Lipcolor balms are my new favourite!

As promised from my last review on drugstore products, here are some of my favourite lip balms I got from Silkygirl lately!

If there's one drugstore makeup I've been using for the longest time, it has gotta be Silkygirl. My best friend used to rave about their products which was how I got introduced to these bunch of cheap and good stuff. Tried their blushers, eyeliner, eyebrow pencils, mascara previously and I've been particularly loving their eyeliners and eyebrow pencils as you can see from most of my makeup stash. Hence, I couldn't resist trying out their new Moisture boost lipcolor balms the moment I gotta know about them too!

Once in awhile, I get cracked-lips from the oral isotretinoin I consume for my skin and it takes up an unnecessary amount of time to exfoliate my lips and put on some vaseline right before I apply lipstick most of the time. These two extra steps can be quite a hassle on days where I'm in a rush. Also, lipsticks can be a little too overwhelming sometimes, especially on those days where I have slightly heavier eye makeup on.

Which is why I decided to share with you my new favourite - Lipcolor balms!!!

With its sophisticated, sleek and retractable packaging, the Silkygirl's Moisture Boost Lipcolor Balms definitely captivated my attention from afar.

Pacing back and fro, I had a really hard time deciding which colour to go for, among the variety of choices. After a couple of minutes, Rose, Ruby and Poppy were the ones I selected. Definitely a range of fun colours suitable for everyday-wear.

Here are the swatches of the three colours I picked.

With the benefits of a lip balm, not only does it contain Vitamins A, C and E and moisturises my lips, it has excellent colour payoff and doesn't wear off easily.

With sufficient amount of the lipcolour, you'd probably only have to touch up once throughout the day. Another reason to love these crayon-like lip balms is because of how precise they are. Not to mention, since it's rather sheer and creamy, I can easily glide it over my lips without a mirror unlike how it's a must to check out the reflection when I apply lipsticks, due to how prominent the colours are.

Most lip balms give off a waxy, sticky texture after application, which to a certain extent, feels uncomfortable to me. However, when it comes to the Silkygirl's Moisture Boost Lipcolor Balm that feeling would dissipate after a few seconds as it melts into my lips.

Twist to use, like how it works for any usual lipstick! In other words, no sharpening required.

My favourite colour has gotta be Rose since it goes really well with my current hair colour, and it's definitely something I'd wear in the day. I'd also pop Ruby into my bag if I decide to switch it up a little when it comes to night time.

Last but not least, they comes with a 4-No formula: No fragrance, No paraben, No carmine, No animal testing unlike many other lip products. Yet another few reasons to have this.

I would say it's something I'd have as part of my makeup routine, even on days when I'm lazy to put on much makeup, this would come in handy just to give my face a pop of colour.

It's retailing at Pharmacuetical outlets such as Watsons, Guardian and departmental stores at the price of $11.90 only!

Makes me happy when I get such a great bargain :p Feel free to comment and share with me your thoughts on the Silkygirl's Moisture Boost Lipcolor Balm if you've tried them too! :)

You may also participate in the #boostofcolor contest and stand a chance to win a SilkyGirl hamper worth $100! All you have to do is to post a picture of your lips on Instagram and hashtag #boostofcolor! Contest ends on the 7th Sept and the 3 winners will be announced via @Gushcloud_SGInstagram. All the best!

How to get smaller pores with drugstore products!

Besides eye makeup (excluding eyeshadow) and lipsticks, I hardly touch any face makeup (foundation, powder etc) from our local drugstores such as Watsons or Guardian.

Not because I've too much money in hand to spend a few hundred bucks on high-end brands all the time, (cause I don't) but it's just that I've really sensitive skin and as much as possible I'll avoid buying things that I feel skeptical about.

I have no idea why or when I started to have such thoughts drilled into my head, but I always had a bad impression of makeup that are lower in price. I guess just like many other people, we have this misconception that expensive stuff are always better than cheap stuff. And cheap stuff are only cheap for a reason - Which is that they aren't good.

Most of my face make up cost an average of $50, and they can range to as high as $90. Hence, I feel a lot poorer each time I walk out of Sephora.

I tested out a decent amount of brands to know how my skin works and what I look best in by now... And since my skin condition got a lot better recently (thanks to IDS) I thought it was time I gave drugstore products a try; and that's when I went on a hunt at Watsons and Sasa the other day.

 My great monthly expenses on high-end products, as mentioned earlier on, is yet another reason to give drugstore-products a try. I mean besides it being a very "Singaporean" thing to get cheap stuff, we are all looking for alternatives to spend lesser whenever possible. If $50 could get you 10 bottles of foundation, I'm guessing there's no reason why one would rather spend that $50 on one bottle instead, if both products work pretty much the same way.

Just because it's expensive and "branded," they may not necessarily work for you nor your pocket.

Moving on...

First, I restocked some of my fav products from Silkygirl; such as their eyeliner in brown and black, eyebrow pencils, and their new moisture lip balm as well, which I will talk about in my next post. Moving on, I also got some super lustrous lipsticks from Revlon, that I love love love! Last but not least, the only face product at Watsons that caught my attention was the new Olay Total Effects Pore Minimizing CC cream stacked neatly on the front shelves of the store.

As you can see, I've extremely visible pores and that's probably my biggest worry when it comes to skincare problems. After all, pores unfortunately become more visible with age. And based on some information I've garnered online - once enlarged, pores can never return to their original size. *Screams*

I honestly would go without any foundation or BB/CC cream if my pores weren't that obvious, but they are this bad probably because my skin's  rather oily and I didn't conscientiously take time and effort to take care of my face in the past = Sebum = Wide pores.

That being said, besides looking for skincare products to help reduce my pores, I've always been in search of makeup that could do the job.

The Olay Total Effects Pore Minimizing CC cream, combining 7 benefits in 1, claims to

1. Evens skin tone appearance
2. Minimizes the look of pores
3. Enhances brightness
4. Visibly smoothes fine lines and wrinkles
5. Reduces the look of spots
6. Hydrates for a firm look
7. Replenishes moisture

In case you aren't certain of what CC Creams are; They combine anti-aging (AA) benefits and beauty balm (BB) to create an all-in-one beauty solution. Olay CC Cream also offer longer-term correction benefits, to reveal the 7 signs of youthful skin. - See more (here)

I'm pretty darn amazed! I'd love to say that I'm right about how cheaper products don't work, but I have to admit that I'm wrong about this for sure.

Retailing at SGD32.50, I think I've yet to come across anything cheaper than this with better benefits. I tried out many other pore minimising products before and they usually either don't work for me or have a really thick consistency. In the end, it just looks really obvious that I've layers of makeup on. 

Olay Total Effects Pore Minimizing CC Cream however, with its many perks and airbrushed finish, are the reasons why it's the highlight of today's post.

I've been using it for a week now, and if there's one thing I'm not really fond of, is that it doesn't really last me through the day (given how I spend at least 8 hours outside on a daily basis) due to its light texture. I guess I can't exactly put the blame on the product after running a full day of errands. Nonetheless, I do like it for how it evens out my skin tone, moisturises my skin and gives me a flawless finish with its pore minimising effect. Not to mention, it doesn't grease up halfway through the day unlike many other products - When you have just the right amount of sebum, it helps protect your skin. But if your skin has too much of it, you'd end up battling acne, and if it has too little sebum, you could end up with dry, cracked skin. Therefore, since the Olay Total Effects Pore Minimizing CC Cream moisturises and it's non greasy, it'll work just right.

Something I'd recommend if you're looking for something close to a tinted moisturiser, with definitely more benefits. Good for everyday use and since it's just 50g, you can pop it into your bag and easily touch up along the way without it caking up. Pretty light in coverage though, so it's something you'd have to consider if you're looking for something that's able to cover up spots and blemishes.

Comment and let me know if you have other ways on how to get smaller-looking pores! :)

Perfume Collection | New Fragrance from DKNY

Since a very young age, I’ve always been intrigued by perfumes in terms of their different scents and packaging. Besides visiting the toys section like any other kid, another reason to make a trip to any department store like Metro or Robinsons was to sneak to the basement where all the fragrances and cosmetics were displayed.

Part of being vain was the need to smell good and even though I was just a kid, I really wanted to own a bottle of perfume. However, I guess every parents’ worry was that their child might be growing up too quickly, and mine was no exception. In other words, I wasn't allowed to get my own perfume and the closest I could get to one was the testers in drugstores or department stores.

Anyway, that being said, it was a dream come true when I finally got to purchase my first bottle of fragrance with my own pocket money at age 16. Since then, I started collecting perfumes and I own about 26 bottles today.

Anyway, I'd tell you guys more about my perfumes in future. As of now, I'd like to share with you my new bottle of fragrance from DKNY I've gotten about a week back, and have been wearing it ever since.

The new DKNY MYNY has gotta be my favourite fragrance of the month.

Powerfully unique. Irresistibly compelling. Spontaneously playful. Top: The sexiness of Raspberries and Galbanum spiked with accents of Pink Pepper Heart: The sensuality of Egyptian Jasmine wrapped with Freesia and roots of Orris Finish: The soulfulness of Patchouli Heart LMR, Vanilla Absolute and Musk, laced with vibrant Ambergris.

Not only do I collect perfumes for their various scents, I am usually captivated by the uniqueness of their individual packaging as well. The DKNY MYNY obviously got my eyes glued to its enthralling design which suggests the skyscrapers of New York. The scent however, made me step out of my comfort zone for the first time.

I'm usually into sweet-smelling fragrances, be it fruity or flowery scents and the DKNY MYNY doesn't really belong to any of these two AT FIRST. What do I mean...?

It is a rather uplifting, energizing scent because of its top notes such as fresh raspberry and white musk. When I first sprayed it on and allowed it to sit on my wrist, the top notes settled in and I could smell a strong scent of Orris root among a deeper backdrop of vetiver and patchouli. Earth and spicy, I must say.

However, it wasn't long before I decided to give it a second sniff and realised that the scent has changed to blend in with my own body odour. Such perfumes take on a life of its own and create a unique mark of identity. In other words, they give off a different smell when used on different people.

As my body temperature rose throughout the wearing, the scent became warmer with it, and I could really smell the beauty of the vetiver in the dry-down, but all the top and middle notes became a lot more subtle, but created a warm, musky smell.

Since then, not only have I fell in love with it, I've been receiving great responses from my friends as well; with them asking which perfume I was using, where I could get it etc.

DKNY MYNY comes with a woodier scent. Heavy patchouli with pleasant undertones of fruits and flowers. Does smell rather masculine at first, but slowly fades away into a sweet-smelling scent of heaven... :D

Verdict? I love it!

Some tips on where I usually spray my perfume and how to make them last throughout the day:

• WristsNeck (Under-ear area where your pulse it) and right in the middle.
• Your cubital fossa and popliteal fossa.
• Apply some of the DKNY MYNY’s body lotion before spraying on their perfume.

That should at least last you about 6-8 hours if you don't carry out any vigorous activities.

Just in case you were wondering, the fragrance is already in stores, islandwide at leading department stores (Metro Paragon, Robinsons JEM, Robinsons Orchard, Robinsons Raffles City, Takashimaya, Tangs Orchard & Tangs VivoCity) and selected perfumeries (SaSa Cosmetics & others)

Anyway, because of how sophisticated and energetic this scent is, I love wearing it on days where my outfit's a little more on the dark/black side!

The collection will be retailing at the following prices:

 DKNY MYNY Eau de Parfum 100ml SGD 133

DKNY MYNY Eau de Parfum 50ml SGD 99

 DKNY MYNY Body Lotion 150ml SGD 63

 DKNY MYNY Shower Gel 150ml SGD 49

Any fans of Rita Ora?! Cos she's chosen as the scent's face due to her similar, energetic character and because of how much she connects to New york.

Visit DKNY MYNY to create your DKNY MYNY heart and be part of it!

Do drop by the atriums to have a taste of DKNY MYNY that will be happening at these locations:

• 15 to 31 Aug’14 – Robinsons JEM Promo Area
• 15 to 21 Aug’14 – Robinsons Orchard Promo Area
• 18 to 24 Aug’14 – Robinsons Raffles City Water Court
• 28 Aug’14 to 3 Sep’14 – Taka 2BB
• 29 Aug’14 to 4 Sep’14 – Tangs Orchard Entrance
• 10 to 14 Sep’14 – Tangs Vivo City Centre Court B

 Anyway, that's all for today's post! Do comment and let me know what's your current favourite fragrance, of if you've tried this out, what are your thoughts on it! :)