Review: Bioderma Photoderm MAX SPF 50+

  Hi Guys! Sorry for the lack of post for the whole of last week as I have been really busy with work. All the magazines are rushing for the Amazing December Issues of party looks and fantastic shopping lists, so do check out the year-end issues (and definitely look out Read more

Review: Rae Morris No. 27 Radiance Brush

  I received this Rae Morris No. 27 Radiance Brush as a birthday present earlier this year and I am super happy when I first got my hands on it! I can still remember unwrapping it and proceed to jumping around holding the brush. This is unlike any foundation brush Read more

Review: Laneige Water Supreme Foundation SPF15 PA+

I have always love Chanel Foundation for their texture, coverage and consistency. However, I do know that Chanel is not always the most affordable cosmetic range for most people and I'm still always on the look out for great foundations that cost less. Recently, I have the opportunity to see Read more
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Review: Clinique Even Better Foundation

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Gwen Tan in Makeup, Reviews (Makeup) | Leave a comment
Clinique Even Better Foundaton

Clinique Even Better Foundation

Good Day Everyone!

I hope everything is going smoothly for all of you. I love trying out foundations because I think good ones, when applied properly, really make a lot of difference to once appearance. For my job as a makeup artist, the way the foundation is applied usually give signs of how experience the artist is so it has been drilled into my Makeup Brain from day 1 that if you missed on applying a good foundation, the rest of the makeup does not really matter anymore.

The more I work, the more I think that is true. Choosing and applying foundation the right way is 1 of the best skill a girl can have. It can instantly make your entire look appear more expensive.

So, if you are looking for a foundation that gives you a glow like a BB Cream, but wants something that gives more coverage than a BB Cream, I have good news for you. Clinique Even Better Foundation will be your new BFF.

Its Features:

    • Oil Free and comes with SPF 15 PA++
    • See improved clarity and a more even skin tone
    • Suitable for all ethnic groups skin type
    • Visibly diminishes age spots

What I Think:

Pros:

    • Oil Free and Non Greasy
    • Even out skin tone pretty well
    • No fragrance
    • Gives skin a glow
    • Works well as a daily foundation
    • Very easy to apply with fingers or brushes

Cons:

    • Although it gives skin a nice glow, I find that it is a little artificial.
    • Because of the artificial glow, it does not work well with camera, especially with flash.
    • Not suitable for oily skin or skin that tends to shine. Will look extra oily or shinny with this foundation.

Will I Recommend It?

If you are into the Korean Look, which features super dewy skin, even the man has it, then this is your dream foundation. It gives you a dewy or glow that no BB Cream can match. I have tried a lot of BB Cream and I’m serious when I said this. Check out my BB Cream Post if you are looking for a BB Cream.

If you have tired looking skin, dull skin, skin that needs some boost, this is a good option for you. However, this is not suitable for oily skin. Oily skin is much better off with oil control or semi matte foundations. I shall recommend some very soon!

Have a lovely day ahead and thank you for reading Makeup Toys!

Love
Gwen
Makeup Toys

 

Hot and Humid Summer Makeup Tips

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Gwen Tan in Makeup | Leave a comment

makeup_stock_028-S-S

Hey Guys!

The long weekend is approaching and I hope you are getting all geared up for the fun! Remember in my previous post I mentioned that I’m going to share some makeup tips for the hot and humid summer weather in Singapore? Well, this is it. I have also included some product recommendations for each tip so it will be easier for you if you are looking for some recommendations. Hope this helps!

Makeup Tips for Hot and Humid Summer

    • Always use an oil control primer before you apply any makeup if you have oily skin. If you do not have an oil control primer, use a makeup setting spray. Urban Decay has a range of fantastic makeup setting sprays that suit different skin type needs. Trust me, this is the best prevention method for messy makeup due to oily skin and humid weather.
    • If you have dry skin and yet need makeup to last, use a gel cream base moisturiser to prep your skin before makeup application. Use an oil free foundation, or even a good BB Cream, without any powder for lasting makeup.
    • Avoid 2-way-cake (powder foundation) at all cost, even if you have oily skin and you think powder can control or mattify your skin. In our hot and humid weather, powder when mixed with facial oil, is the first thing to get cakey and appears as a “floating” layer of product on your skin. This does not look natural and hence not beautiful/classy at all. Cakey makeup looks cheap and poorly applied, no matter how good your skin looks underneath. Mattifying Liquid Foundation is your best friend.
    • Apply only what you need, in Summer, less is more. If you need to conceal your imperfections (dark circles, scars, blemishes), use a good concealer. Laura Mercier and Shu Uemura makes some awesome concealer that you can check out.
    • Waterproof Mascara is the best for this weather. Check out Chanel and Maybelline for the gravity defying waterproof jet black mascaras.
    • Same as waterproof mascara, waterproof eyeliner (crayon, pencil, liquid or gel) are the best for eye lids that tend to sweat or get oily . To make them last even longer, apply a little eyeshadow power over the liner. Give a few seconds for the product to set together before opening your eyes. Check out Chanel, Bobbi Brown and CLIO for their really good range of waterproof eyeliners.
    • Use cream eyeshadows. They are more lasting and require less product for strong colours. The less you apply, the less chance of smudges. Makeup Forever has a lovely range of Aqua Cream Eyeshadows best for this type of weather.
    • Do not use loose powder on your entire face. Overly mattifying your entire face will make your face look flat and 1 dimensional. Use powder as sparingly as possible. Usually only under the eyes (dark circles area) and T Zone.
    • To bring out the dimensions of the face, use a blusher with slight shimmer property to make your cheeks pop.

Thank you for reading once again and have a great long weekend ahead!

Love
Gwen
Makeup Toy

Review: NARS Multiple in Copacabana

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Gwen Tan in Makeup, Reviews (Makeup) | Leave a comment

NARS Multiple in Copacabana

Greetings lovely readers!

Hope everyone is getting on well as March comes almost to an end. I have been really busy, between work and getting my 2nd business up and running, I really wished there is more than 24 hours in a day for me. Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone and I cannot wait to share with all of you what my second business will be!

The weather in Singapore has been really crazy for the past few weeks, really hot and humid and I am also beginning to notice more and more makeup mishap due to the weather. Whenever I’m on the train or walking on the streets, I cannot help but notice smudges, cakey makeup and extremely shiny faces. These things are not a big issue if you know how to work through them 1 by 1.

I will share the tips with you guys in another post but today, I’m going to share a lovely product that I strongly believe can cut the amount of products you use by almost 1/3 and thus reducing makeup from caking up.

NARS Multiple in Copacabana

Its Features:

    • Suitable to be used on the eyes, cheeks, lips and body
    • Creamy and shimmering texture allows easy blending
    • Shimmering effect plays with light to gently contour and highlight face contours
    • Copacabana is suitable for All Skin Tones

What I Think:

Pros:

    • Copacabana is a lovely colour for all skin tones and all age group
    • Easy to use as it can be blended just with your fingers, so it is easy for beginners to pick up
    • Give a lovely healthy glow to the skin, especially the cheek area
    • If used alone without powder, gives skin a natural dewy finish in natural light, without unsightly oily effect
    • When applied to the centre of the eye, gives a pop that makes eyes look more awake.
    • Cuts my simple day makeup time by 10 mins because I can do without eyeshadow and blusher. Just use this on the middle of my eye lids and on my cheek bones, curled my lashes and swipe on a few coats of mascara and I’m ready to go.
    • Gives a nice summer glow and cuts down the amount of product applied onto the face. Pretty amazing because when its so hot and humid, what you really want is less makeup and yet awesome looking skin.

Cons:

    • When applied too much, it will make your entire face look overly shiny and artificial. So use it wisely and only the amount needed.
    • I prefer to use it after the foundation as the effect is more natural and you can control where you want the glow to be at when your skin tone has already been even out by your foundation and concealer.
    • Too much glow when used it with a BB Cream. My advice is to use it with a proper foundation or on bare skin is you have pretty even skin tone.

Will I Recommend It?

Yes. If you are lazy and looking to save time, this is your best friend. Easy to use, easy to carry around and gives awesome finishing.

Nars Multiple comes in an amazing range of 16 shades so I’m pretty sure you will find the shade you want!

Love
Gwen
Makeup Toys

 

Review: Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Gwen Tan in Makeup, Reviews (Makeup) | 2 Comments
Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion Case MA

Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion

Hi guys!

If you have been reading my blog for sometime, you would have read that I did an article on BB Cream VS Foundation a long time ago and my verdict is that I think BB Cream is no different from a tinted moisturizer. Today, my verdict is still the same. BB Cream is not very much different from a tinted moisturizer. However, in my line of work, I have been asked many times to recommend a BB Cream. So, at the end of the day, I went on to try out a lot of BB Cream in the market, and specifically 1 BB Cream that suits tan skin.

To be very honest, I think it is a craze but like most items, they started out with a craze and the longevity of the product is still highly dependent on how good the product is. After about 1 year of testing on myself and seeing it being used on shoots, I have found the almost Perfect BB Cream for normal consumer daily use, even for medium tan skin.

Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion Open MA

Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion Shade 31 Brown Beige

Product Features:

    • For all skin types
    • Comes in 4 different shades (from very fair to medium tan skin)
    • UV Protection (SPF 50+ PA++), Whitening (unique Laneige White Plus Renew Complex Technology)
    • Sweat Proof for long-lasting Makeup

What I Think:

Pros:

    • This is the only range of BB Cream out of the many that I have tried that comes in a shade suitable for medium tan skin.
    • Gives a lovely glow to the skin that last. Glow does not make skin look oily.
    • Good coverage for most slight skin imperfection with the proper application technique
    • Not sticky at all
    • No touch up needed for up to 5 hours
    • Cut my Morning Makeup Rush Hour by 1/3 of the time
    • I skip my sunblock and just use this instead. Comes with SPF 50+ Protection

Cons:

    • Still a little fair for my liking but this is the only few brands that has BB Cream that come close to tan skin
    • Cannot cover bad dark circles and scars
    • Sponge applicator that comes with it looks really messy after a few uses
    • A little bulky to bring in my small touch up pouch

Will I Recommend This?

Well, if you are looking to save time, this sponge application BB Cream will be your number 1 choice because it does not take any form of blending with brush or even your fingers. It is very easy to apply.

However, if you have imperfection, I will still recommend you to use a concealer, especially for those dark circles and dark scars. And please do take a few more moments to blend it well onto the skin.

If you have medium tan skin like I do, this is the only brand of BB Cream currently in the market that has a close to suitable shade. I’m really sorry to say that there is no BB Cream for really tan skin at the moment. I’m waiting for Urban Decay to release their BB Cream in Singapore because they usually promise a wider range of shades.

You can purchase Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion at all Laneige Counters and Boutiques. Each box of BB Creams comes with 1 full compact and 1 more set of refill. So you are actually getting 2 BB Cushions in each box!

Love,
Gwen
Makeup Toys

 

 

How To Remove Lipstick Stain

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Gwen Tan in Makeup | Leave a comment
Lip Stick Stained Blouse MA

Red lipstick stain on my blouse.

Hi everyone!

I hope you have had a great Chinese New Year break. Sorry for the lack of post recently as I have just got back from my holiday. I had a lot of fun and I hope you had a good rest too. Now that I’m back, I’m going to blog more often and to kick-start my return, I’m going to share a quick and highly useful tip with all of you:

How To Remove Lipstick Stain from  your favourite piece of clothing

My wardrobe is almost entirely full of dark coloured clothes because it is the safest for me to wear when I’m at work. When I’m working, I tend to use the back of my hand as my mixing palette and there is always a very high chance of me staining my clothes. Overtime I had concluded that wearing dark coloured clothing is the best bet for me. However, like most people, I also yearn for a brighter wardrobe as I’m getting older and I think bright colours help to bring more life to the skin. And so, I bravely bought a piece of cream coloured blouse and wore it to work yesterday, at the same time, very pleased with myself.

To my dismay, I stained it, with the famous red lipstick. The ultimate lip colour stain that sent even man to a total distraught. And so I had to find ways to remove it because I’m still in love with my new blouse. I prowled the internet and read up on remedies and quick removal tips. I have only 2 criteria on choosing the best way to remove the stain.

Criteria for Lipstick Stain Removal:

    • Fast
    • Cheap

The Methods I Have Shortlisted and Picked:

    • Rubbing Alcohol (I picked this eventually because it fits the above mentioned criteria)
    • Stain Removal Detergent (Costly and more effort needed for washing)

Result:

Lip Stick Stain Removed MA

85% of the initial stain has been removed by rubbing alcohol

There is only 1 step in this method.

Just pour the rubbing alcohol onto a piece of clean cloth and gently rub the stain away with the alcohol-soaked cloth. It takes a few minutes of rubbing and it worked. It leaves no funny smell and the alcohol dries up all the wax/oil/grease from the lipstick. After I have done that, I just toss my blouse into the washing machine with the normal detergent (not special stain removal detergent) and now I have my clean cream blouse back again!

I hope you find this as useful as I did and do share this with all your girlfriends and guys too. Who knows, you might find that you have a few more addition to your wardrobe after trying this.

Love,
Gwen
Makeup Toys

 

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