My Make-Up Collection Part 4: Face Enhancers.

Nice title, right? That's what I call my cheek stuff ;). I don't have too many of these products (compared to eye or lip stuff), but it's still a nice & useful lot :).

I keep them in here...

This is everything laid out on my Hello Kitty bag ;).

Well, you cannot see every single product, but it does fit most in one go. Can't imagine doing that with my eye shadows :-P...

I'll begin with my Everyday Minerals minis ;).

Everyday Minerals mini blushes in All Smiles, Anytime, B & B, Best Friends, Chit Chat, Cookie Sheet, Corner Office, Jump Rope, Once And Again, Pink Ribbon, Plum Dust, Photo Album and Theme Park. (Also pictured is a sample of Pure Luxe Cheeky, but I swapped that off.)

Estee Lauder and MAC...

Estee Lauder Deluxe All-Over Face Compact containing Bronze Goddess Soft Shimmer Bronzer in 2, and Tender Blush in Pink Kiss, Rosette and Petal, Estee Lauder mini Soft Matte Bronzer, MAC Fafi Powder Blush in Hipness and Hello Kitty Beauty Powder Blush in Tippy.

Elf and Asian brand stuff...

Elf Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Sunkissed, Warm Tan and Luminance, Nichido Powder Blush in Sunkissed (it somehow ended up cracked, but I don't mind 'cause I can still use it), and Fashion 21 Fine Blush Powder in 1.

Wet & Wild, Revlon and Mary Kay.

Markwins Eyes & Cheeks palette (there's nothing else written on it :-/), Wet & Wild Silk Finish Blush in Berry Shimmer, Revlon Leading Lady Blush in Smoky Rose, Revlon Pure Confection Highlighting Face Powder, Revlon Cream Blush in Just Peachy, and Mary Kay blushes in Apricot Breeze, Burnished Bronze, Desert Bloom and Pink Meringue.

Bourjois ^_^. I love Bourjois :D - definitely one of my favourite brands ;).

Delice De Poudre Highlighting Powder, Blushers in Rose Fougue and Rose De Jaspe, and Compact Powders in Miel Dore and Abricote. (Being pale, I use Miel Dore for contouring and Abricote as a peach blusher.)

Opened:


Various products in see-through packaging:

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Bronzer, Charm Colour Face Colour in FB5, IsaDora Diamond Glow, The Body Shop Shimmer Waves in 02 Blush, Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder in Gold and Sugar Sweet Cheeks in Cupcake.

Various products in opaque packaging:

Models Prefer Blush in Pretty In Paisley, Luscious Cosmetics Luscious Blooms Blush & Highlighter Duo in Coral Gables, my Oriflame shimmer balls I can't remember the official name for :-P (and that cream pot isn't their actual packaging either >:-D - I've moved them), Cargo Mini Medium Bronzer, Tarte Cheek Stain in Flush and Pout Flush Blush in Fuchsia Fusion.

Opened:

That's it ^_^. Of course, I do have blushes in palettes, but those will be published within the palettes section, coming soon ;D. Thanks for reading :).

Today's look, swaps, new stuff etc. [Warning: Long with lots of pictures.]

*Hoping that all our blogger girls in the Philippines are alright & everything gets back to normal as soon as possible.

I've noticed that looks are quite liked ;D, so I'm trying to post more of them. Here's my look for today.

Huge eyes (enhanced ones :-P), peach cheeks, and nude lips ;). [Finally starring Revlon Nude Attitude. Took me a while >:-) - but better late than never :-P.]

This look's product pic is huge - I ended up using so many products that they barely fit onto my Hello Kitty bag. But they're basics & I don't think this is too hard to copy if you are so inclined.

Skin: Barbara Daly for Tesco Moisture Foundation in Porcelain (for the record, I've finished the Oriflame one ;D), Tigi Fixx-It Stick in Light, and Bourjois Mineral Radiance powder in Vanille. I applied powder with my Jemma Kidd kabuki brush this time. And I contoured with the MAC brush & Bourjois Miel Dore powder - a video I've seen recently recommends using a contour colour similar to the shade your eye lids are (they're usually slightly darker than most of the face), and this fits :).

Eyes: I'll write out steps 'cause this was a bit elaborate ;).
*Line the upper waterline with black (Oriflame Retro Chic Kajal pencil - not pictured, I forgot to add it >:-/), and the lower waterline with white (my ridiculously tiny Laurel & Hardy by Oriflame - will be needing a new one soon).
*Use a sheeny pinky peach colour (I used the bottom left from my Markwins palette) all over the lids.
*With a soft dark colour (top row, second from the right, Markwins), draw a fat line just above the crease. It should be visible but not fully when your eyes are open.
*Sort out the line. Make sure its shape is right. (This is why I recommend starting with a soft colour.)
*Once you have the shape you want, go over it with black powder liner (Revlon Bedroom Eyes in Fishnet Jet). If you don't own a powder liner, you can use pigment or eye shadow.
*With a smudge brush (mine's by Sephora, but the brand doesn't matter as long as it works :-P), blend the colours.
*Line the upper lash line with a black gel (if you prefer, you could use a liquid) liner (I used the Jane Be Pure mineral gel liner in black). Make it a thin line with a slight flick that should end about where the thick black powder line does.
*Use a brightening pencil (Wet & Wild Idol Eyes pencil in Pixie) on the inner corners.
*Curl, and apply loads of (black) mascara on all lashes.

Cheeks: Bourjois powder in Miel Dore to contour, Mary Kay blusher in Apricot Breeze as the cheek colour, and the mess I ended up with when the face products section of my Too Faced Love Lisa Beauty Battle Box palette smashed on me (lol) as a highlighter :-P.

Lips: Revlon Matte lipstick in Nude Attitude.

More pictures...

I never have a 'normal' expression, do I >:-)?

I forgot to take a close-up of my eyes. Sorry about that. I think they are visible enough on these though.

Shiny face, funny facial expression. I must've scared myself >:-D.

Kidding XD...

Here's the usual Swap Update.

Swap 1 [The USA].

(For my Benefit lip glosses in No Peeking and Who Are You Wearing?, and my Just Cavalli 75 ml shower gel.)

This swap was...

A pain. She wouldn't send me anything for three months, and only did after I threatened to report her. The funny thing is that I had a funny feeling about this swap before agreeing to it - so here's some advice to swappers: listen to your intuition, if a swap feels wrong, don't do it, and know what you need to do in case you do get tricked. I was lucky 'cause I did get my items eventually :). She even added extras.

We agreed to swap for two Mary Kay palettes (Floral Fantasy and Enchanted Garden), an Avon Daring Curves mascara in Navy, an Estee Lauder Pure Colour Gloss in Praline, and a Mark Gloss-Tastic See Through Lip Shine Hookup Stack in Crystal Clear. She added samples of Mary Kay gloss and eye shadow, an Avon quad in Blushing Raisins, an Avon Lip Delight gloss in Vanilla Mint, and two mini Avon wash-off waterproof (how that is supposed to make sense, I have no idea either :-/) coloured mascaras (a purple one and a blue one) as extras.

I thought the mini mascaras were black (there's no mention of their shade anywhere on them), so I gave one to my sister and put the other one into my swap box with the intention of adding it as an extra. Fortunately my sister opened hers and told me it was blue. I checked the other one, saw it was purple, and kept them ;). (It's alright 'cause she doesn't wear coloured ones anyway.)

Good: all shades work this time >:-D.

Bad: the bottom two shades aren't as pigmented as they look :(.

But I love the top left colour :D...So I'm keeping this :).

And I adore the Mary Kay palettes ^_^. The packaging is beautiful, they're slim and very portable, and the products work brilliantly ;). Each palette has three shadows, a cream-to-powder cheek colour, and two lip colours.

Swap 2 [The USA again, but a different swapper].

(For my unused Elf quad in Pretty 'N' Pink, two CDs, and a little something extra ;D.)

A Mary Kay empty palette and five lipsticks :-P. (Yes, I really like them.)

Pictured: my new palette, now containing duos in Cotton Candy, Ivy Duet, Jade, Tutti Frutti and Safari Sunset, and Mary Kay lipsticks in Cantaloupe, Downtown Brown, Frosted Rose, Paradise Pink and Shell.

Must post a look with Downtown Brown - it's so not what I'd expected, and incredibly beautiful.

Swap 3 [England, Kaleidoscope swapper].

(For two DVDs, my Revlon highlighter stick in Crystal Calm, and lots of extras as usual.)

Some skincare again ;). I really like the Nivea Gentle Cleansing Cream Wash & recommend it to anyone who likes creamy cleansers ;D. The Superdrug Vitamin E night cream's pretty good too :).

As for the make-up...I got the BeautyUK palette in 4 (most of the top right shadow broke off as soon as I touched it >:-D after taking the pic, but they're pigmented enough and the colours are really nice ^_^), my own L.A. Colours palette in Wine And Roses back ;D, Fyrinnae Lip Lustres in Bounce, Flavour Of The Day and Lollipop-Pop (I hate the packaging of these, but I suppose their inner beauty matters more :-P...), Prestige Total Intensity eye liner in Bold Brown (a cool-toned brown), Everyday Minerals minis in In The Garden, Mystic Night (probably the most stunning purple I have ever seen) and Starry Eyed, and MAC pigment samples in Dark Soul and Reflects Blackened Red. She also added Avon's Ideal Shade Smooth Mineral Foundation in Soft Ivory and a mini lipstick as extras :).

Swap 4 [The USA and yet another swapper].

(For my Estee Lauder DayWear Plus Multi Protection Antioxidant Creme SPF 15 mini, and some extras.)

A second tube of the Jane AguaCeuticals TM :), along with some really nice extras ;D. Tea ^_^ (fancy packaging too :-P :D), and fragrance samples - Missoni, and I've no idea what the other one is but I'll try it anyway :-P.

Will finish this off with things I've bought :).

I do shop :-P. It's just that swapping gives me more and better items for my money (and half the time, my junk) ;D. Plus, receiving a 'present' feels so nice :). As does packing one ;). Really ^_^.

So, more Tigi stuff...

Palette containing 8 full size eye shadows: 30 Euros, with Tools Of Attraction (5 mini brushes) and pouch free :D.

Incredible, right? That's a good deal even by US standards :-P.

Cyberoptics eye shadow in Jealousy: 13 Euros.

Blueberry liner: free :D, it was their tester (they had no actual Blueberry pencils for sale left) and they let me have it ^_^.

Tigi Tools Of Attraction:

[Wearing Revlon Not So Blue-Berry on nails.]

A mini face brush, shadow brush, liner brush, lip brush (that I'll be using for eye shadow anyway :-P) and baby kabuki ^_^.

Here's a close-up of Jealousy...

And two pics of the palette, in different lighting.

Peach, Brown, Wine, Passion, Copper, Natural, Black and Vanilla.

And some stuff from Sephora...

I paid 5 Euros for the Too Faced eye liner in Ruby Slippers (hey, it's red, I had to get it :-P), and 5 Euros for...

Five mini Sephora brand brushes, and a case (with a mirror). It's so cute too ^_^.

These have their uses written on them. Powder, shadow, smudge, concealer & angle brow.

I think this was my longest post to date. This is what happens when you neglect blogging...Sorry about that, and thanks for reading :).

Swap with Thiamere (and look featuring the products) & swatches of all my Mary Kay products as requested.

*Disclaimer: New camera, still getting used to how it works, which places to photograph at, etc. so pictures may look a bit different from my usual lighting. Sorry about that, I'm sorting it out as we go ;).

So, Thiamere has finally received the stuff I sent her :D (you can see it here if you'd like), and now I can post up my stuff too :).

How did this swap come about? Well, she left me a comment here saying how much she loved my Victoria's Secret Mosaic Highlighter, and I (knowing what it feels like to have a product you really want unavailable in one's country) offered to send it to her :). But she was so nice and offered me some things from her collection that she didn't really use - and so we had a swap ^_^.

Here's what she's sent me :).

*A note ^_^.
*A metallic pouch :).
*Hair elastics for my sister (who was so happy to receive something sent to her & a bit surprised to be known around the blogosphere, lol).
*Rose paper soap :).
*Careline (I love this brand :D) pigments in Vanilla White and Moist Green. These are amazingly metallic when used wet, and still beautiful when dry :).
*An Elianto 3D Eyeshadow Cube in Gold Brown. Which isn't gold brown >:-). (I'll post a look below.)
*Fashion 21 Fine Blush Powder in 1.
*A mini Sally Hansen lip plumping gloss.
*Everyday Minerals eye shadow minis in Matinee and After Party.
*Wet & Wild Precious Metals lipstick in Gold Rush. I'm so happy to have this 'cause word has it that this is a dupe of MAC Blonde On Blonde ;). I don't own that, but I'd like to - though for now I have this ;D. Yay ^_^!
*NYX Lip Gloss With Mega Shine in Burgundy.
*NYX Fruit Lip Gloss in Strawberry.

I've worn most of these products already, and I love everything. Thank you Thiamere ^_^!!!

Here are the close-ups...

I made up a look featuring some of these products today. This is the first one - I'll do a look with the rest too ;).

(See what I mean about the camera? But I promise I'll get used to it and take nicer and clearer pictures very soon ^_^.)
My fringe was annoying me so I trimmed it myself >:-). Could've been a disaster but I think it turned out alright :-P.

Skin: The usual. Loose powder instead of pressed though (Physicians Formula). Not sure why - I think I want to finish this one up 'cause I don't really need both. But I may change my mind >:-D.
Oh, and I forgot to contour. If it shows, I really don't care, I don't consider myself attractive anyway :-P.

Eyes: I applied the Elianto eye shadow as a wash, with a large, wide brush. Then I used Moist Green pigment by Careline wet, on my outer eyelids. Made a bit of an outer V too, but nothing too dramatic. To brighten inner corners, I pressed on a bit of Vanilla White pigment there, with my little finger. I lined my lower eye line with Styli-Style Flat Pencil in Buenos Aires (a shimmery white), using the skinny side, and then used ArtDeco Kajal Liner in 20 (a dark leafy olive green) on my inner eye line. Curled lashes with mascara on both top and bottom finish off the eyes.

Cheeks: Fashion 21 Fine Blush Powder in 1.

Lips: Wet & Wild lipstick in Gold Rush.

Sometimes I feel stupid, writing such detailed descriptions. This isn't a magazine. But even if nobody else really reads them, they help me a lot when I want to wear an old look again ;). So they stay.

Products picture:

Eye close-up with eyes open:

Eye close-up with eyes closed:

(I quite hate this pic but I need to show the colours.)

Bonus pic:

I put up my hair but then took it down again. This was the only decent pic of me with my hair up. (And the other full-face pic was the only decent one with my hair down, so they're even XD.)

And here are the swatches of all my Mary Kay products to date. Somebody asked me for a look, but it'd take me ages to use all these colours in a look XD, so I made swatches :).

Two photographs, taken with different lighting, in order to give the truest impression I could manage ;).

From right to left: Single eye shadows in Raspberry Rush, Periwinkle, Fig and Seashell, and duos in Cotton Candy, Ivy Duet, Jade, Safari Sunset, Tutti Frutti and Twilight.

And the rest ;). From left to right: Lip Liner in Dusty Pink, blushers in Apricot Breeze, Burnished Bronze (I suppose that one's technically a bronzer, but I'll use it on my cheeks), Desert Bloom and Pink Meringue, and lipsticks in Pink Coral, Pink Daisy and Pink Melon.

The lipsticks are pinker in real life, but they just wouldn't photograph properly >:-@. I gave up, but I may use those in a look or three so you'd get to see them :).

Oh, and here are swatches of my Mary Kay Mini Mineral Eye Colour Quad.

Silky Caramel, Lemongrass, Amber Blaze and Denim Frost. Silky Caramel is a soft matte while the rest are shimmery and mildly metallic.

Is there anything else I should swatch? Let me know ;). Thanks for reading ^_^.

Finally got my contest prize ^_^! & Swap Update and some nail pics.

*Getting a new phone (finally >:-D, lol) next week...Which means more posts ;D! I'm going to apologise yet again for slacking off, but I'm just not a summer person. I thrive when it's cold. [And I just happen to live in Greece >:-). Country swap, anyone :-/? Lol XD...]

I'm referring to the Barry M Nail Paint in Mint Green (famous for allegedly being a MAC Peppermint Patti dupe - can't confirm since I don't own the latter :-P), my prize for winning the random draw in Rebecca's Animal Instinct contest ;). (Here's my winning Smokey Pigeon look ;D ^_^.) That particular item was delayed (the reason was a perfectly valid one and I didn't mind), then sent, returned due to the sticker with my address falling off (lol), re-sent with lots of lovely extras to make up for the delay :), and finally reached me last Tuesday :D.

And here it is :).

I also got a mask, Tresemme and John Frieda samples (my hair's very dry right now for obvious reasons so these were brilliant ^_^) and a Glamour Doll eye shadow in Trophy Wife - this is so pigmented and metallic. I'm gonna love this ;D. Thank you so much Rebecca :).

(For the record, I've won a few other contests and giveaways, but I haven't always received my prizes...Oh well :-/. Thumbs up for all the honest bloggers who do complete their giveaways ;D ^_^.)

Of course, I had to wear the Nail Paint ASAP ;)...

(Pre-clean-up pic, which can sort of be seen, sorry about that XD.)

It's beautiful :D. It looks a lot better than it did on others' blog pics (no offence meant or anything, it's just far more appealing in real life). As for the formula, it applies quite well, and two coats provide enough colour :).

Now, it's time for a Swap Update :). (New readers: I'm an odd girl and usually swap instead of 'hauling' ;D. Oh, and hi :D!)

Swap 1 [Singapore].

(For my Jesse's Girl trio in Lime Lights, and some extras.)

Fine, I suppose I didn't need both XD - but red's my favourite colour :-P ^_^.

Oh, and they're Sasa eye shadow singles in RD002 ;).

Swap 2 [Canada].

(For my Bourjois mini pigment in 9 and Schwarzkopf mini shampoos...Remember those? Yes, this swap was arranged a long time ago, took two months to show up and was sort of stressful because of that :(. But it was worth the wait ^_^. Oh, and I did add extras ;D.)

Lots of stuff :D...All by Mary Kay ;).
So, I got blushes in Apricot Breeze, Burnished Bronze, Desert Bloom and Pink Meringue - the two bottom ones combine wonderfully for a pink contoured cheeks look ;).
And eye shadows in Ivy Duet, Fig, Periwinkle, Raspberry Rush, Storm, Tutti Frutti and Seashell. I asked for six shadows, but she added another as an extra ^_^! Along with lots of nice samples :). Despite the slow shipping, I'm glad to have done this swap :).

(Updated my palette with Storm, Raspberry Rush, Periwinkle, Fig and Seashell. Although I've since swapped off Storm and replaced it with Twilight, lol.)

Swap 3 [The USA].

(For my Revlon Black Cherry lipstick, a mix CD, and extras.)

Finally got a denim shadow :). I've always wanted to try that ;)...It's Clinique High Impact Eye Shadow in Faded Denim. The Sugar Sugar mini was an extra and I swapped it off because I already had that shade.
And a Colour Me Nude Lip Concealer by Etude House. I've worn that twice since then and I love it. If you're looking for a statement nude (I did say statement nude - this isn't a soft natural look and 'Lip Concealer' is a very fitting name for it), this is your product. I'll probably do a look with it to show it off ;).
More extras: a Hello Kitty lip balm ^_^ and a sample of the famous Urban Decay Primer Potion ;).

And here are some nail pics that I took before my Mint Green mani (pictured near the beginning of this post).

Two coats of OPI Rosy Future on all nails. Then, two coats of Oriflame Visions Skydiver on my thumb, and two coats of Icing by Claire's Signature Runway on the two dark nails.

(I always just paint over when I'm planning to use a darker colour after a lighter one. Why waste remover :-P?)

This (funny-looking) picture gives a much better profile of Rosy Future. It's similar to Skydiver, but while Rosy Future reflects violetish rose, Skydiver reflects glass-like icy light blue that reminds me of skyscrapers :-P. Rosy Future's more subtle ;), while Skydiver is a vibrant one, even though it's light.

I tried to capture the red glitter in Signature Runway, but failed >:-/. It's there in real life though. By the way, that's probably the reason why this colour doesn't make me look dead (me & black lacquer normally don't suit each other). Yay for that :).

Before doing a full mani with Barry M Mint Green, I swatched that on my ring finger. (Building up from the pics above, that is ;D.) I certainly had a funny-looking hand that day XD.

Thanks for reading, everyone :). Time to catch up ;D...