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Beauty Spot: Deborah Lippmann Rockin’ Robin nail polish review

Posted on May 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

deborah lippmann rockin robin nail polish

I’ve gone dotty!

Well, the ‘gone’ bit might be questionable (some might argue it’s more a case of ‘always has been’) but I’m totally seeing spots at the moment – and of course, it’s all because of nail polish! Hot on the heels of the blue strawberry slushie that was pa AA162, I finally managed to get my mitts on Deborah Lippmann’s Rockin’ Robin to continue my dotty delirium.

deborah lippmann rockin robin

Rockin’ Robin is part of Lippmann’s cutely named Staccato Collection (look up the musical notation for the term ‘staccato’ in case you don’t know what I mean!) – three ice cream pastels studded with yummy black spots of glitter. Of course, my obsession with all things vaguely turquoise meant that it was the creamy pale aqua base of Rockin’ Robin that was the first to catch my eye, and it ended up being my colour of choice to a gorgeous spring wedding I was invited to back in the UK.

deborah lippmann rockin robin swatch 1

I’ll be honest – I didn’t end up loving Rockin’ Robin nearly as much as I thought I would. Although the base colour reminded me of Essie’s Mint Candy Apple (an all-time fave), I found it a little disappointingly chalky and white leaning. Meanwhile, the layered coats of glitter did result in a slightly bumpy appearance, which is very apparent in my photos even if it wasn’t really that noticeable in real life. That being said, I received a LOT of compliments on this shade – although that might just be because I led a slightly more sociable week than normal (usually, all my nail polish gets shared only with my weary boyfriend and my camera!). One of my friends compared it winningly to a duck egg, and I definitely received a few more ‘cool’s than usual!

deborah lippmann rockin robin swatch

Application was fine; Rockin’ Robin is easily opaque with two thick coats, although I did find that three thinner coats resulted in a slightly smoother appearance (that actually wore longer too). The glitter comes onto the nail easily, although you may find it tends to pool towards certain areas depending on your brush stroke action! So be prepared to work with it quickly whilst it’s still wet to move the glitter around and achieve a nice spread (seriously… nail polish really is an art, right?!).

As usual, Deborah Lippmann impresses with her use of colour and glitter. The pastel/black glitter combo is a clever one – for me, it’s a neat way of playing with the glitter trend, but in a way that’s more palatable and accessible than the all-out glitterbomb. For those of you who aren’t quite ready to go frolicking in the fountain of sparkly just yet, this is a cute way to get in on the fun, with a colour combo that’s a proven winner – as evidenced most deliciously by mint choc chip ice cream! Just wait for the mainstream copies to come flooding in…

deborah lippmann rockin robin 1

Although I wasn’t totally convinced by the slightly chalky base, what I did love was the effect of the black glitter peeking through the layers of turquoise. It was just right – eye-catching matte black staring straight and strong at you on top, with hints of teeny tiny grey circles swimming dreamily beneath the surfaces. Nail polish addicts are big fans of the ‘jelly sandwich’ effect of layering glitters, but since the base of Rockin’ Robin definitely ain’t no jelly, I can only pronounce it an ‘ice cream sandwich’ – and hell, who doesn’t love those?!

Looks good with: ice cream sundaes, confetti and cupcakes, spring weddings
Drying time: 5-8 mins
Coats: 2-3
Chips: 1-3 days

Deborah Lippmann Rockin’ Robin, Spring 2013 Staccato Collection, $210, JOYCE

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Beauty Spot: Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints for Eyes in Fuller Fudge, Pink & Plenty and Big Blue review

Posted on April 5, 2013 | 3 Comments

clinique chubby stick shadow tints for eyes

I’ve seen the future… and it’s chubby.

Hot on the heels of Clinique’s amazing successful Chubby Stick and Chubby Stick Intense Moisturising Lip Balms, come Clinique’s Chubby Stick Shadow Tints for Eyes! If you’re onto something good, milk it for all it’s worth – and when it’s as outrageously awesome as this, who’s complaining?!

Chubby Stick Shadow Tints for Eyes are basically a riff on eye shadow pencils – think MAC Shadesticks, Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks, Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow Sticks, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils or NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils and you’re halfway there. The difference? Clinique’s Chubby Sticks are bigger, fatter and well… just plain chubbier! Whereas most of the above products are either slim-line refined sticks of shadow or supersized eyeliner pencils, Chubby Sticks are chunky crayons of colour, just the right size to grab hold of and glide across the eyelid in one swoop.

clinique chubby sticks shadow tints for eyes

Packaging wise, they are basically identical to the Chubby Sticks for lips, with the same twist-up base that means they never require sharpening (less hassle = more win). They’re ultra convenient – big enough that they don’t get lost in the detritus of your handbag, not so big that they’re clunky and impractical. Similarly, the fat rounded tip of the shadow seems to have been custom-curved to fit in your eye socket; I reckon you could even roll these on without looking in a mirror.

The formula of the shadow itself is somewhere between cream and powder. They’re not quite as… well, creamy… as a cream eye shadow, do not crease like many cream shadows and look more like a powder than a cream once on (they don’t have that ‘slick’ look to them). However, there’s definitely no powder-esque fall-out and they do not have the trademark dryer texture of a powder either! Once on, they feel nice, lightweight and set very quickly – great for staying power, but not so good for complex eye looks involving several shades.

clinique chubby sticks for eyes fuller fudge pink and plenty big blue swatchesLeft to right: Fuller Fudge, Pink & Plenty, Big Blue

The Chubby Stick Shadow Tints apply rather sheer – these are intended as washes of colour rather than shocking pops of wow (although all are buildable to opacity). C’mon, it’s Clinique, you weren’t really expecting sunglasses-required zings of electric blue were you?! The shades are all work-safe and versatile, and combined with how convenient and easy they are to apply, they’re just as much as a no-brainer for your day-to-day look as the Chubby Stick Lip Balms are!

I was sent three shades to try – Fuller Fudge, Pink & Plenty and Big Blue. They actually all performed differently in terms of wear-time, pigmentation and texture so I think it’s definitely worth playing at counter to get a feel for individual shades rather than going by the overall generalisations.

clinique fuller fudge chubby stick for eyes look

Fuller Fudge looks rather dull on first impressions but actually turned out to be my favourite! It is a medium red-based brown, slightly bronze-y and with a subtle gold shimmer. It is SO flattering, SO effortless and SO… easy (‘Eassssy like Sunday morning!’). It’s your favourite pair of jeans, your failsafe LBD, the colour that goes with everything, looks good on everyone and which every make-up cabinet should not be without.

clinique chubby stick for eyes fuller fudge look

This was also the best performing Chubby Stick of the bunch – the most pigmented, the longest lasting and the softest to the touch. It required only two passes to build to opacity and glides on with zero pulling or tugging. On me, the colour started noticeably fading around the six to eight hour mark.

sunny loves fuller fudge

As you can see, this was also Sunny’s favourite colour… he was desperate to get up there and give my lids a lick!

clinique chubby sticks for eyes fuller fudge pink and plenty big blue swatchLeft to right: Fuller Fudge, Pink & Plenty, Big Blue

My heart sunk a little on seeing Pink & Plenty arrive; light pink eye shadows tend to disappear on my pale skin whilst darker pinks just make my eyes look swollen! However, on testing the colour, I was pleasantly surprised – it’s a rosy pink with a gorgeous peachy-gold shimmer running through it… Pretty enough to make me seriously consider trying to use it as a blush!

Unfortunately, this was the weakest performing of the shades I tried. Perhaps it was just my Chubby Stick, but I found the texture extremely dry and stiff, making it quite uncomfortable to apply on the eye. Although I got it to show up fairly easily on my hand, on the eyes it was a different story and required a lot of (painful!) swiping for me to see anything there… and I gave up on trying to make it show up for camera, sorry! So instead, here’s a few more swatch pictures under different lighting that show the shimmer more (plus a chance to ogle the rest of the colours again!)

clinique chubby sticks for eyes swatches fuller fudge pink and plenty big blueLeft to right (you know the drill by now!): Fuller Fudge, Pink & Plenty, Big Blue

Pink & Plenty was also the least pigmented of the three I tried, meaning that wear time is significantly shorter. Personally, I would use this primarily as a layering shade with other Chubby Sticks to give a bit of added dimension and shimmer.

clinique big blue chubby stick for eyes look

I was wary about Big Blue – frosty blue eye shadows just seem a little bit 80s, a little too figure skater doing a number inspired by The Snow Queen! But actually, this colour is really lovely, a silvery blue shot through with enough grey to make it very wearable for the day-to-day.

For such a pale shade, it was actually surprisingly pigmented, with a strong colour showing after just one swipe and requiring only a couple more to build up to opacity. Thankfully, this was back to the easy application of Fuller Fudge – soft to the touch and with a similarly good wear time.

clinique chubby stick for eyes big blue look

What really impressed me about Big Blue was how versatile it is – worn alone, it’s a fresh icy blue that works for summer days and brightening your eyes, but you could easily smudge up that eyeliner and layer it with other greys to achieve a dramatic smoky eye effect too.

Overall, I did like the Chubby Stick Shadow Tints for Eyes on several counts – convenience, ease of use, the playful packaging and the wearable but not yawn-inducing colours. Personally, I found them softer and more comfortable to apply than the majority of MAC’s Shadesticks and Urban Decay’s 24/7 Shadow Pencils, and they don’t have the creasing problems of NYX’s Jumbo Pencils. However, they’re a long way short of the magnificence of Laura Mercier’s Caviar Sticks, which are incredibly creamy, gorgeously pigmented, crazy long lasting and really deserve a review on here soon! For that reason, they don’t fill a desperate gaping hole in my make-up stash like the Chubby Stick Lip Balms did; the Shadow Tints just are not nearly as dreamily creamy on the eyes as their balm counterparts are on the lips.

clinique chubby sticks for eyesObligatory pretty Instagram photo for no real reason

Nevertheless, I do love the packaging and concept enough to want to check out some other shades at counter; crazy colours have a tendency to take over my make-up bag and we all need a pretty palette cleanser every once in a while! After all, Fuller Fudge is just the kind of colour I never realised I was lacking until I tried it – and then I was smitten! The Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints for Eyes deliver on their promise of lovely wearable shades that are convenient and easy to use in the trademark Clinique fuss-free way.

Now who wants some Chubby Blushes next then?!

Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints for Eyes, $155, see all Clinique locations in Hong Kong here

Note: I was sent these products to review

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Beauty Spot: Nails Inc Sugar House Lane nail polish review

Posted on March 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

nails inc sugar house lane

Nails Inc’s Sprinkles Collection of polishes continues to raid the kitchen pantry for delicious inspiration – if Sweets Way was the hundreds and thousands on top of a cupcake, then Sugar House Lane is cookies n’ cream in a chocolate sundae!

Sugar House Lane is a lip-smacking combination of black and silver glitter in a creamy milk coffee brown base – think an Oreo milkshake and you’re pretty much there (and now you’ve got me thinking about Oreo milkshakes… mmm)!

nails inc sugar house lane nail polish

nails inc sugar house lane close-up

The formula here is good, but not as perfect as Sweets Way. The glitter in Sugar House Lane is really densely packed, meaning there’s not quite as much base to produce that yummy glitter sandwich effect – meaning it dries a little more textured and gritty-looking than Sweets Way. However, in terms of consistency, dry time and ease of use, there’s no doubt that Sugar House Lane is still one of the most fuss-free but complex glitter polishes you’ll come across.

And the combination of the colours is truly great, almost an indie take on cutesy cupcake glitter. Who would have bet on blacks and beiges being in a collection inspired by fairy cakes?! I felt Sugar House Lane might have been even cooler if matte white glitter had been added instead of silver… but hey, I’ve just been thinking about Oreos too much!

nails inc sugar house lane swatch

In addition to looking seriously gorgeous, these Nails Inc Sprinkles polishes make me very hungry. If you have more will power than me (guiltily wandering off to 7-11 to find a Hershey’s Cookies N’ Cream bar as we speak), Sugar House Lane is cuteness without the calories – drool-worthy in more ways than one!

Lord help me, I still have another two Sprinkles polishes to review – who knows what other sweet treats I’ll find myself craving after those!

Looks good with: Oreo milkshakes, 50s-style diners, getting a dime for the jukebox
Drying time: 2 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 3 days

Nails Inc Sugar House Lane, 2012 Sprinkles Collection

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One Man, Two Guvnors @ HKAPA review

Posted on February 25, 2013 | 4 Comments

one man two guvnors poster

Much as I love the theatre, I could probably count the number of times a play has made me laugh until I cried on one hand. In fact, I could probably count it on one finger. Until last Sunday, that is.

The National Theatre of Great Britain’s award-winning production of One Man, Two Guvnors rolled into the HKAPA as part of 2013’s Hong Kong Arts Festival – and it is without doubt the most sublimely deliriously happy three hours I have spent in a theatre in my entire life. I laughed until I wept… and then I laughed even more.

But first, the history bit. One Man, Two Guvnors is a modern-day adaptation of Goldoni’s 16th century Commedia dell’Arte play The Servant Of Two Masters (don’t worry, I didn’t know anything about Commedia dell’Arte either.) Directed by theatre powerhouse Nicholas Hytner, it became the smash hit of the last few years, transferring to the West End and Broadway, winning a raft of awards, critical acclaim and completely reversing the fortunes of its star, James Corden, in the eyes of a sceptical British public.

one man two guvnors owain arthur

Having resigned myself to the fact I’d never actually get to see it yet continuing to taunt myself by reading one rave review after another, I was absolutely thrilled that the Arts Festival managed to score the major coup of bringing it over to Hong Kong – with Owain Arthur (above), Corden’s understudy who took over the part to great praise after the original cast transferred to Broadway, reprising the main role. In theatre terms, this is pretty much as good as it gets for the HK arts scene.

one man two guvnors hk

The plot is pure farce – a riot of mistaken identities, comedic misunderstandings, ridiculous situations and lots of falling over. Francis Henshall (Arthur) is the titular one man, his two guvnors local gangster Roscoe Crabbe (Rosie Wyatt) and public schoolboy twit Stanley Stubbers (Edward Bennett). Roscoe wants to collect the fee promised to him for going through a marriage of convenience to ditsy Pauline Clench (Kellie Shirley), yet she’s now in love with someone else. Oh, and Crabbe is actually Roscoe’s twin sister Rachel in disguise, after Roscoe was murdered by her boyfriend… said boyfriend being none other than Stanley Stubbers. Lost track yet?!

As soon as I entered the theatre, I knew we were in for a great night. After all, how many plays bother to entertain their audience for fifteen minutes prior to curtain with a 50s style skiffle band, The Kraze (below), where one member plays the washboard (and the lead singer looks like a hot Simon Bird from The Inbetweeners)?! In fact, the rollicking tunes set you up for the evening, which proudly wears its influences on its sleeve – music hall crossed with panto crossed with Carry On crossed with Restoration comedy crossed with melodrama crossed with vaudeville crossed with whatever else tickles your funny bone – and yet it manages to be not quite like anything else you’ve ever seen.

one man two guvnors the kraze

The star of the show is, without doubt, Owain Arthur. As soon as he makes his first entrance, you can almost feel the stage lighten. With a roly-poly physique made for physical comedy, expressive elastic features, a lilting Welsh accent and an utterly infectious laugh, he makes it all look so very easy. The best moments come from his absolutely hilarious bouts of audience interaction – these crackle with a brilliant electric sense of unpredictability, and Arthur ensures that whatever the audience throws at him, the results are side-achingly funny.

Commedia dell’Arte, it turns out, thrives on improvisation – back in the 16th century, actors would get paid extra if they received a round of applause on their exit line; later, Corden et al would compete against one another to get the most laughs each night. As both cast and audience in Hong Kong start to warm up, you can see them egging each other on, cracking each other up throughout (I loved watching the band, who are on-stage throughout, giggling away with the rest of us) until the whole thing snowballs into an unstoppable avalanche of laughs. Complete with musical interludes from the cast, frequent breaking of the fourth wall and regular asides to the audience, this is a play that thrives on its theatricality, unpredictability and spontaneous crackling energy. That sensation of being in an audience swept away on the crest of a wave is unbeatable. You simply can’t get this from movies or television… and that’s what made me love it even more.

one man two guvnors edward bennett

I also particularly enjoyed Kellie Shirley’s gloriously dumb blonde Pauline Clench, and her ham-tastic actor beau Leon Williams as Harry Dangle (at one point, Williams plays his torso as an instrument – it has to be seen to be believed!). Both throw in performances so big that you could probably see them back in London, yet they still manage to be uproariously funny without feeling forced. Meanwhile, Edward Bennett (above) gets many of the best lines (‘Soggy biscuit!’) as posh boy Stanley (with so many reviews concentrating on physical comedy, I was surprised by quite how much sharp wordplay and quick one-liners Richard Bean’s script packed in), so it’s a shame many get swallowed amongst the fast pace, audience laughter and wobbly acoustics of the HKAPA.

With a bright 1960s Brighton set, colourful period costumes (note Francis Henshall’s checked suit, a neat call-back to the harlequin role in Commedia dell’Arte) and a full song-and-dance number at the end, One Man, Two Guvnors is not a show that does anything by halves. Even when you think it couldn’t take a joke any further, it still goes that one breath more to leave you wheezing for mercy. The play builds up a manic momentum, reaching a crescendo with the final act of its first half (a restaurant scene that’s a master-class in pure farce) that the short-feeling second half just can’t live up to.

ONE MAN TWO GUVNORS by Bean

And so, 900 words later and I still feel I haven’t done justice to quite how hilarious this show is… and it really is hilarious. It’s as simple as that. The only type of pain I enjoy is the kind where you start to physically hurt from laughing so hard – and One Man, Two Guvnors delivers that sensation in spades. It’s a potent reminder of the power of live theatre, and a beautiful bawdy love letter to quite how wonderful comedy can be.

One Man, Two Guvnors by The National Theatre of Great Britain, 15-23 February 2013 (part of the 41st Hong Kong Arts Festival). Tickets cost $200-580.

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Beauty Spot: Nails Inc Sweets Way nail polish review

Posted on February 18, 2013 | 2 Comments

nails inc sweets way

Sugar and spice and all things nice… that’s what Nails Inc Sweets Way is made of!

Sweets Way is part of Nails Inc’s awesome Sprinkles Collection of nail polishes. As soon as I saw these swoon-worthy sweeties online, I knew I had to have them – and since Nails Inc isn’t sold in Hong Kong, the lovely Jenn sent them to me! And I am so SO happy she did, because I am even more in love with them in real life!

nails inc sweets way swatch 1

nails inc sweets way swatch close-up

All the polishes in the Sprinkles Collection are made up of pretty multi-coloured pastel glitters that are supposed to look like cupcake toppings – and Sweets Way may just be the best of them all! It’s like hundreds and thousands but in nail polish and I can easily imagine these colours in fairy cake form… totally irresistibly adorable.

Sweets Way has a very milky pale pink base with blue, pink and silvery-white glitter pieces inside. Many glitter nail polishes are straight up glitterbombs but what I love about Sweets Way (and in fact, most of the Sprinkles Collection) is that the glitter has been slightly mattified, meaning you don’t get blinding bling but instead, a cute hundreds-and-thousands style sprinkle effect. It’s GORGEOUS. [You'll have to excuse the amount of near identical pictures... I was basically obsessed with it!]

nails inc sweets way swatch

nails inc sweets way swatch macro

Similarly, real thought has gone into picking the selection of colours – the perfect blend of pretty pastels, like something out of a fairy-tale sweet shop. The milky base tones down the glitter beautifully, leaving you with an astonishingly wearable but amazingly complex pastel, rather than the poppers o’ clock discoballs that glitter nail polish usually translates to. Nails Inc’s inspiration might have been cupcakes, but anything adorable fits the bill – one look at Sweets Way conjures up candy-coated images of sugared almonds, old-fashioned Easter eggs, floral crockery with lace doilies, and Alice In Wonderland afternoon teas.

Given the amount of glitter in here, I was expecting Sweets Way to be a bit of a nightmare. But clearly, its sunny disposition managed to rub off onto the fantastic formula too; it flowed from the brush to the nail easily, with an even spread of glitter that didn’t pool into unexpected clumps or require me to carefully ‘place’ it. It built to opacity in two fuss-free coats, dried quickly and layered nicely, without feeling gritty, thick, gloopy or gluey. This was my first time using a Nails Inc polish (the brush is on the short side but of medium thickness and easy to control), and I was mightily impressed.

nails inc sweets way 3

Sweets Way is easily one of my favourite nail polishes ever. It’s pastel perfection – unusual but highly wearable, wow-worthy without being OTT. I don’t think it could get any cuter unless the nail polish bottle actually curtsied. Cupcakes all round!

Looks good with: fairy cakes with rainbow icing, Cath Kidston crockery with lace doilies, pick n’ mix sweeties
Drying time: 2 minutes
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 3 days

Nails Inc Sweets Way nail polish, Sprinkles Collection

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Beauty Spot: Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense in Grandest Grape, Broadest Berry & Mightiest Maraschino review

Posted on February 11, 2013 | 2 Comments

Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense

It’s time to get chubby!

We all know how much I love Clinique’s Chubby Stick lip balms (I own seven and counting!), so it should come as no surprise that I have been awaiting the launch of the new Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense with baited breath… or should that be puckered lips?!

clinique chubby sticks intense

Clinique’s Chubby Sticks Intense are basically Chubby Sticks with added junk in the trunk. Whilst the regular Chubby Sticks are more mellow subtle sorbets, these new ones are in-yer-face intense shots of colour. For all of you who loved the old moisturising formula yet wished the shades were just that little more pigmented – well, the Clinique Genie has been at work and your wish is their command.

Just to recap – Chubby Sticks are big fat crayons of awesome, marrying just the right amount of colour to a lovely soft non-sticky moisturising formula (you can read more about the originals here). The Intense versions simply up the ante, delivering strong vibrant and opaque shades with all the pigmentation of a lipstick but none of its often harsh drying effects, thanks to those all important infusions of shea butter, mango seed butter and jojoba seed oil.

clinique chubby stick intense grandest grape broadest berry mightiest maraschino swatchesLeft to right: Grandest Grape, Broadest Berry, Mightiest Maraschino

I was delighted when Clinique sent me three of these new babies to test drive – Grandest Grape, Broadest Berry and Mightiest Maraschino. All of these deliver intense solid colour with just one swipe, as opposed to the originals, where you’d typically have to layer it quite a few times if you wanted to build them up to any semblance of opacity.

clinique chubby stick intense vs original swatchesLeft to right: Chunky Cherry vs Mightiest Maraschino, Whole Lotta Honey vs Broadest Berry

Check out the swatch picture above to see how they compare transparency-wise to the originals – all are shown with just one heavy swipe of the crayon (sorry, nothing similar to Grandest Grape in my Chubby collection!). Showing them side-by-side makes the originals look positively washed out!

clinique chubby stick intense grandest grape

Grandest Grape is a rich berry plum shade that leans really purple on my lips. It’s one of those colours that I find a little dark for my usual Morticia-esque pallor so I’d probably save this for days when I’m feeling more like vamping it up!

clinique chubby stick intense broadest berry

Broadest Berry isn’t really a berry at all – it’s a shade I’d typically describe as ‘antique rose’ and is a lot more neutral than I’d ever think any lip colour with the word ‘berry’ in it would be! It’s an office-safe mix of warm brown and dusky pink, leaning more on the brown side for me. This feels like quite a ‘mature’ colour to me, and again, I find it a little dark for my Cullen family skin tone. It’s a definite people-pleaser though and I can see Broadest Berry working for loads of complexions and personalities.

clinique chubby stick intense mightiest maraschino

My favourite of the three was Mightiest Maraschino. Apart from reminding me of Marty from Grease (‘Maraschino… like the cherry’) – and obviously any opportunity to remember Grease is ALWAYS a good thing! – this was the colour that was most up my street. It’s a bright sock-it-to-em red that (like many reds seem to) leans quite pink on me, making it look cerise on my lips. Nonetheless, it’s still pretty gorgeous. I liked it so much, it gets two photos AND a whole new background – there’s favouritism for ya!

clinique chubby stick intense mightiest maraschino look

I was mightily impressed with the Chubby Stick Intense formula, especially given how great the pigmentation was – if anything, it felt almost creamier than the original! They also have great staying power, lasting well over four hours with the most intense, Mightiest Maraschino, staying put for around six. There is a little bit of slide there so they do transfer, but you get left with a nice stain rather than the colour disappearing full stop. And I still love love love the crayon twist-up application, which I find miraculously much easier, fuss-free and more convenient to use than regular bullet lipsticks.

Clinique have admirably resisted the urge to just go bold and bright with their first set of Chubby Sticks Intense (even if I’d like to have seen a few more fun playful colours); instead, they’ve produced lots of really wearable and versatile shades like neutrals and berries, which lots of women love and use regularly in their make-up routine but now get to experience chubby-style with that lovely creamy moisturising formula. Although these are all pigmented to the hilt, none of them look garish or intimidating. It really is the best of both worlds scenario – great pigmentation AND a great formula. The only way these could get better is if they somehow manage to work Chubby Rain into a future name (and if you don’t get that reference, go watch Bowfinger)!

clinique chubby sticks intense mightiest maraschino broadest berry grandest grape

Personally, I still love the old shades too as they’re great for easy everyday wear (their semi-sheerness means you don’t need to be nearly as exacting with application… or indeed marrying the colour with the rest of your look or outfit!) but for that extra hit of pigmentation, Chubby Sticks Intense do the job brilliantly. If, like the original Chubby Sticks, they come out with a further set of colours (hey Clinique Genie, I like coral!), Chubby Sticks Intense may even render the rest of my lipstick collection null and void. Get ready for the chubby revolution!

Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense Moisturising Lip Colour Balm, $150, see all Clinique locations in Hong Kong here

Note: these products were provided for me to review.

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Beauty Spot: Clinique Chubby Sticks in Two Ton Tomato, Mighty Mimosa & Pudgy Peony review

Posted on September 24, 2012 | 6 Comments

When it comes to my make-up miracles, Clinique already has two in the bag (their Cream Eyeliner and their Anti-Blemish Solutions Cleansing Foam). Last year, their Chubby Stick lippies joined the hall of fame – and now they’ve unleashed a series of fantastic brand new shades (and they really are fantastic), my love has only lifted higher and hiiiigher!

Although I love Clinique (I know I sound like a broken record but: stringently allergy tested, 100% fragrance-free, dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested i.e. a GODSEND sensitive skin), their make-up can be a little… whisper it… boring. Work-safe colours, neutral shades, workmanlike branding – their cosmetics very rarely got the pulse racing, even if they worked wonders. The first round of Chubby Sticks in Hong Kong were lovely, pretty, perfect everyday colours – but this latest set of shades really pack a gorgeous punch.

Even the names – Two Ton Tomato, Mighty Mimosa, Pudgy Peony – have me sort of salivating. You just know they’re going to be as fun, colourful and cute as the name “Chubby Stick” deserves.

But first, back to the Chubby Sticks themselves. They’re basically lip balms with added awesome. They have an adorable playful vibe that was exactly the shot in the arm that Clinique’s cosmetics division needed (later continued with their delish Lip and Lid Smoothies… and soon Chubby Stick eye shadows, gaaaa!). Fat chunky crayons of sheer but buildable natural colour, they’re ultra-moisturising, extremely convenient (the unthreatening slick of colour means you can get away with applying these sans mirror) and a ton more fun than my usual tin of Vaseline!

Top to bottom: Two Ton Tomato, Mighty Mimosa, Pudgy Peony

The first set of four shades (which I naturally bought all of) were mostly pinks and beiges, the second mostly browns… but now there’s a whole new eight shades to play with, and there’s something for everyone. As always, they come with cute fruity juicy names, which are dying to have some ice-cream flavour tie-ins – and I got to try three of my instant faves!

Two Ton Tomato (above) is an orange-leaning bright red. It’s one of those really easy comfy reds that aren’t too intimidating and which you can incorporate easily into your normal look. It actually ends up leaning a little more pink on my lips; one of the great things about Chubby Sticks is how they interact with your own lip colour, meaning you rarely get a total complexion clash. I love how Two Ton Tomato really brightens up my whole face – it’s just a cheerful wash of red that you can build up to a nice chunk of colour! Love it.

Mighty Mimosa (above) is the sheerest of the three, a soft pretty light pink with a hint of shimmer. For me, this is very much a ‘my lips but better’ shade (the paler side of better rather than darker side – which is Whole Lotta Honey in case you’re interested!). It gives a lovely soft romantic look, although it does require quite a few hefty swipes to build up any noticeable colour. I can see myself sporting Mighty Mimosa on a regular day-to-day basis and it complements an average neutral look well.

Pudgy Peony (above) wins hands down for my favourite name – argh, I just want to eat it! I pretty much want to eat the colour too; it’s a scrummy raspberry sorbet, a faded fuchsia and a very wearable cerise that’s the most pigmented of the three. Again, I can see myself reaching for this regularly to inject an easy breezy shot of colour to my look. I own a lot of similarly coloured lipsticks so this is a nice low-maintenance way to work the shade.

The Chubby Sticks’ super soft lip balm formula is just the same and great as ever, loaded with jojoba oil and mango and shea butters for that extra moisturising effect; they’re totally non-drying so feel extremely comfy on. Since they are quite sheer, the colour isn’t going to last forever – a couple of hours on average, with Pudgy Peony faring the best of the three, with a fuchsia tint even making it through dinner! But given how easy these are to re-apply (seriously… as easy as any of the other 50 lip balms I carry in my handbag on a daily basis), it’s no hardship to keep swiping these on for a sweet pop of colour and slick of moisture throughout your day.

Overall, the new Chubby Sticks are just as fab as I’d been hoping – lovely bursts of subtle colour that work beautifully with my normal day-to-day look. What’s more, they’re not all just variations on ‘my lips but better’ but also deliver that extra bit of oomph… I only wish they’d come out even sooner as I’d have been wearing these babies all summer long!

Clinique Chubby Sticks in Two Ton Tomato, Mighty Mimosa and Pudgy Peony, $150; see all Clinique stores and counters in Hong Kong here.

Note: these products were provided to me for review.

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Beauty Spot: BareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 4.0 in The Truth review

Posted on September 15, 2012 | 1 Comment

When did bareMinerals get all fun?! Last I remembered, they were a rather holier than thou company extolling the virtues of mineral make-up back in the day when no one else really cared. Well now, everyone cares… and bareMinerals is coming of age at just the right time.

Their packaging and products have had a bit of a makeover (love their hot pink bags) and top of my to-try list were the bareMinerals READY eyeshadows. I can’t be doing with messy loose pigments on the daily basis, which is what bareMinerals were predominantly famous for, but these new eyeshadows are solid pressed babies in duo or quad palettes rather reminiscent of *cough*Nars*cough*.

They also come filled with lots of mineralised goodies – a SeaNutritive MineralTM Complex (hrrmm?), powerful antioxidants, cold-pressed borage oil (double hrrmm?), caffeine and cucumber that deliver anti-ageing benefits, reduce puffiness and boost moisture – but perhaps what’s more important is what they don’t come with. As bareMinerals says: ‘No parabens, no binders, no fillers, no harsh chemicals, no kidding.’ (See what I mean about them getting all fun? That could be a Benefit slogan!). Yet us make-up addicts know that all these cool ingredients and amazing claims are worth nothing is the make-up itself just doesn’t perform. Thankfully, these READY eyeshadows are pretty much my favourite new discovery of 2012.

I was sent The Truth Palette to try – and if you’re tearing your hair out trying to get hold of Urban Decay’s Naked Palette, then listen up! It’s a super-wearable quad of four neutral brown shades… but I promise, it’s definitely not boring.

But first, I am duty-bound to mention how cute but classy the packaging is. The black rubber palette (*cough*Nars*cough*) comes in a flip-open cardboard box, with nice little details like a colour-coded key telling you which shade is what (also on the edge of the box for ease of identification!).

The back of the palette has a sticker showing all the names and colours, whilst inside there is a double-ended sponge applicator (decently soft for quick applications) and a mirror. But the best is the little message on the plastic sheeting… that I can’t bear to throw away because it makes me smile every time I see it!

Anyway, the four shades are (left to right): Serendipitous, a shimmering champagne; Magnetism, a shimmery taupe; Fate, a warm-toned chestnut brown; and Apropos, a dark espresso brown with silver glitter. In short, they’re the ideal ingredients for creating a perfect smoky eye, whether for day or night!

These have to be some of the softest powder eyeshadows I have ever come across, but without stinting on colour, pigmentation or wear. They’re genuinely so beautifully buttery that they’re probably the closest thing to a cream eyeshadow without actually being one! Touching one of these is a reminder of how easy make-up can be; I’ve spent so long dealing with hard unyielding eyeshadows that I’ve conned myself into thinking anything that isn’t a struggle is excellent… but the reality is that these babies are the real deal.

My favourite shade is Magnetism (see above, excuse the bizarre twisting of head), which I can see myself wearing the hell out of. It’s a super-flattering cool-toned mink taupe, with just the right amount of shimmer – you can keep it fairly sheer for your day-to-day or layer it on to smoke it up! It’s pretty much the exact colour of two of my holy grail eyeshadows (one from Ruby & Millie, one from Benefit), long since discontinued and which I have been trying to replicate ever since!

Fate is similarly pretty, with just the right amount of shimmer, but warm tones tend to look a little muddy on me – however, it works well blended with the rest of the colours to create shading effects. Serendipitous is a pretty highlighter shade, not really visible to the bare eye but that adds a lovely shimmer over the top of the other colours or to add on the arch of your brow. Apropos has a teeny tiny gritty feel thanks to the (extremely sparse, rather irrelevant) silver glitter; sans the glitter (which mostly disappears when it hits your eye anyway), it’s pretty much matte and works well in the crease or for smoking up your outer corner.

As a palette, it’s great. It’s small and convenient enough to be an obvious choice for travelling, it’s easy to make all the shades work well together and it’s general a bit of a no-brainer. Yes, there probably are more exciting choices in the READY range, but I guarantee that The Truth is a palette you’ll keep coming back to.

Day look: Magnetism (all over lid), Fate (outer corner, in crease), Serendipitous (sheer wash all over, on arch). Photo-bombing Boyfriend not included in palette!

All last a good eight hours on the lids, if not longer, without fading, creasing, fallout or any other eyeshadow woes. As for all wonder claims of the special ingredients – I have fairly sensitive eyes that a lot of shadows have been drying out recently and I experienced no such problems with the bareMinerals READY formula, so it looks like they may be onto something with boosting moisture levels! In regards to whether it reduces puffiness or the appearance of fine lines, I’ll have to wait a couple more regular uses before reporting back.

I also love bareMineral’s names for all of their READY Eyeshadows – they are all ‘The’ something, which of course reminds me of fabulous Estessimo TINS nail polishes, which is an awesome thing to be reminded of!

But the real show of how much I fell head over heels for these? As soon as I’d tried The Truth, I instantly went out and bought two more bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow duos… and I’m pretty sure they won’t be the last!

The Truth bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 4.0, $320; see all bareMinerals locations in Hong Kong here

Note: The product in this post was provided for me to review.

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Mid-Autumn Festival 2011, Moon Fun Playground lantern exhibition: fairground attraction!

Posted on September 9, 2012 | 3 Comments

Mid-Autumn Festival is rolling round again (four day weekend, hollaaaa!), so what better time to bring you… a full year late… the gorgeous lanterns from last year’s festivities?!

My advice is to bypass the crowds at Victoria Park and instead head to Tsim Sha Tsui’s Cultural Centre Piazza, where every year they have an awesome thematic lantern exhibition. It stays on display for a full month (much longer than the ones at Victoria Park), is less crowded (especially if you hit it when everyone else is having their dinner or when they are otherwise occupied with the Symphony Of Lights show), provides almost an hour’s worth of photo opportunities and intense study of all the amazing close-up details of each lantern, plus you can then get the Star Ferry home and admire HK’s amazing skyline… its very own modern cityscape of a lantern show.

I wondered how the LCSD were going to better their charming wonderful Rhapsody Of Hong Kong Memories lantern exhibition from 2010… so in 2011, they went straight for the cute jugular with Moon Fun Playground, a fairground themed display with loads of adorable bunny lanterns everywhere (well, it was the Year of the Rabbit after all!).

Here are a few of my highlights…

Moon Fun Playground’s centrepiece: a giant bunny rollercoaster, with cavorting dolphins, whales and errr… windmills. Take that, Ocean Park!

Tightrope walking… plate spinning… these bunnies got skillz!

Mid-autumn festival lanterns holding… other mid-autumn festival lanterns. Totally meta!

I love the detail that went into all the bunnies’ outfits – they could have easily just made them block colours, but instead they have little dungarees, waistcoasts and bows.

I think pirate bunny may be my absolute favourite… can you tell?!

This year, TST’s lantern exhibition will be the much less light-hearted sounding Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty. It will run from 13 September until 21 October… so I’ll probably bring you my recap of that sometime in 2013! As for Victoria Park – well, last year, they had some of the Rhapsody of Hong Kong Memories lanterns recycled for the display there, so you never know, you might see these bunnies make a return appearance this time round too!

Moon Fun Playground thematic lantern exhibition, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza (near Star Ferry), Tsim Sha Tsui; 1 September until 9 October 2011, 6.30-11.00pm.

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Beauty Spot: Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense review

Posted on July 16, 2012 | 3 Comments

Some people never leave the house without a sweep of mascara. For others, it’s a swipe of lipstick. But for me, it’s a slick of eyeliner!

I do actually leave the house without make-up on a regular basis (are beauty bloggers allowed to admit this?!), but if I’m venturing more than a couple of MTR stops away and if there’s a chance of being seen by anyone that matters, out the eyeliner comes! As a result, I have two go-to holy grail eyeliners – Clinique’s Brush-On Cream Eyeliner in Smoke Grey and Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in just about every colour under the sun. But I’m always on the hunt for more… enter Clinique’s Quickliner for Eyes Intense.

Top to bottom: Intense Plum, Intense Charcoal, Intense Ivy

These are eyeliners of the twist-up variety in thin lightweight plastic casing and come in six colours, all deep dark smoky numbers and all typical Clinique play-safe options. I tried Intense Plum, a deep purple; Intense Charcoal, a dark smoky grey just a few shades off black; and Intense Ivy, a dark moss green. I’m a big fan of off-black shades as I think they just look better and less harsh for day-to-day wear – and all these colours are brilliant if you feel likewise, delivering a softer take on black but still with the necessary intensity.

To be honest, from far off, you can barely tell that they are all different colours anyway so I do wish Clinique had turned up the colour instead of the black. Intense Charcoal is very similar to my beloved Smoke Grey so I can easily see that staying in my make-up bag on a regular basis, when I can’t be bothered to fiddle about with applying cream eyeliner. I think green eyeliners look awesome with brown eyes, so I was disappointed in quite how un-green Intense Ivy looked once it was on. My favourite was Intense Plum, which boasts a gorgeous purple shimmer that isn’t totally lost on the eye. I’m wearing that in the photo, which shows my pretty normal everyday look – lots of eyeliner, not much else! What can I say… I never shook off my teenage addiction to racoon eyes!

In terms of formula, these lovelies definitely pack a punch! They are super-soft and creamy yet deliver pigment for days. One stroke is all you need to get a defined colour-saturated line and they glide onto the eye area smoothly. The only problem with these twist-up eyeliners is that they lose their sharpened point immediately after one use (see above compared with the pretty points in the promo photos!), meaning you can no longer get as thin a line (a bonus if you prefer a smudgier effect though!). I would have preferred that Clinique included a sharpener (like Dior and Guerlain do with their similar eyeliners) instead of the sponge blending tip at the other end of the liner, which I honestly find rather useless (hey, I have fingers for that!).

As for wear, Clinique reckons they last 12 hours. I’m not so sure. I definitely got a good eight hours plus on the lashline but for the waterline, not so much (maybe four?!). I also found that rather than simply fading, these tended to flake off in little flecks of pigment instead – although, please let it be known, I have an abnormally watery lashline! For true last all day eyeliner, I would still return to Clinque’s Cream Eyeliner, which really does offer great return on those extra few minutes spent applying with a brush versus the wear of most pencils.

As ever with Clinique, they’re all 100% fragrance-free and stringently dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested, meaning you can be guaranteed a gentle formula that works well for those with sensitive skin like myself.

For ease of use and intensity of colour, these Clinique Quickliners are a winner. They’re all in shades perfect for creating dramatic smoky eyes yet just a simple swipe or two makes for a good defined everyday eye too. Whilst they’re not going to replace my two holy grail eyeliners anytime soon, they will definitely be entering my stash as great lazy day options when I don’t want to faff with a brush or go wild with colour.

Clinique Quickliners for Eyes Intense, $150; see all Clinique stores and counters in Hong Kong here.

Note: The products in this post were provided to me for review.

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