Beauty Empties Mar - Apr 2020 ♡ ft. The Ordinary, Caudalie, IT Cosmetics, Maybelline, Heroine Make, YSL, Byredo + More!

It's that time of the month again!

Today I am sharing with you beauty products that I have emptied during March and April 2020.

Looking at my beauty empties basket, a few of these products are old empties that I never got around to blog about, there are also some super old products that I should have thrown away long ago like mascaras and eyeliners.

I haven't emptied a lot of products this month due to the lockdown, I just don't find it necessary to wear makeup everyday when working from home, but I have been really into my skincare and I did finished a few products that I have always raved about, so that's something I look forward to sharing with you.

 THE ORDINARY ALPHA ARBUTIN 2% + HA, I never thought that I would empty this so soon, especially when I made a claim on my Instagram that it's such an overrated product not long ago haha. I bought this around November last year while shopping with my best friend, she was looking at some The Ordinary products and I thought, oh, I've heard a lot about this brand, but never tried it myself and I wanted to see what is all the raves about. Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA claims that it will help with uneven skin tone and dark spots, I initially bought it to use on my legs as I have a lot of dark mosquito bites spots *insert laughing with tears emoji*, but that didn't work hahahaha. Then I started using it on my face, I added this into my morning skincare routines and I find that it has visibly improved the pigmentation of my skin and my face looks so much clearer now.

 CAUDALIE BEAUTY ELIXIR, this has been mentioned several times on my blog, it's my absolute favourite and I cannot live without it! Currently I am using the standard size which is 100ml, but I much preferred the mini size that is 30ml as it is easier to carry around. I love using the beauty elixir in the morning, it totally wakes me up, brighten my complexion and it makes my makeup last longer.

 IT COSMETICS CONFIDENCE IN A CREAM MOISTURIZER, this is the best moisturiser to use at night time! I have purchased this several times and I have also tried to replace it with something cheaper, but so far this it is irreplaceable to me. I love that the texture is thick, it's creamy, the product absorbs quickly and at the same time it locks in the moisture, so when I wake up in the morning, my face feels moisturised, but not oily. I don't like using this in the day time as it feels too heavy for my oily skin.

 MAC LIP SCRUBTIOUS - SUMMER BERRY, this is one of my favourite lip scrub, I have tried Summer Berry, Brown Sugar and Candied Nectar and I love them all. This ones different to other regular lip scrubs I have tried, it has a layer of shea butter on top of the scrub that leaves your lips scrub and moisturised at the same time. I love it and I would re-purchase, but I love the Lush Lip Scrub just as much and that one is cheaper than MAC.

 MAYBELLINE TATTOO BROW GEL TINT - DARK BROWN, I have used this up and re-purchased another already. I am a big fan of these eyebrow gel tint and the best one I have tried so far, is from Maybelline. I reviewed this product last year, click here to check it out.

 HEROINE MAKE LONG AND CURL MASCARA, I tell you THIS IS THE BEST MASCARA IF YOU HAVE SHORT AND STRAIGHT EYELASHES THAT WON'T STAY CURL. Sorry for all caps but I just had to. I've had this mascara for a very long time and the texture is a bit thick and dried out now, I haven't got around to re-purchase another, so right now I am using other ones from Maybelline, which seriously cannot compare. My eyelashes are short and straight and I have tried several mascaras that claims to lift the lashes, also mascara curler that claims are made especially for Asian eyes and non seem to really lift my lashes and hold the curls and if they do hold the curls, it either doesn't last long or they smudges like crazy. Heroine Make is the BEST, BEST, BEST! and the only mascara that can hold my curls for long hours and I am talking more than 10 hours wear with no smudges. The only thing I don't really like is the removable, it's very waterproof and it's not that easy to remove.

 HEROINE MAKE SMOOTH LIQUID EYELINER, for this one I had very high expectation because I swear by the mascara and I just automatically assume the eyeliner is as good. Unfortunately I had only used this twice and I just can't stand it. This eyeliner feather so badly and whenever I use, it just smudged.

 TOO FACED BETTER THAN SEX LIQUID EYELINER, I wasn't a fan of this eyeliner initially, but then I fell in love with it until the brush decides to mess up... with that said, I would still re-purchase this eyeliner because it's long wearing, it doesn't smear, it's easy to draw the thin line and it's sort of a replacement for my KVD Tattoo Liner.

 COLOURPOP BROW BOSS - DARK BROWN, I have talked about and recommended this brow product so many times on my blog, it's the best for natural brows and I love it.

 FENTY BEAUTY BROW MVP - BLACK-BROWN, Brow MVP gives a stronger brow look compared to the ColourPop Brow Boss and it has become a favourite also. I love both equally and when one of them runs out, the other comes in handy. I especially love the brush on the other end, compared to the spoolie on the Brow Boss.

 GLAMGLOW SUPERMUD CLEARING TREATMENT, I am currently testing out some masks from Peter Thomas Roth which I will review soon, but it only made me realised how amazing GlamGlow's masks are when I have tried others from different brand. With GlamGlow, I can see instant results, they are easy to remove and while on my skin I can feel that the mask is actually working. The Supermud Clearing Treatment isn't as tight and tingly on my skin as other claims, but my skin feels softer and clean after each use. This is the mini size and it last me up to five uses of full face application.

 YSL FUSION INK FOUNDATION - B20, this is actually quite an old foundation that I have emptied ages ago, I have re-purchased this foundation twice and it's one of my all time favourite. This is one of the best I have tried for oily skin, it's medium to full coverage, but it feels lightweight and it's long-wearing.

 LIVING PROOF PERFECT HAIR DAY CONDITIONER, I received a sample of this in one of my Mecca Beauty Loop box and I like it, but I don't like it enough to want to repurchase. I don't really fuss about my hair or use expensive products on my hair.

 BYREDO BAL D'AFRIQUE PERFUME SAMPLE, I received a sample of this perfume from one of my online purchases from Mecca, at first I couldn't really stand the smell, but then I kind of got used to it, the scent is definitely very unique.

Too Faced Gingerbread Bronzed & Kissed Set ♡ Review + Swatches

Today I am sharing with you a review of the Too Faced Gingerbread Bronzed & Kissed Set which includes an adorable Gingerbread Man makeup bag, a bronzer that looks a bit too orange for me and a lipstick that smells delicious.

This set was part of the Too Faced Holiday 2019 Collection, it is Limited Edition, but hey, it's 2020 and "Limited Edition" just don't mean a thing anymore these days. I am sure Too Faced will bring it back this year by "popular demand" hahah...

I wish that the makeup bag was sold separately because that was the only item I was interested in from the set. I didn't really care for the makeup and I am not saying that they aren't good quality or anything, but I knew these products are ones that I don't see myself use too often, regardless of how cute the packaging is.

Of course I have enough makeup bags in my collection, but this one is sparkly, it's cute, it's shaped like a Gingerbread Man, it's smiling at me and it's saying "buy me", "take me home" and I just got to have it! The bag is adorable, but it doesn't hold much and that's okay with me as I don't use these makeup bags for makeups, I actually use them as a pads and tampons bag hahaha.

 TOO FACED PEACH KISS LIPSTICK - GINGERBREAD MAN, the formula for the permanent collection is pretty amazing, it's matte, but it's creamy, it glides on smoothly and it's non-drying during wear. I find that Gingerbread Man has a similar formula, but it's very very drying. I have seen people online claims that the shade is exactly the same as Gingerbread Man Melted Matte, but unfortunately, I can't do a comparison as I no longer own that liquid lipstick. The lipstick smells delicious, but the colour is not really my cup of tea. The packaging is super cute, it has Gingerbread Man printed all over the case.

 TOO FACED SPICY BRONZER - GINGERBREAD TAN, my initial thoughts on this bronzer was, the packaging is so adorable! It comes in a gold compact with Gingerbread Man designed all over the top and they are 3D as well, which is cuteness overload! The compact itself feels kinda cheap, but it does comes with a mirror inside and the bronzer itself smells so yum. The white colour on top of the Gingerbread Man is an overspray and from the pan it looks like the bronzer would be too orange for me. I must say this bronzer has definitely surprised me because it's nothing as I have expected. The color goes on very soft on my skin, it's warm, with a bit of red tone in it, but it doesn't make my face looks muddy. It looks quite pigmented when I did arm swatches with my fingers, but when I applied the bronzer with a makeup brush, on my face it looks quite natural and the color is buildable. It's safe to say I really like this bronzer.

Catkin Cosmetics x Summer Palace Lipstick - CR129 ♡ First Impression + Swatches

Last year I bought a bunch of products from Catkin Cosmetics to try, including a highlighter, an eyeshadow palette and two lip products. This is a Chinese makeup brand and it is also a new-to-me brand, I have used their 9-pan eyeshadow palette a few times and I really like the quality. 

Today I am sharing with you a first impression and swatches of one of the lip products I purchased and it's the Catkin x Summer Palace Lipstick in the shade CR129. I have this lipstick for a very long time, but I only just started using it recently, so I don't think I have used it long enough for a full review yet.

I remember the thing that caught my attention about this lipstick was the packaging, it's very Chinese, Ancient Chinese, the designs and colours are so elegant and the packaging is just absolutely beautiful. I am someone that loves historical Chinese TV drama, so when I saw this, I just had a to get it and I didn't even care about the quality of the actual product.

The packaging is not just pretty to look at, it has a magnetic closure which makes it feels more luxurious and expensive and the design is actually 3D.

There are three finishes and a lot of shades to choose from in the Catkin x Summer Palace range, red lipstick is not really my thing, although I do own a few, I always feel like red lips are a little bit out of my comfort zone, but I bought the shade CR129 because a lot of people has purchased this shade and it seemed to be one of their most popular colour in the range.

CR129 is a semi-matte finish and the colour is described as chili. It's very pigmented and the colour is vibrant, but it does make my teeth looks a bit yellow.

The texture is so smooth, it glides on effortlessly and the formula feels so comfortable on the lips, it's non drying and long-wearing. However, the lipstick kept getting on my teeth, but it doesn't smear nor feather easily.

Overall, I like this lipstick. The quality is better than expected and the packaging has won my heart.

ColourPop Disney Midnight Masquerade Eyeshadow Palette ♡ Review + Swatches

Today I am sharing with you a review and swatches, plus a makeup look I did using the ColourPop Disney Midnight Masquerade Eyeshadow Palette.

The Midnight Masquerade Collection was released sometimes in late 2019 and this is ColourPop's second Disney Princess collection. I don't have all the products from this collection, but I did purchased a highlighter, a blush and a few of the newly released lux liquid lips.

I have been very obsessed with eyeshadow palettes lately and the Midnight Masquerade is one of the six eyeshadow palettes that I have recently purchased from ColourPop.

The Midnight Masquerade palette contains fifteen eyeshadows and a mixture of finishes including matte, shimmer, pressed pigment and pressed glitters.

The palette comes packaged in those durable cardboard materials, which I much preferred compared to their plastic 9 pan palettes. This one does not come with a mirror and the artwork and design is definitely more detailed and prettier compared to their first Disney Princess palette (It's A Princess Thing).

 Mrs. Potts, described as an antique yellow gold.

 Floating Lantern, described as a rosey copper with lavender glitter.

 Djali, described as a soft copper with a pink flip and a duo chrome flip.

 Mama Odie, described as soft peach with a green flip and a duo chrome flip.

 Enchanted, described as a warm coral.

 Pip, described as a peachy nude.

 Damsel, described as a dusty rose.

 Spinning Wheel, described as an opal with pinky flip.

 Royal Ball, described as a white gold with multidimensional glitter.

 Frog & Wife, described as a hunter green.

 Nutmeg, described as a true terracotta.

 New Dream, described as a warm dusty violet.

 Gaston, described as a true crimson.

 Quasimodo, described as a muted deep brown.

 Merryweather, described as a deep navy blue.

The shades above are listed as per my arm swatches order, starting from Mrs. Potts on the left, then the first row and lastly the second row. 

Usually at the back of each ColourPop eyeshadow palettes, they would list out the shades that are not safe to be used directly on the eyes, but there is non noted on the Midnight Masquerade palette. I believe pressed glitters are not safe to use in the immediate eye area, although I have tried it myself, nothing major happened, but the huge chunks of glitters did irritated my eyes a bit and there were A LOT of fall-outs! 

Floatting Lantern and Royal Ball are the only pressed glitters in this palette, they are so pretty to look at in the pan, but once you dip your finger in, they are every where! It's annoying and this is my least favourite formula from ColourPop.

Majority of the shades from this palette is pigmented, they glides on smoothly and blends well on the eyes. The darker shades on the bottom row are a bit dry and patchy, as seen in my arm swatches above, the shade Merryweather is the worst. 

I really like the lighter matte shades on the top row of the palette and my favourite formula is definitely the shimmers. I have tried using the shimmers both dry and wet and I find that when using it wet, the color becomes more vibrant, but the texture is chunky, and when using it dry, it's shimmery, but it's not as vibrant and the texture is so velvety, they glides on smoothly and blends beautifully on the eyes.

Below is a makeup look I did using the Midnight Masquerade eyeshadow palette. We all know that I am no pro at creating makeup looks and not even close to being good at applying makeup, but I got to say I am probably best at buying and collecting makeup itself haha.

As mentioned in the beginning, I did purchased a few ColourPop Lux Liquid Lips from the Midnight Masquerade collection. I have the shades in Beast (a mid-tone pink nude), Wonderboy (a rich berry), Flynn (a rose plum) and Prince Charming (a true pink).

The shade selections are absolutely gorgeous and the formula feels light weight on the lips, but it gets very drying and it forms crusty pieces in the middle after a short amount of wearing time. Also this product is not long wearing at all.

The above lip swatch is probably the worst I have posted on my blog, mind you, I did scrub my lips beforehand and my lips are not in a drying condition currently.

The blush that I am wearing in this makeup look is Enchanted Mirror from the Beauty and The Beast Belle Kit. It is described as a warm pink blush and it has been my favourite blush since I received it. The texture is so soft, it wears all day and the pigmentation is just about right, for someone who is always too heavy-handed.

I don't recall posting such detailed review of an eyeshadow before on this blog, haha but I hope you enjoyed reading this post.