Travel Makeup

Good Day Everyone,

With our Japan trip just days away I thought I'd share the makeup I plan to take with me. We will be going for 11 days and the climate in Japan is going to be much cooler than we are used to in Singapore. This means I can wear makeup to my heart's content without the fear of it melting of my face :o). When traveling, I often take makeup that I want to either use up or to try out, and definitely makeup which has travel friendly packaging and is light weight. I don't tend to take very many makeup brushes with me at all as I'm quite happy using my fingers. I will leave hyperlinks to any of the products that I've done blog posts on in the past for you :o) So without further a do let's get stuck in, shall we?

Starting with my base, I never take any of my foundations that are in glass bottles like my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation because I'm always scared of the bottle smashing in my luggage. I will always decant the foundation into a sample jar. On this trip though I'll be taking my Stila Perfect & Correct foundation because the packaging is very lightweight, arthritic fingers friendly so easy to open and the mousse consistency means I can apply it with my fingers. I'm also taking the Stila One Step Correct and the One Step Illuminate as I'm wanting to use these up given that there's less than half left in each bottle. Most of my face makeup tends to be liquid / cream / mousse textures as I have dry skin and like the dewiness of such products. I love the Stila One Step Illuminate in particular as it just gives my skin a beautiful sheen without any obvious shimmer or sparkle. I have a rather bulky powder compact from The Body Shop which has a mirror and I use this primarily to set my concealer and sometimes over my T-zone when I've initially applied my makeup. I never take this out in my handbag because of its size, and also, I rarely need to powder my skin throughout the day because I don't get oily easily, especially in cooler climates.

For cheeks, I've covered all bases with a soft pink in the form of Stila's Color Convertible in the shade Gerbera. This is one of my all time favourite cheek colours as it's just a very natural pink that suits my skin tone perfectly. I love the Color Convertibles as they are lightweight, compact, snap shut and very easy to travel with. I'll also be taking the colour Gladiola from the same range and this is not as orangey as it looks. Finally for cheeks, I have a more rosy deep pink with an ever so subtle brown undertone to it that is by the Boots brand No7 and is a Blush Tint in the shade 10 Clove. This isn't as dark or intense as it looks in the photo. I apply all of these with my Real Techniques Stippling brush which is the best way for a seamless and diffused application of cream products, in my experience.

For eyes, I'll be taking my Urban Decay Naked palette simply because I've not used this in quite a while and out of my three UD Naked palettes I feel this original one is the one with the most colours that sort of go together to create a complete eye look. I'll be taking the double ended brush that came with the Naked 2 palette along with an Ecotools angle brush that I tend to use when I want to create a more defined outer 'v' or if I want to use eye shadow as a liner. I tend to save a lot of my sample size products for traveling and so I have the UD Primer Potion that came with this palette. For the rest of my eyes, I'll have my MAC Prep+Prime eye base, my Dior waterproof crayon eyeliner in Trinidad Black, my Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, a Boots No7 black mascara and my MAC Select Moisturecover concealer which I feel is a shade to dark for now but I want to finish it up before buying another one. Some days I will sheer this out on to my cheeks and wear the Stila One Step Illuminate and skip foundation altogether.

For lips, I'll be taking my favourite Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters in Candy Apple Red, as well as Macaroon (a raspberry pink), a Sephora lip crayon come chubby stick in a sheer coral colour that's quite glossy (it's not as orange as it looks), a Sephora Nano lip liner in the colour 02 Cute Caramel which is a very good nude on me, and the Urban Decay Lip Junkie gloss that came with the Naked 2 palette. I'll also have my Dior Addict Lip Glow which will go in my handbag because I imagine the  the plane air and colder weather will be quite drying on my lips.

Finally, in this particular toiletries case I will also be taking the Garnier Roll-on as I'm expecting to suffer from puffy under eyes given that we will most probably be having early starts and late nights, trying to fit in all of the sights, plus I love the cooling effect this has on my eyes. Last but not least, is the smallest sized perfume I have which was a birthday present from a dear friend who's coming to visit us in May all the way from France- yipeee! This is by a company called Fragonard and the scent is Belle Cherie which is a floral fruity fragrance that isn't too heavy and therefore daytime appropriate. I will also have my Sephora atomizer in my handbag which has my signature evening scent, Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel.

I pack my makeup in a toiletries case that I picked up in Chinatown last year. I pop my stippling brush and angle brush in the outside zip pocket and everything else goes into the main compartment. As you can see, the case isn't too stuffed and so it zips up nice and easily with a bit of room to spare ;o)

 Love Sheen xxx

Stila Convertible Color For Cheeks & Lips

Good Day Everyone,

One of the highlights of a recent trip back home to England (aside from seeing my friends and family) was the time I spent in Harvey Nichols department store, more specifically the Stila counter (website). It’s fair to say, I had a bit of a Stila ‘splurge’.

I first came across Stila at Sephora in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) where I purchased the One Step Illuminate from their One Step range (click here for thoughts on that). As I had some time to spare I went onto explore other Stila products and one that caught my eye in particular was the Convertible Color for cheeks and lips. However, I resisted the temptation to buy as I’d already spent rather a lot on makeup. So prior to my trip home I had done my research, swatched the colours at my local Sephora and compared the prices in Asia with those back home to see where I could get the best deal. As is often the case, it was cheaper to buy in England and so I waited patiently for my upcoming trip.

Before I even got to the Stila counter at Harvey Nics (it was only later after the splurge that I realised Stila is also available in Boots and so I missed out on my Boots points... how annoyed was I - grrr!) I already knew I wanted to buy the Color Convertible in the colour Gladiola. I’m a sucker for anything that’s peachy/corally/orangey as I feel it really suits my warm complexion irrespective of the shade, whereas with pinks I feel I have to be a bit more choosey as not all shades of pink suit me. Whilst at the Stila counter I also decided to purchase the blush in a pink shade and boy did it take me a looong time to choose between Gerbera and Lillium. I (eventually) settled for Gerbera – a soft pink.

The blushes cost £16 each and you get 4.25g (0.15oz) of product for your pennies. They come in the cutest of round compacts, with the outside colour coordinated to the colour of the blush inside. The top of the compact has a floral embossed design with ‘Stila’ and ‘convertible color’ written across it. Inside, the lid contains a decent sized round mirror which is very handy for when you’re on the go, and the blush itself. There is no applicator. Being a cream blush this is not an issue in the slightest (for me). The compact is light weight and snaps shut which means I’m quite happy to throw it into my handbag without the fear of it opening and turning everything a bright orange colour ;o)

The colour pay off is amazing!Both blushes are true to colour and whilst Gladiola looks a little scary as a bright orange, it blends out (see last photo) to a beautiful peachy coral colour so don’t let the orangeness put you off (trust me).  I have always preferred cream blushes over powder as I love the dewy, glistening finish they give making my face look all youthful and glowy, and these did not disappoint!

You can apply these blushes with your fingers, however, my preferred method of application is to use my Real Techniques stippling brush (click here for thoughts on this brush). Not only does it avoid staining my fingers, but I find that I use much less of the product when applying this way. The brush also creates a very diffused, air brushed look where the edges of the blush just seem to blend seamlessly in my skin / foundation and there are no harsh lines / edges denoting where the blush colour ends. I love this look and struggle to achieve this effect when I use my fingers. The colour lasts a long time and does not go blotchy as it fades towards the end of the day.

These blushes can also be used as lip colours, however, I’m not keen on using them on my lips as I find them a little drying plus I feel the colour is a little 'patchy'. Also, I can’t seem to put my finger on it but for some reason I just do not like how they feel on my lips. A part of me thinks it might be psychological. As these look like blushes rather than lip products, my mind is telling me that these are not quite right on the lips plus my primary reason for the purchase was to use them on my cheeks.

In summary, I think these are absolutely gorgeous blushes with a wide colour selection and the cutest of packaging. I personally cannot wait for my next trip back home to expand my collection :o) Have you ever tried these blushes? What were your thoughts? Which colour did you go for?

Love Sheen xxx

My verdict:

• For cheeks 5/5
• For lips 3/5

(Note: I purchased these products with my own money)

Stila One Step Illuminate

Good Day Everyone,

This was the first product that I ever purchased from Stila (website) and I can tell you that I have become a huge fan ever since. Living near the equator in year round temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius in high humidity can make wearing a full face of makeup a little challenging, especially if you’re going to be spending time outside without air con. I was looking for a product (other than my bodily sweat!) that would give my face a nice subtle luminous glow for the days that I don’t wish to wear foundation and this is perfect!

Firstly, I absolutely love love love the packaging! The product comes in a clear plastic bottle containing 30mls (1 oz) of product with a black pump and lid which, in my humble opinion, has many benefits;

• As the bottle is clear I can see exactly how much product is left before I run out.
• The clear bottle also means that I can see the triple swirl helix and it looks sooo pretty (ok so that's not really a benefit but hey it makes me happy!).
• The pump makes using the product very hygienic as there’s no finger dipping involved.
• The pump also allows me to control the amount of product I dispense and it is easy to dispense half pumps.
•  Being plastic I don’t need to worry about breakages if I drop the bottle (which happens a lot given my arthritic fingers).
• The lid snaps shut when I push it on making it quite secure and does not come off easily which is great if I ever need to travel with this in my luggage. At the same time my arthritic fingers do not struggle to open it either which is a huge bonus :o)

Another great thing about this bottle is that, from what I can tell thus far, there is no product wastage due to the packaging. This is quite tricky to explain so here goes. You know how with some bottles the product sticks to the sides and bottom and no amount of pumping can ever get it all out? Well this bottle has a mechanism, a sort of platform, which pushes the product upwards from the bottom and sides of the bottle so no product is left behind that you cannot get to – genius or what?!

This product is one of those multi-functioning products that offers numerous benefits all in the convenience of one product. The product consists of 3 coloured swirls suspended in Stila’s youth revival bio-available mineral complex^TM serum which is clear in colour. The swirls are;

• Light gold which highlights the skin.

• Pale pink to warm the complexion.
• Kitten which brightens and illuminates (kitten is Stila’s famous eye shadow colour which is also available in other product forms e.g. eyeliner, powder shimmer, liquid luminizer, lip gloss etc).

According to Stila this product instantly primes, brightens and illuminates the skin, improves skin tone, even outs your complexion and helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles. In addition it claims to;

• Helps diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Helps minimize pores.
• Helps hydrate and balance.
• Helps control oil.

Wow! Now that’s a whole load of benefits all within just one product! I tend to use this product instead of a foundation on days when I want to go for the no makeup makeup look (rather than as a primer) and I have to say it does an amazing job! The texture of this is more mousse like than serum and it feels incredibly light weight on my skin. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling tacky or sticky or looking shiny or oily in any way.
 

I typically apply this, using my fingers, after my moisturiser concentrating on my cheeks, centre of my face and eyelids and I have to say it just melts into my skin beautifully. I find that one pump is more than enough to do my whole face and therefore this bottle will easily last me for several months. This product instantly brightens my skin giving it that kind of ‘glowing from within’ luminous look. The shimmer in this product is so incredibly fine that it leaves my skin glistening beautifully whenever the light catches it and I don’t have to worry about looking like a disco ball. The glistening effect is why I tend to wear this on my eyelids as then I don’t need to bother with eye shadow and I just use a couple of coats of mascara and voila my eyes are done!

Blends out to give a luminous glow

I tend to have normal to dry skin and I find this product to be hydrating to the extent that even at the end of the day my skin still doesn’t feel in the slightest bit dry. I generally feel that I am feeding my skin ‘goodness’ whenever I apply this product. I don’t tend to have oily skin and rarely get an oily t-zone and therefore cannot comment on the product’s oil control capabilities but it does seem to minimise the few pores that I have and evens out my skin tone. I think it’s too early for me to say whether this product helps to diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles as I don’t really have any wrinkles (that I’ve noticed) and I don’t think I’ve been using this product long enough to notice a dramatic effect on any fine lines that I may have... I think I need to go examine my face closely in the mirror now to see if I actually have any fine lines or wrinkles ;o)

On occasion I have also used this product on top of my cheek bones, after foundation, to get that glowy highlighting effect and it blends easily without removing the layer of foundation underneath. Overall I have been delighted with my first Stila purchase and cannot wait to try other products from the brand.

Have you tried this illuminator? What were your impressions? What's your favourite illuminator to use? I'd love to hear your views/experience :o)

Love Sheen xxx

My verdict: 5/5

For the UK: http://stila.co.uk/
For Singapore you can find this product at Sephora

(Note: I purchased this product with my own money)