Tag Archives: Beauty

OPI Planks-A-Lot nail polish review

Posted on August 25, 2011 | 2 comments

It’s been a while since a nail polish review right? Well, let’s get back on the Pirates Of The Caribbean galleon with OPI’s Planks-A-Lot.

Firstly, what a name! Fun and tongue-in-cheek enough not to feel like you got dumped with a huge side order of cheese.

Planks-A-Lot is probably the brightest colour in the Pirates Collection, which mostly specialised in muted muddied pastels that weren’t at all what you’d associate with the gypsies of the seven seas. It’s a medium perfect purple, veering slightly to the lavender side yet still bright enough to not quite sit at home amongst pastels. It does have a touch of dustiness to it too and is noticeably darker than the pale lilac of the bottle, but nothing near as greyed-out as the grurple explosion (best exemplified by all-time favourite, Parlez-Vous OPI). And obviously, I love it.

You know this. I love all purples. Grey purples. Matte purples. Flakie purples. Holo purples. Glittery purples. Rock star purples. Purple, purple, purple (thought I’d just say it a few more times to make sure). So it’s no surprise that I now love Planks-A-Lot, a fairly straightforward lavender purple crème, too.

What I didn’t love was the formula. I had similar problems with OPI’s Mermaid’s Tears and Planks-A-Lot was even worse. Thick, gloopy, uneven first coat… and once again, I tried to over-compensate, forgetting about OPI’s self-levelling properties, meaning I didn’t get quite the lovely smooth finish I hoped for. But even then, Planks-A-Lot is still super-glossy, lushly creamy and just a gorgeous dreamboat of a colour through and through.

So I know I’m not surprisingly anyone by declaring my outright love for Planks-A-Lot, but she really is a beauty. Yo ho ho and all that too.

Looks good with: muted crèmes, florals, grey
Drying time: 10 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: +7 days

OPI Planks A Lot nail polish, Summer 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, $70, Cher2

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Canmake Jewel Star Eyes, Stone Gold and Illumination Nude eye shadow review

Posted on August 18, 2011 | 1 comment

I’ve recently been on a cream eye shadow kick – whether it’s because they feel more convenient than powders, seem cooler for summer or there’s just some subliminal connection to ice-cream, I’m not sure! The latest victims of my cream eye-shadow binge? Canmake Jewel Star Eyes in 07 Stone Gold and 08 Illumination Nude.

Canmake is a Japanese cosmetics brand and like most Japanese cosmetics brands, glittery girliness is very much the order of the day! The Jewel Star Eye Shadows are no exception – all nine shades are packed to the hilt with shimmer, sparkle, pearl and lamé particles for a high-shine Hollywood finish.

The texture of these is somewhere between a cream, jelly and mousse (my friend Jenn reckons they’re cheaper versions of Jill Stuart’s Eye Jellies); not as thick as a typical cream eye shadows, yet not as bouncy as a jelly and without that light whipped feeling of a mousse. The shadow slides onto your fingertips easily, almost melting off in fact (yet more subliminal ice-cream connections!), and it feels slippery and light but dries to a smudge-proof finish almost instantly. One light swipe gives you a sheerer, stardust-like effect, with a few heavy smears required to build the shadow to a more vivid colour.

Stone Gold (07) is a light wash of champagne or white gold. It contains gold, silver and red pearl particles – more recognisable to you and me as glitter – and I’d say silver is most noticeable of these three. This is a great neutral that packs more of a punch than the average neutral and looks really beautiful layered over other colours for a stunning starlit shimmer. For me, however, it’s a little too insubstantial to use on its own.

Illumination Nude (08) is a pinky-peachy melon shade that’s yet another great neutral. Canmake recommends using this as a base and the colour is in the vein of Urban Decay’s Sin (which you can see swatched in this post) – except there’s a riot of glitter going on here too! Close-up, you can really see the mixture of gold, pearl and red particles, and in the light, they flash a whole rainbow of other colours too. This is a more strongly-pigmented, multi-dimensional colour than Stone Gold and the shadow’s texture is smoother than Stone Gold’s too (you can tell this from the banner photo alone!). This one is sensationally pretty, especially when it hits the sun.

I was worried that Illumination Nude was a dupe for one of my Urban Decay shadows, X, and from this angle, my worry was well-founded! Illumination Nude basically looks like someone emptied a jar of glitter into the Urban Decay!

However, X is an amazing eye shadow (full review… someday) that performs a chameleon number on the Canmake and turns to a pretty pink-gold from other angles. So not a dupe after all!

Canmake promises that the Jewel Star Eyes series is long-lasting, non-creasing and doesn’t shed glitter. I can get on-board with non-creasing, but used alone, I found that the shadows seemed to melt away after a few hours and Stone Gold in particular dispensed glitter around my eyes during its disappearing act! I also wish the packaging was a little more substantial – they’re in individual plastic pans that are small and easy to lose in the wilderness of my make-up bag. But since you have a smaller quantity of product, plus shadows that feel less wet and more compressed than typical creams and jellies, drying out shouldn’t be as much of a problem.

I enjoy the unique easy-to-use texture of Canmake’s Jewel Star Eyes and getting that super-starry effect from such a light feeling, non-gritty shadow is rather awesome. It’s a shame the other colours in the range aren’t more useable – bright playground purples, blues, greens and pinks bulk up the rest of the range. I like to use 07 and 08 blended together to create a look so multi-dimensionally sparkly that passing magpies squawk in approval but that’s still neutral, easily wearable and versatile.

If you’re a fan of glitters, these are a must; if you’re a fan of great-wearing cream eye shadows, perhaps not. Canmake’s Jewel Star Eyes are not quite the crown jewels in my book, yet make for some pretty fantastic costume jewellery nonetheless.

Canmake Jewel Star Eyes in 07 Stone Gold and 08 Illumination Nude, $64, City Super and selected Sasas

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Dr Wendy’s Botanical Skincare Gentle Moisturiser review

Posted on August 17, 2011 | 2 comments

Long gone are the days when the word ‘organic’ was associated with straggly-bearded hippies in hemp shirts. I’ve already covered the awesome side of organic food with my post on HK’s Life Café and just as organic eating has been embraced by the mainstream, organic cosmetics are growing in popularity too (Avalon Organics is now stocked in many supermarkets). So may I introduce you to Dr Wendy’s – a 100% botanical skincare range from New Zealand, which launches in Hong Kong this month.

The whole range, created by Dr Wendy Maddocks-Jennings with over 15 years of experience in healthcare, is 100% natural, plant-based, vegan-approved and free from chemicals. All the products use high concentrations of New Zealand-grown organic ingredients and the potent blend of natural ingredients means many are perfect for HK’s hot, humid and polluted climate.

I was lucky enough to be given a sneak peek of the line from Kristine prior to its launch here and received its Gentle Range Moisturiser to trial over the past few months. There are four key ranges to Dr Wendy’s skincare products, each designed for different skin types and comprising of a cleanser, toner and moisturiser, and the Gentle range is light, lovely and developed for oily or acne-prone skin.

Regular readers will know I’m prone to the occasional breakout (now kept mostly at bay by the likes of Clinique’s Anti-Blemish Cleanser and Atoregge’s Spot Treatment) so this seemed like it would complement my skin well. It boasts a light formula that makes it perfect for summer and with a consistency somewhere in-between cream and gel, it absorbs easily too, making it a good base for make-up. It comes out via a hygienic pump dispenser, although it took a few weeks to calibrate itself properly and not spurt all over me every morning!

The moisturiser is made with fragonia, sandalwood and teatree essential oils (which all have anti-bacterial properties to keep those zits away), plus lavender to help skin repair and Australian jojoba to moisturise. Apart from all these obvious skincare benefits, it makes for one of the best aspects of Dr Wendy’s Gentle Moisturiser – the amazing smell! It smells like all those yummy fragrances they waft under your noses at spas and massages, yet still managed to be light and refreshing rather than overpowering.

I’ve been using the moisturiser day and night for a few months now (incidentally, one bottle seems to last a while!) and am reasonably pleased with its performance. It has a soothing feel and a scent that I frankly look forward to every day (no comments on the sadness of my everyday life thank you!) whilst breakouts have been minimal, my complexion is clear and bright and my skin feels soft and hydrated throughout the day. I think this is a great moisturiser for spring and summer but may not fare as well during the dryer winter months, as it wasn’t strong enough to combat a few of my flaky patches on its own. Also, after long-term use, I felt like it contributed to blocking my (admittedly enlarged) pores. Meanwhile, those of you with dry skin should head for Dr Wendy’s Replenish Range and you lucky girls with a normal complexion should go for the Balance Range. There is also an Ultra-Light Range brilliant for the hottest, sweatiest summer days and which is ideally suited for sensitive skin.

I also received a few samples of other products but they’re a bit too small to judge properly on any long-term effects. The Ultra-Light Toner is worth a mention, as it’s also recommended as a handy handbag spritzer to refresh your face, especially apt for all ‘cook an egg on your forehead’ summer temperatures! Unlike many old-fashioned toners, it’s free from alcohol and instead stuffed with useful organic ingredients (like olive oil, lemon geranium, hempseed and rare buckthorn oil, which have antiseptic and nourishing properties) so it a perfect non-irritating mid-afternoon pep-up for the face – especially for those of you, like me, who don’t use a toner in their morning and evening skincare rituals.

This isn’t just a range for eco-warriors with an agenda; Dr Wendy’s is organic done right. No preaching, top-drawer ingredients and great products. I think Dr Wendy will fit into HK nicely!

Dr Wendy’s Gentle Moisturiser, $350, ThreeSixty

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OPI Mermaid’s Tears nail polish review

Posted on August 8, 2011 | 2 comments

I’m usually a bit dubious about the current vogue for nail polish celebrity cash-ins tie-ins, yet OPI’s Summer 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean collection struck gold… or should that be pieces of eight?!

Overall, it was an unusual collection for summer, filled with murky muddied pastels that didn’t exactly scream adventures on the seven seas. Yet for that reason, it was probably one of my favourite OPI collections to date and I snapped up the whole collection quicker than you can say ‘Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum’!

I was instantly drawn to Mermaid’s Tears, a dusty turquoise (and you know how much I love turquoise!). Firstly, what a gorgeous evocative name! OPI are known for their cute-but-cheesy names so I was expecting this to be pun city but they actually managed to keep it classy – classier, in fact, than the film itself!

Unfortunately, I found this polish quite difficult to work with. It was gloopier than most OPIs and the first few coats went on thickly and unevenly – partly my own fault as I spent too much time trying to correct it, forgetting that OPI lacquers are actually amazingly self-levelling on their own. Consequently, drying time was longer than usual and the finish was a bit lumpy up-close.

What I can’t complain about is the colour. Gorgeous! It’s an almost vintage take on turquoise; classy but murky, delicately dusty, but still straight-up beautiful (although a shade darker than the bottle colour). You could well imagine it being the tears of a siren, prettily magical yet refined. There aren’t many turquoises that suggest sophistication, but this is definitely one.

Compared to my other top turquoise creme, Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos (on the middle finger), Mermaid’s Tears is noticeably less bright, dustier and perhaps more obviously green-leaning – a pale green tea, or pretty slate green rather than the tropical island turquoise of the Essie. Both, however, are creamily lush and look great on.

Mermaid’s Tears – Lorelei loveliness in a bottle. No pirate puns needed.

Looks good with: other muted pastels, floral tea-dresses, grey
Drying time: 10 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: +7 days

OPI Mermaid’s Tears nail polish, Summer 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, $70, Cher2

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SK-II Facial Treatment Essence review

Posted on July 28, 2011 | 11 comments

I have a confession. I didn’t know much about SK-II.

About all I did know was that Cate Blanchett was one of their spokesmen and well… if there’s one current celeb female whose skin you wouldn’t mind having, porcelain princess Cate has to be pretty high on the list!

To clear up my ignorance, I was sent a few of SK-II’s bestsellers by the fabulous Bastian (see the full post here), including their most famous product – SK-II Facial Treatment Essence.

The essence has been dubbed ‘miracle water’ by some, with Asian celebs (and their milky white complexions) clamouring to call it their ‘best friend’ or even ‘lover’! Not much to live up to then! I’m not ready to dump the boyfriend just yet (especially after he bought me that Bobbi Brown palette, hehehe) but I have to admit, I was mightily impressed.

The story of SK-II started at a sake brewery in Japan, where scientists noticed that elderly workers, despite their wrinkled face, had beautiful soft hands as a result of being in constant contact with the sake fermentation process. Eventually, scientists isolated the miracle ingredient responsible for holding back the years – Pitera, a naturally-occurring liquid from the fermentation process. It contains a blend of vitamins, amino acids, minerals and organic acids that help enable the skin’s natural rejuvenation process by regenerating its outer layer (who else is picturing a Doctor Who style regeneration round about now?!). All of SK-II’s skincare products contain Pitera but the Facial Treatment Essence contains the most, with a whopping 90% of the liquid made up of the stuff.

An interesting story and brilliant brand mythology yet who cares about some wrinkled crones with pretty hands unless the stuff actually works, right?! Had those scientists just knocked back a few too many sakes down the factory or was there something to this Pitera lark?!

The essence is a transparent, slightly hay-tinged liquid with a similar consistency and place in your routine as toner. However, whilst toners have tended to either break me out or uncomfortably tighten me up, the Facial Essence has none of these effects. It’s as gentle as a kiss from a butterfly, so gentle you can even use it over sensitive areas, like your eyes and lips. It absorbs quickly without a trace and leaves no residue.

But the most noteworthy thing about SK-II’s Facial Treatment Essence is the smell. It’s a strong sour scent, somewhere between rice wine vinegar and (for me) Thai fish gravy! Not usually the sort of smell you’d associate with skincare for sure! It’s not exactly unpleasant, more surprising, but you quickly get used to it. I guess it’s all that Pitera… so whilst those elderly workers might have had lovely hands, I’m not sure they would have smelt so hot after all those years down the factory!

All the instructions for the Facial Treatment Essence were in Japanese but application is simple. Splash a few drops of the essence onto some cotton wool morning and evening, pat all over the face and you’re done! There is even a handy diagram to illustrate:

I was slightly dubious about seeing tangible effects from the essence, as despite all the ‘miracle water’ worshipping, mention of what it actually did seemed rather vague. But after a few weeks, the evidence was clear. There’s a reason the formula for this hasn’t changed in 30 years – it works. Wonders.

My skin is softer. My skin is brighter. My skin is clearer. I have fewer breakouts and when I do get the occasional blemish, it’s seems to clear up quicker and without as much aggravation. My complexion is more even and less prone to blotchiness and redness. Dry patches (by my nose, lips and one particularly troublesome area near my eye that richer eye creams made worse and normal moisturisers aren’t supposed to be applied there) are now nourished and non-flaky. Similarly, oilier areas seem more controlled too. My skin feels supple and hydrated, neither too greasy nor too dry, throughout the entire day and night. The Facial Treatment Essence claims to balance the skin’s pH and sebum secretion and my skin really does now feel perfectly-balanced.

How do I know all this? After about a month and a half of using the essence, I stopped. And basically, the opposite of all the above started happening!

I’m not a huge fan of having to use cotton wool so frequently in my beauty routine as I find it quite wasteful but having experimented with trying to splash it directly onto my hands and dab it on (which wasted a lot of product both in spillage and it absorbing into your fingers), this is the best way. It probably also contributes to the cleaning process, meaning my skin really does look crystal-clear and radiant. The only things I can think of that the essence doesn’t help with  are pore size, blackheads or providing really intense rich moisturising.

The downside – the cost (allegedly due to the difficulties and expenses of churning out all that Pitera, with only limited quantities produced). Used twice a day, even sparingly, I think you’d be lucky to get much more than six months out of the 215ml bottle.

I love that it’s suitable for all skin types, for all ages and can be used all over the face. The effects are subtle but noticeable, giving you a youthful natural glow. In short, it’s a wonderful addition to any beauty routine.

One bottle of SK-II Facial Treatment Essence is sold every 28 seconds, with over 20 million bottles sold to date. Well, it’s now 20 million and one. Chalk me up with the statistics – I’m converted! Miracle water all the way!

SK-II Miracle Water… oops, I mean Facial Treatment Essence, $980 for 215ml; see all SK-II locations in Hong Kong here

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Go Hard or Go Haul!

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 19 comments

Believe it or not, I don’t actually like Mac make-up much. [Yeah, I can tell you don’t believe me.]

But the Semi-Precious Collection was SO pretty. Marbleised multi-coloured glittering domes of wondrousness; a cross between precious minerals, gemstones and cosmic galaxies. I just fell in love with the lot on first sight. Incidentally, swatches on the Internet just DO NOT compare. They make them look gritty and dull and sheer, but in real life, they are shimmery multi-dimensional wondrousness.

And I went accordingly overboard. Before I got in the store, I only wanted the Golden Gaze eye shadow (the outright gold star of the collection) and Pearl Skinfinish. Such is the power of a great shop assistant! And the allure of these babies in person!

I’m still in the ‘bring them out and stroke lovingly’ stage of ownership – they’re just too pretty to touch! I said to my boyfriend I should have bought two of each, one to use and one to look at; I was only half-joking. So these are photos to preserve the beauty!

Mineralize Skinfinishes in Pearl,  Rose Quartz and Crystal Pink. Glowy gorgeousness in a pan.

Mineralize Eye Shadows in Golden Gaze, Hint Of Sapphire, Jade’s Fortune and Clarity. I know others have complained about the lack of pigmentation, but for me, the lightness is what makes these so useable and great for my fair skin. They all shimmer different colours in different lights, like magic. Stunning!

My lovely boyfriend bought me this limited edition Bobbi Brown Bronze Eye Palette from the Tortoise Shell Collection.

Bobbi Brown aren’t exactly known for being exciting but they do great quality neutrals and this palette absolutely epitomises that. I LOVE the classy packaging – in the words of the awesome Alex Perry, it looks expensive (say with Aussie accent for full effect)! I love how compact is it, with the pull-out drawer, and the shades are all complimentary browns, golds and bronzes. Great for travelling and creating easy lovely natural looks.

I’ve recently got into The Balm, which is now sold at Sasa. It’s an American brand with retro packaging and witty names, kind of a B-List Benefit. After learning my beloved Benefit Georgia was discontinued, I have been on the lookout for a similar peachy blush. The Balm’s Hot Mama blush had quite a lot of good write-ups (including from blush queen herself Jenn)… and it all escalated from there!

I received the Shady Lady Eye Shadow (Mischievous Marissa, a lovely glittering beige) as a free gift for purchasing two The Balm products; I also got a Read My Lips lipstick in Letter To The Editor (a shimmering bronzed berry). Next, I got a free It Girl Lip Gloss for buying two of their Sexpot Mineral Overshadows. The latter are highly-pigmented loose powders in No Money, No Honey (a light bright gold) and Work Is Overrated (pink champagne), with gorgeous 50s pin-ups on the lids. I blame these on Vicki getting me hooked on L’Oreal’s intense Infallible eye shadows, which aren’t available in HK, although these are much less adventurous colours!

Meanwhile, the baked Pupa Luminys Eye Shadow on the left is a Semi-Precious hangover. There were no really nice purples in the Mac collection, so this is the result!

I also got these two Canmake Jewel Eye Shadows in a very glittery gold and a very glittery melon. I had been lusting after Benefit Creaseless Creams but these were about a third of the price, whilst make-up queen Jenn recommended them as cheap Jill Stuart eye jellies! Sold! Plus, a freebie Sasa Garden Fairy hand cream.

After my wonderful day at Elemis Day Spa, I wanted to buy some of their products and kept reading about this gift set in the UK magazines my mum sent me. This gorgeous leopard-print Elemis Safari Traveller is designed by Alice Temperley (only one of my favourite designers!) and I thought it would be brilliant for carrying all my toiletries for travelling. It didn’t disappoint in person – nice and hefty and again, a touch of the Alex Perry (i.e. expensive!)

It comes stuffed with seven Elemis miniatures that I can’t wait to get stuck into (including the Papaya Peel I enjoyed so much during my facial) and a percentage goes to charity, so what’s not to love? Sadly, it’s not being sold in Hong Kong so I purchased it from Lookfanastic.com, who offer free (and speedy!) international shipping.

I couldn’t just buy one thing from Lookfantastic though! So popped the Urban Decay Ammo Eye Shadow Palette in there too. I decided on buying this rather than several of their individual eye shadows (which I love), which would have ended up costing much more. Another typically fabulous and unusual array of colours from UD and in a very pretty box too!

I’ve been busy putting together a Hello Kitty birthday package for Aimee and sadly for my wallet, that means I’ve been swept along on the Sanrio steamroller of cuteness too! I bought a Cinnamoroll folder and two tins to hold all my eye pencils. They’re so lovely, they cheer me up just by seeing them!

And too cute not to show you some close-ups! I particularly love the Cinnamoroll pencil tin – the soft dusky colours are so haute! This is the sort of crazy-pretty-silly-cute-loveliness I missed so much when I lived in England; I used to have so much of it when I was young here so I’m just resuming my collection!

Whilst Aimee’s weakness is Hello Kitty, mine is Stitch. I just can’t get enough of that cute blue bug-eyed little alien! I’ll probably do a post documenting all my Stitch stuff, as there’s lots of it, but here are my three latest little buddies. Yes, that is a Soy Bean on his head. And no, I don’t know why either – but it sure as hell is cute!

More non make-up goodies thanks to my Kwai Fong shopping spree with BFF Mirander, including cheap and cute headbands, beautiful earrings and Miffy propelling pencils. I love that mini padlock on the headband and who could possibly resist watering cans on earrings?! Not me, that’s for sure!

Gwen Stefani is one of my style icons and I’ve loved the super-kawaii bottles she’s been putting out for her Harajuku Lovers perfume range but have so far resisted as, apart from my trusty Chanel No. 5, I don’t use scents. But resistance finally crumbled in the face of this limited edition G Of The Sea fragrance – IT’S A MERMAID. Amazing.

And finally… no haul of mine is complete without nail polish, right? Firstly, some pa nail polishes, a Japanese brand with tiny bottles but a rainbow of colours. I picked up some of the more unique colours  – a silver glitter with antique-rose-copper sequins and a purple with a gold shimmer, plus this charcoal holographic polish I found in CitySuper.

A reader, fellow HK polish and holo addict CaCa, tipped me off about some amazing undiscovered BK holographic nail varnishes. Well, she didn’t need to tell me twice – I was there in a flash to get my stash of rainbows in an (admittedly tiny) bottle!

I already showed you the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils I bought from the “Make-Up Fiesta” (read more about that hyperbole here!) so, since I have no idea when I’ll get round to trying them all, here are all the NYX nail polishes I bought too. Are those flakies i.e. amazing shreds of rainbow awesomeness, I see before me?! And some multi-coloured glitter and duochromes too!

So as you can ascertain, I went hard AND went haul! Now for a rest I think!

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Zoya Dannii nail polish review

Posted on July 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

I actually forgot I had swatched Zoya’s Dannii, that’s how uninspiring it was.

Which, if you know me and my love for all things purple, is a massive surprise. After all, Zoya’s official description of a ‘metallic purple orchid with pink and champagne highlights and flecks of silver metallic shimmer’ sounds positively purple perfection. But for me, the best description of Dannii would have to include the word ‘anticlimax’.

What I thought would be a vibrant pink-toned orchid turned out to be a much darker murkier almost brown-toned purple that just didn’t stand out at all. The champagne shimmer that I’d thought would give a beautiful glimmering glow to the polish was barely evident and when it was, it didn’t even look nice combined with the muddy purple. I could see the silver shimmer more often, but it wasn’t an appealing effect at all; the combination of that purple plus those shimmers just did not work. Zoya’s glitters are usually stunning shining stars in the nail polish firmament, but this flat murky finish was a dim flickering light bulb at best.

The formula was also not at all what I expect from Zoya – thick and gloopy, making application difficult. Basically, me and Dannii didn’t get on at all – it didn’t look nice with my skin tone, it didn’t look nice with my clothes and it didn’t look nice with my high expectations.

I think this polish was named after former X-Factor judge Dannii Minogue, but frankly, it’s more of a Sharon Osbourne. And that just about says it all.

Looks good with: good question
Drying time: 8-10 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: +7 days

Zoya Dannii nail polish, Spring 2011 Intimate Collection, $80, Cher2

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Nicole By Opi Diva Into The Pool nail polish review

Posted on July 15, 2011 | 8 comments

Believe it or not, I have been wearing nail polishes other than coral this summer. My next pick has instantly become one of my favourite polishes full stop, summer or otherwise – Nicole By OPI’s Diva Into The Pool.

Nothing’s as bad as a pun that doesn’t quite work right?! Even Diva In The Pool would make more sense. But don’t let that put you off. Anyone with a weakness for turquoises – see my responses to Zoya’s Charla and Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos to see which camp I’m in – will definitely want to dive headlong into this colour. It’s a shimmering tropical aqua, as cool and refreshing as dip in the water.

It’s a little green-leaning but has an immaculate crystal-clear finish, with a finely-milled glitter that’s similar to Zoya’s trademark foil effect. I was initially worried at the extremely sheer first coat, but you get a gorgeous wash of colour after just two coats, although you could go for three for extra opacity if you wish. The polish was a nice consistency, extremely easy to work with, and I have to say I prefer Nicole By OPI’s flatter brush to OPI proper’s fat one – I’d say it’s most similar to China Glaze’s brush, though Nicole’s seemed to fan out even more nicely.

As my first Nicole By Opi, I do have to rant about the bottle shape though. Whoever designed this is clearly not a person with a make-up stash! One bottle of polish taking up the space of two – madness! As anyone with nail polish bulging out of their drawers will tell you!

I just love how clear, clean and crystalline Diva Into The Pool looks – as beautiful as the tropical oceans you always see on holiday programmes and heavily-photoshopped brochures. It’s a glowing aqua that got me tons of compliments; you can see how exquisite that fine-shimmer finish is even in close-up.

Sparkling without being a show-off and in such a stunning shade of turquoise too… is it any wonder I was won over by Diva Into The Pool? And after these pictures, I fully expect you to be too!

Looks good with: summer, swimming pools, sunglasses
Drying time: 7 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 3 days

Nicole by OPI Diva Into The Pool nail polish, $75, selected Sasas

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Chanel White Essentiel Whitening Modeling Effect Base in Rosée review

Posted on July 13, 2011 | 2 comments

My hunt for the perfect primer continues with Chanel’s White Essentiel Whitening Modeling Effect Base in Rosée.

You may remember that I was very happy with the glowing effects of Benefit’s That Gal primer, so why change? Firstly, I seemed to be getting through my That Gals at a too-speedy-for-my-wallet pace, plus the bottle design meant that it was impossible to predict when its time was up – leaving me high and dry on a few occasions! Instead, I found myself drawn to the Chanel White Essentiel Base because, unlike That Gal, it contains a high SPF of 30, essential (or should that be essentiel!) for HK’s scorching summers. Secondly, it had been developed especially for Asian skin – I’m half-Asian, I have skin, a perfect fit, surely!

I was recommended the Rosée shade for my complexion, which has a cool-toned pale pink tint to the very white fluid. [The other shades are yellow Mimosa and blue Azur]. This would supposedly revive my pale and tired complexion and add a touch of radiance that I thought might not be dissimilar to That Gal’s pinky glow. How wrong I was.

But let’s not jump the gun. I like the chunky but compact packaging and was glad it’s plastic rather than glass; too many bottles fall out of my bathroom cabinet thanks to vigorous door slamming from my auntie for glass to be a viable option in this house! After shaking the bottle (it makes a clicking sound in the old-fashioned way I remember my Mum’s foundation doing), the fluid is dispensed via a dropper-type nozzle on the top of the bottle (see photo, apologies for rubbish description). There’s a definite knack to learning how to use it, and the first few times, far too much liquid splurged out.

The liquid itself is quite runny and can be used sparingly (so far, my bottle has lasted well over 6 months; it ended up lasting well over a year!). However, that’s just about where my positives end. It requires a lot of rubbing in to be absorbed and once it has, leaves my skin feeling chalky. Looking pretty chalky too. Whatever pink there is to the fluid is null and void and rather than brightening, it’s just whitening – in the ‘seen a ghost’ sense! Yes, it’s too pale even for my milky bean curd complexion! I know some Chinese women like their face looking several shades too white for the rest of their body (hi Fan Bing Bing) but I’m not one of them and thus, there’s no chance of being able to wear this product on its own, like the sales assistant said I could, or like you can with some other primers. Then again, I suppose the ‘Whitening’ in the name should have given it away!

It also has quite a strong scent, a very artificial sweet floral scent that I’m not a huge fan of. To White Essentiel Base’s credit, it does allow your make-up to glide on super-smoothly and keeps it set for your day. Thanks to that chalky, almost mattifying effect, it seems to minimise sweat and oily patches, although the downside is that it doesn’t give a luminous radiance like the light-reflecting particles of That Gal.

Overall, I wouldn’t re-purchase this product – it’s too pricey for something that obviously doesn’t work well with my skin tone. As a newer Chanel product exclusive to the Asian market, I feel it still needs a bit more tinkering to make it great. So whilst it’s effective enough as a base and the high SPF is a bonus, there are really no other benefits… unless I need to audition as a geisha anytime soon.

Chanel White Essentiel Whitening Modeling Effect Base in Rosée, $350; see all Chanel Beaute locations in Hong Kong here

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NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils review

Posted on June 22, 2011 | 6 comments

I recently paid a visit to Hong Kong’s annual Make-Up Fiesta (combined with one of their mill-annual Wedding Fairs) at Wan Chai’s Convention & Exhibition Centre, hoping for bargain beauty buys and the appearance of some elusive hitherto unfound-in-HK brands (yes, Nfu Oh, I’m looking at you). However, the term ‘Fiesta’ was generous. I’m thinking more ‘intimate gathering’, ‘impromptu shindig’ or even ‘quick drink down the pub with mates.’ Amidst the crowd of wedding gowns, photographers and men pestering my boyfriend as to when the big day was, there were all of about… three make-up stalls.

Luckily, there was one that just about made the $20 entry fee worthwhile. NYX Cosmetics is a brand that I’ve not seen sold so far in Hong Kong, and judging by the storm of make-up hungry girls by its stand, not many other people had either. There were also plenty of bargains to be had, if you dared run the gauntlet of being without testers; I picked up… you’ll never guess… nail polish (what else!) at four bottles for $100, plus three NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils for $200. Having got these colourful chunky babies back to the safety of my own home, my only regret is that I didn’t pick up more!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils are a very similar proposition to the recently-released Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils (see here for photos). They’re both chubby creamy crayons available in a rainbow of vivid hues, fat enough to use as eye-shadow but pointed enough to use as an eyeliner too. The crayon form makes it ultra-convenient, neater, quicker and simpler than getting your fingers and brushes dirty with powder or cream shadows, whilst the fatter-than-your-average pencil sweeps over the eyelid oh-so-easily in just one or two strokes. So for someone that (guiltily) uses her eyeliners as eye-shadows more often than she should, and for anyone who appreciates great make-up in general, they’re perfection.

In my opinion, these are actually softer and creamier than Urban Decay’s eye pencils – they glide onto the eyelid effortlessly, more effortlessly than the word effortlessly even implies, delivering a sweep of vibrant consistent colour that Urban Decay would be proud of. I don’t think they could be nicer about it unless they bowed and said ‘After you, ma’am’. Even after many hours wear, there was no sense of dryness at all, whilst the colour pay-off is so magnificent that it makes coating the eye-lid in a simple intense wash of colour easier than learning your ABCs.

Size comparison: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils vs Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils ends in a draw!

The only downside of the NYX Jumbo Pencils? They crease. A lot. It’s such a shame as the colour itself certainly isn’t going anyway but that’s one area that Urban Decay has them beat at. Obviously, this is less of a problem if you’re using them as a liner, and I’m yet to try them with Urban Decay’s Primer Potion underneath.

Many of the colours are named after foods, which sounds fun until you get to the reality of make-up named Black Bean, French Fries and Cottage Cheese (now sadly more famous for being name-checked in thousands of doctor’s leaflets about thrush), which just sound a little… well, icky. After all, I detest Horseradish in real-life, so why would I want to put it anywhere near my face!

Yoghurt is my favourite of the three. It’s a beautiful neutral, a shimmering glimmering pink-leaning champagne. A gorgeous versatile colour for everyday use, it also comes into its own glowing and glistening for special occasions, and should suit just about every skintone and colouring. It’s also pretty much an exact dupe for Urban Decay’s Shadow Pencil in Sin which, given that Sin has received far and away the most use out of my five Urban Decays, can only be a good thing! Looks nothing like any yoghurt I’ve ever tried, that’s for sure.

Then again, Lemon is my favourite too. This has sensibly been re-named Lime as it’s a vibrant vivid almost acidic olive-gold that leans way more towards green than the name Lemon implies. It’s zingy, zesty and a total stand-out, different to anything else in my (Urban Decay dominated) stash. I’ve compared it here to UD’s Shadow Pencil in Narc and their 24/7 Eye Pencil in Mildew, yet as you can see, they’re far darker and mossier than Lemon.

Lemon is the perfectly-pitched balance between green and gold, where green still comes out on top yet but where gold has made it a far superior colour along the way. This gilded green makes me think of Cleopatra for some reason, it just has something luxuriously glamorous yet flattering about it. Stunning and surprisingly versatile, it looks amazing paired with browns or adding a nuanced punch to neutrals.

My final pick was the imaginatively-named Purple. This is actually the exact colour of the outside of Urban Decay’s 24/7 eyeliner in Ransom, with a shimmering silvery blue iridescence to it. However, it’s absolutely nothing like the actual colour of Ransom itself, which does have that same blue-purple iridescence but is a lot more dark and a lot more purple with it. NYX’s Purple is the colour of dreams, the colour of butterfly wings and the colour of a precious stone I always hoped existed when I was little, a lavender moonstone. I do love Ransom too, and I think you now realise I just love purples full stop, so NYX’s Purple is an excellent addition to my collection, for swooning purposes if for nothing else.

I’d definitely buy NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencils again (let’s hope another make-up ‘casual get-together’ makes it to Hong Kong soon), as they’re such an obviously brilliant products. Far from competing against the Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils, they sit happily alongside them, creasing issue aside – NYX currently have a greater range of colours (since UD just launched theirs) and they boast all the same virtues that made me fall for the UD ones in the first place. I’ve got big… or should that be jumbo-sized love for them all!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Yoghurt, Lime (aka Lemon) and Purple, $200 for three at Hong Kong’s Make-Up Fiesta

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