testing it ever since. My skin's been relatively good of late, so instead of leaving well enough alone I start testing stuff on it. Of course. (Bad Me!)

I was really excited to learn that BeautyBay sold it and shipped it for free because I've been on the hunt for  silicone-free primer since forever. As an oily skinned girl with big nose pores it's just something you want to work for you. 

Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades in Blushalicious

 Looking at this picture, I'd never have picked this for an affordable drugstore blush. Each generous square is richly pigmented with fine shimmer and brings to mind Givenchy's Le Prisme Powder Blushes or Jill Stuart's Mix Blush Compact (this review is really really funny by the way).

But not only is it from the drugstore, it's one of the most affordable brands you can find there:

This picture is way too warm, check the above image for more true to life shades 

At only about HKD60 this blush is a steal beyond words. Here's why:

Duped!: YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain vs L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse

(L-R) YSL Corail Fauve #12, L'Oreal Bella #604, L'Oreal Lolita #606, YSL Rose Vinyl #15 

This is a bit of an exciting one for me anyway. Because, not only is this a definite dupe, I'd argue it's a BETTER version of its more expensive counterpart.

I'm going to make this as detailed a review as possible so hang on to your hats!

Glossy Stain

Both these glosses have the same unique, almost magical tendencies. They go on like glosses, set to an even, silicone-like layer that continues looking glossy but is waterproof and just about kiss proof and just a little bit sticky. When they wear off they leave a pretty stain behind. Some days I even deliberately blot off the gloss and just slick lip balm over the stain. Both seem to last equally long, I usually only have to touch up after lunch. I also love that they can be used over balm, which makes them so much more comfortable!

Collection2000 is in HK: Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer

While wandering around Wan Chai I spotted something in a Watsons there that made me grab the bf and squeal like my foot had been run over by a truck.

After his heart restarted and he forgave me for scaring him half to death, I zoomed into the store and pounced on the brand new counter for UK cult cheapie brand Collection2000!

The products really are affordable, eyeshadows were around HKD30 blushers around HKD60 and from what I've heard the products are not too bad! Even Lisa Eldridge has been known to use one or two of their products on occasion.

I tried to find their Lasting Perfection concealer but it was already sold out, so picked up this undereye Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer Pen because, let's face it, who doesn't need help with dark under-eyes and with the workload I've just cleared, I needed it!

Dry shampoo roundup: Klorane, Lush, Suave

(L-R) Klorane, Lush, Suave

So you ladies know my love for Batiste, but I've been making a few dry shampoo discoveries since then. Here's a quick review of three more dry shampoos:

Klorane - expensive and worth every penny

This version is Klorane Dry Shampoo with Nettle for oily hair and boy does it ever perform. It's invisible, gives great volume and turns greasy hair into freshly washed shiny bouncy locks - which will last about 24 hours believe it or not. It's scent is fresh and it's paraben-free. Love!

It IS pricey though so if you swing by France stock up on these babies. They're about 8 Euros there and double the price in Hong Kong at HKD169. But if I run out I will totally repurchase at that price, it's that good.  

I save this for days when I know I'm going to have to look great after work. 

Check out Eli's review of the Oat Milk version for normal - dry hair. 

Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo - Smells great, performs... not so great. 

This was a major disappointment for me. I picked it up because it smells of grapefruit (duh!) is silicone free and doesn't come in an aerosol can making it plane-friendly. 

BUT, it's awful to brush out of dark hair as it's very white, it's heavy and it doesn't LAST. My hair's greasy again in a few hours! Plus, the dispenser's awful, always use it on your hands first then run it through your hair - even then, it'l be messy. Even worse, it's expensive at HKD130 - you do get a massive amount with 115g.

I'm using this right now, very lightly, on clean hair that needs some texture. 

Suave Professional Dry Shampoo - Very transparent, doesn't last all day, smells delish, cheap

This is probably my cheapie-fave, beating Bastiste. At HKD40 from Fanda it won't break the bank and unlike Batiste, it's very translucent - even with light brushing, it won't show up on dark hair. It's not the longest lasting though - your hair will be rather greasy again by the end of the work day, but it's often enough for the 8 hours or so you need to look presentable. It's also awesome for adding volume and texture to clean hair. Oh and it smells of sweet peaches. Yum. 

I use this on normal days when I skip the morning hair wash and just-because days. 

Going nuts for Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

Well what would you expect really? I love Lip Stains, I adore tinted lip balms and they've gone and combined the two into my ULTIMATE lippie - complete with the crayon format that Clinique made us all covet with their Chubby Sticks. And to cap it all off... they're mint flavoured. It's like they made it from my personal lipstick wish list!

Revlon has really been knocking it out of the park lately with their Lip Butters and now this!

As you can see I hauled quite a few. I spotted these online before they were available in Hong Kong and immediately ordered two (Cherish and Smitten) on eBay. Then, they launched in Hong Kong at a discounted price of HKD75 (Down from HKD98) so I hauled three more! If the other shades hadn't been so unappealing to me I'd probably have bought every colour they had. 

So here's the general overview

I love them because...

• They go on like a balm, stay like a stain
• Once the sheer glossy layer has worn off they're kiss proof
• And can last through most meals with only slight fading. 
• Are pretty darned pigmented yet still sheer
• They are lightly minty
• And can be toted around throughout the day for touchups
• Also, unlike most stains, they can be used OVER lip balm instead of only on clean lips.

Latest skin-saver: Murad Exfoliating Blemish Treatment Gel

Alas, my faithful acne-treatment gel Differin hasn’t been too effective of late. So on impulse I picked up a mini (30ml) bottle of Murad’s Exfoliating Blemish Gel for £4.99 from FeelUnique during a sale-haul in August. It was a special promotion and boy... do I wish I’d hauled BOTTLES of this stuff!

I’ll admit I was a bit dubious because the gel has hydrogen peroxide – which is a bit of a ‘naughty’ ingredient, but the rest of the active ingredients – salicylic acid, retinol, glycolic acids and liquorice root extracts all sounded so right I chanced it.

Plus my skin was being so annoying I was reaching that desperate-try-anything stage.

Believe it or not, this made SUCH a difference from the first day! My skin was looking clogged and dull. I’d started using Neutrogena’s Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Scrub again and it was helping a lot, but you know when you’re skin is just not at its best.

Love it! - Sleek MakeUP Lash Out Mascara

I was deadly afraid to try this one. Western mascaras tend to smudge wildly on me and I hate that. 

But Sleek MakeUP had sent this to us ages ago for review and I was feeling guilty. So I gingerly tested this out on a weekend when nothing special was going on and I could wash it off at anytime. 

One coat and... Ooh!

Two coats and I ran out to grab the boyfriend squealing, "Lookee my eye! Lookee my eye!"

After he acknowledged the difference with great patience and suppressed amusement, I grabbed my phone and snapped this:

Cool, aye?

Simple Cleansing wipes, YOU'RE DUMPED

Ah, the trusty green packet which a staple of so many bedsides and travel kits. Well guess what? It's taken me years, YEARS, and I feel absolutely brick-red embarrassed foolish that it took me so long to realise...

They break me out. 

Oh yes they do. 

For years I've thought that I was being great to my skin by using these gentle wipes to take off all my makeup while on long-haul flights. I'd use them, go through my usual night-time skin routine, and sigh the next day at the bad breakout I'd suffer. 

Until Cannes, I sincerely and honestly thought that I broke out because of the stress of travelling. Not these wipes. Because, hey, it MUST be better to use these to take my makeup off than to just leave all of that foundation on for 13 hours, right? Right? 

Wrong!

Get it before it goes: Too Faced Lockdown Cream Eyeshadow

Right, so the full name is Too Faced Lockdown Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow - which is insane and far far too long. But names aside, the short review is this stuff is awesome and you should get it while:

• Strawberrynet is still on sale at HKD121 (plus the usual loyalty discounts - think I ended up paying less than HKD100 for it)
• They're in stock because it's been discontinued!

The shade I got was Bedroom Eyes, a shimmery brown taupe (yes taupe again) with, I’m sorry to say, glitter. But not too much or too chunky glitter. It’s very much like Urban Decay’s Sidecar in many respects - only Bedroom Eyes is less glittery. Thank heavens.

Because I take miserable swatches, I encourage you go here. She took absolutely lovely ones.

Why am I so in love with it? It really really lasts. All day. On oily skin and without primer. It’s also a really awesome primer in itself.

Part 2 of Surviving a Nightmare with review of L'oreal Open Eyes Pro Palette in Smokey Brown

"I need to drop by Watsons," I informed the boyfriend the moment we set foot outside the hotel. 

"Anything else?" he asked, grinning. 

"No! Watsons! Need! Now!" 

Realising that this was not the time to tease, he guided me straight into the nearest Watsons. It was near People's Square in Shanghai. It was sheer and utter madness. The sales promoters were shouting about their respective brands like fishmongers. Swooping down on the most taupey palette I could find at the L'Oreal counter (it seemed like the most reliable drugstore brand) I was stopped from whisking it off to the counter by a determined sales girl. 

"??????!" she ordered me in mandarin. 

Inwardly cursing my banana-ness I made her explain to me, with gestures and halting English that I had to pay for the palette FIRST and then return to collect it. 

Flustered by the complete paranoia displayed by Watsons Shanghai, I asked her to write up a bill of sale for me while I tried to procure a Maybelline Mascara. No dice. Even the humble mascara required the entire song and dance. 

Clutching the order forms, I fought my way through the milling crowds to the counter, paid, and fought my way back to the cosmetic counters, by then, in a bit of a snit. 

Clutching my purchases I burst gratefully into the clear, cold outdoor air. 

Nicole by OPI - Dream Maker

The picture really doesn't capture the sparkly silver shimmer shot through with goldish multi-colour particles. It's a really fine shimmer bordering on glitter - meaning you don't see big chunks but you can, by staring hard, pick out the individual particles.

I have two coats on my nails in the pic and this shade to me seems like a really fun way to wear a nude. It's not so bling as to seem juvenile (but I think teenage girls will like this one too), it's work-appropriate because it's a quite colour, but at ht same time it's young and pretty.

It's a cool pink so it makes the whites of your nails look whiter. It's sheerness means that chips don't show up that easily - but overall it lasts about 5 days with a top coat. 

I'm really enjoying this one and using it all the time. I think it'd also look really pretty over another shade.

Nicole by OPI is a more affordable range of polishes and this one I picked up in Sasa for about HKD75. 

Unexpected delight: L'Erbolario 3 Rosa profuma roll-on gel

I don't like Rose scents (except in fresh roses) as a rule. But I love this one...

Perhaps it's the mix of pink pepper in the fragrance and the fresh green notes they wove in - that make it smell like you're in a rose garden on a frosty bright day.

It's a very ladylike fragrance, but but in anyway old lady. It isn't heady or powdery. It's sweet, fresh, with a rose note and a peppery bite.

It's also inspired by.... Pink. Which is another surprising thing for me, I really don't do pink except in makeup. The name 3 Pinks comes from the use of Cabbage Roses, Hollyhocks and Pink Pepper.

The perfume oil-gel is another revelation. It's not too strong but it lasts and lasts with a quiet endurance - perfect. I rather wish I had the spray too though... so I could spray my clothes and have them smell like it.

L'Erbolario is the Italian verison of L'Occitane and, in my opinion, classier and comes with far more heritage. It's in Malaysia in Bangsar Shopping Centre (I spotted it before I left for HK), so check it out.

This was a gift but the only site retails it at 12 Euros. Worth it I say!

Review: Kiehl's Oil-Free Ultra Facial Cleanser

Poor Kiehl's. They kindly sent me their Oil-Free Ultra Facial Cleanser and Gel Cream to review over a month ago, but thanks to travel I haven't been able to really give them a try. Since my face tends to break out and go into a state of flux during travel it didn't seem fair to trial their products until everything had calmed down.

Well I've been using the cleanser almost daily for nearly two weeks (sorry a 3-day business trip got in the way) and I think I can formulate an opinion on it now. The gel-creme moisturiser though will take far more intensive testing.

Cleansers are one of those products that are easy to test but hard to review. Unless they do something miraculous or truly hellish you end up with no real opinions on it. So far, I can tell you that Kiehl's falls into the "good but not magic" category. 

Review: Clinique All About Eyes Eye Cream

Hong Kong's dryer climate and probably my advancing years have convinced me that I need a better eye cream than the super light Natio cream I was using. 

Thing is I am really nervous about new eye creams. They're often pricey and do nothing, or too heavy and cause breakouts and give me milia. So when I spotted this gel-creme trial size (7ml) for HKD65, I thought, what the hey and gave it a try. 

Two weeks later and I've already ordered two more of these mini jars off Strawberrynet at HKD90 for both. What's so good about it? 

Well, first off it probably doesn't do much for dark undereye circles but boy does it work for puffiness. I'd noticed my eye bags were starting to show (not usually a problem for me) but the morning after I patted this on at night, I woke up brighter, fresher eye-bag less eyes - probably thanks to the caffeine in it. 

Transitioning to fall with theBalm's Cabana Boy (it's not just for summer)

My love for theBalm's blush offerings is officially a mindless devotion. The brain basically goes "Blush? theBalm? Buy!" Why? Because they're affordable, generously sized and oh-so-gorgeous. We at So Loverly adore Down Boy, and Syen and I have gone to lengths to get our hands on the new Frat Boy (which hasn't made its appearance in Asia yet). The only one we struggle a little with is the overly goldy Hot Mama but it's a fun highlighter and I've been eyeing Cabana Boy for just ages.

Initially I was wary because it looks dark which can look muddy on my skintone however, it turns out to be this gorgeous glowy berry blush that makes you look like you've just walked in from the cold and your cheeks are just naturally lovely and rosy.

Which really makes this more a Fall / Winter blush than a summer blush (despite the name), don't you think? However darker skinned girls may find in Cabana Boy their equivalent of my summer fave, Down Boy.

Sleek Pout Paint in Pin Up vs OCC Lip Tar in NSFW

So, it's the question everyone wants to know, how does Pout Paint measure up to OCC Lip Tars?

Actually to be honest I have no idea how OCC is going to keep justifying their hefty GBP9 price tag when Sleek Pout Paints are selling the same quantity at half the price.

In a nutshell, Pout Paints are thicker and dryer than Lip Tars, making them harder to spread and so harder to mix and work with. So Lip Tars are slightly better formulated.

Lip Tars are also minty which I prefer to Sleek's redoxen flavoured tubes. However, not everyone likes mint and some girls find it irritating.

Finally, Pout Paints outlast lip tars. I slicked on Pin Up for housework, lunch, grocery shopping and although it came off on everything, its colour just appeared undiminished.

Read on for swatches and a face shot

Loving Bourjois Bio detox organic silicone-free foundation & concealer!

Is it the perfect foundation? Hell no.

No silicone-free foundy can compete with the perfect airbrushed smooth goodness of the evil silicone (dimethicone, cyclomethicone, methicone...etc). But at GBP10 its' way WAY cheaper than Laura Mercier's Oil Free Foundation, it works well enough with a little effort and it does not break me out. Huzzah!


Now on to the review, I warn you this will be a long one: