MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Highlighter in Lightscapade

Hi guys! Singapore just had our yearly GSS (Great Singapore Sale) and I've picked up quite a few products; today I will be writing a short post about a jewel I've found recently and that's the Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Highlighter in Lightscapade !

Lightscapade is described as a soft candlelit beige with multidimensional shimmer. I've been going crazy with highlights lately because it gives me such a dewy finish without feeling oily (yes, I'm super oily and acne-prone!)

Exterior Packaging- Look how pretty it looks sitting in its dome-shaped case!

The marbleised colouring of this correcting highlight powder is EVEN MORE GORGEOUS. I love it.

When I wear this, I feel that its really soft in both its application and finish - it has shimmers but they are so micro that it did not look like I was SHINING, if you get what I mean. Even though it may seem white against my skin at first glance, I feel that this highlighter seems to lean on to a subtle blue-pink hue underneath the white, as opposed to it being a full white. It's also really versatile, and I feel that it can be layered over any blush. However, because of how light this shade is, I only highly recommend it for super pale to fair skin tones. It will however, work for everyone as a undereye / tearduct highlight and I've tried that myself too!

Shine bright like a diamond ;) Hehehe. When I swatched this, immediately I thought of another subtle-glow favourite - the Laura Mercier Highlight in 01. Below is the swatch of them side by side: 

Left being Lightscapade, Right being Highlight 01.

They are both really fine powders, with a subtle micro shimmer in it that gives me that soft glow. I really love that about highlighters because that would mean its super natural makeup application! The Laura Mercier Highlight 01 leans more beige/peach than the Lightscapade.

Even if I had to give a recommendation to get either one, in this case, it depends alot on what you want: If you'd prefer just a soft and natural glow - then go with the Laura Mercier. Else, if you'd like a little brightening properties in it, then pick up the Mac Lightscapade! I love them both equally.

You can get both of them in Singapore's Sephora Ion Outlet, and here are their price comparison:

MAC Lightscapade, 10g, is SGD$46
Laura Mercier Highlight 01, 7.5g, is SGD$58

Sometimes, I do hauls at 10-30% discount! So drop me an email if you're looking to buy some items and we'll work something out.

Tippy's Favourite Blushes (Part 2 - Matte/Shimmer)

I'm back and I know that I mentioned in the last post that we will be moving on to some of my best matte-er shades. But before I continue, I have to admit that I got mistaken when I was planning this series and upon looking at their closeups, these blushes are actually a mix of matte and slightly shimmery ones! Nevertheless, they are still one of my favourites so please enjoy this post without labelling them entirely "matte". I will still be labelling which is shimmery/matte.. Im really very sorry about this mistake! T_T

If you haven't read the Tippy's Favourite Blushes (Part 1 - Shimmery), you can do so Here.
Alright let's go!!

These 3 blushes are from MakeUpGeek (MG) and despite looking very matte on skin, it contains a little bit of glitter (which are too little to be captured on my camera). MG is one of my favourite online brands ever and I want to own all of their products! I stalk their site + social media so consistently, and I really respect how Marlena (owner of MG) works so hard to let us have the good stuff without breaking our pockets! Im always excited to hear from her and the first to sign up for new product launches.

*Side note: Marlena is sick (allergy reaction) atm because of testing formulations for us. Product launch this july/august are gonna be delayed but it dont matter, get well soon please!

Top down Swatches & their corresponding pans: Hanky Panky, Secret Admirer and Spellbound.

MG's products come in either Pan or Packaged, which gives you the freedom of choice to customize your own palette/ individual collection - I always purchase them in pans and keep them in a ZPalette. Also, they are very affordably priced for their quality so when they JUST released these blushes, I purchased 3 of them at a go. They are USD$9.99 each and you can get them Here.

Next up: Etude House Lovely Cookie Blushes. I own 3 shades of these, and 2 of them instantly became my favourite. I've just pictured all of them here in case someone wants a swatch comparison (: Side note: I bought these when I was on a trip to KL during christmas season sale - but you can buy them Here at a discounted price (almost the same price as Korea).

 From left to right: #06 Grapefruit Jelly, #04 Carrot Cheesecake, and #03 Raspberry Tart.

Close up of swatches, you can see which contains shimmer:

#06 Grapefruit Jelly (most left) is my favourite of the trio, and it is matte. I always get compliments when I wear this! #03 Raspberry Tart (most right) is a very vibrant pink which shows up with a purple undertone on my skin - this has some glitter but alike MG's blushes, it is not obvious. #04 Carrot Cheesecake (middle) lived up to its name and made me look like a carrot- which I am not a fan of.

The Etude Cookie blushes are smooth and applied very well, but they drop off easily and do not have a long wear time - they became my favourites partially due to this feature they had (dropping off easily but prettily), this was because I could pack loads of product on my cheeks without giving a hoot when I am in a rush. BUT one thing I didn't like was that it made the glitter in #04 carrot cheesecake travel all around my face. I don't fancy this look, but that is just me, and maybe some people are okay with it because it gives them a "glowy" effect.

After some rubbing, get what I mean? (: It's very light but there is still something there- so it gives a very natural finish after some time (30mins on my face / externally oily).

Another blush from Etude House which applied very naturally and lightly was this:
The XOXO Minnie Touch Blusher, how cute is the packaging!

This blush is limited edition, and I don't think you can get it anywhere anymore. The last time I checked, it was still available Here online. I wanted to show you how it swatched in comparison to the other permanent etude blushes available, and also to thank the darling who passed it on to me (she has dark skin). Therefore, please note that this shade will work only on very fair to medium fair skin.

Left to Right - Purple, Darker pink, Lighter peach, All Mixed.

I am usually the fairest/ 2nd fairest of foundations and I use this mixed, as a base below any other blushes to make my skin look fairer than it actually is. (Oh, mini tip!) However, no matter how good it applied, I felt that this blush wasn't buildable (it will not go heavier than this).

Last but not least, this very pigmented orange blush "Lover" from Illamasqua ! My bf bought this for me when we were in BKK, when Illamasqua was not readily available in Singapore yet. You can however, view them now in Robinsons Orchard.

This is how it looks like in its packaging (below)- picture taken from an online source because I have popped my pan out of the packaging and I cant find its case.

Swatch of it:

Unlike any other orange blushes I've used, this did not turn me into a "carrot" XD , somehow it made me look slightly tanner than I was, and gave me a beautiful healthy flush! The formulation of this powder blush is matte, highly pigmented and finely milled so application was flawless. Just a little of this went a long way for me (above is a very light swatch)- but despite its cost I felt that this was well worth its price! I don't use this everyday, only on special occasions because, well its costly for me and that it lasted longer when comparing it to the Tarte blushes. 

I found almost all their powder pigments to be SO pigmented, and went back to Illamasqua repeatedly. I currently own 3 of their brow powders (I cannot live without them), 2 nail varnishes, an eyeshadow and a foundation powder pact. I will be back to swatch them for you... till then!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope this review + swatches helped! Please let me know your favourite blushes because Im curious like that!

That's all folks! Please remember to follow/ subscribe, share and comment!
Follow me on Instagram: shermaine.ng

**Btw I have 18% code on Zalora and I don't have anything to buy, you can use it under their 'Sephora' tab for cosmetics and others! Comment/ Email/ Text me for the code. First come first serve!

Tippy's Favourite Blushes (Part 1 - Shimmer)

With cosmetological advances, there are plethoras of blushes released from time to time; Cream to Liquid to Powders, and even transitional cream-to-powder forms as well! I wanted to show you my all-time favourite blushes by far, dissecting them by their brands, then cross-comparing them with similiar colours. They will be in 2 separate posts; today's covering the more "shimmery" shades, and the next being all about the matte-er ones.

A word of warning: all these are my favourite blushes, you may find some parts of this series repetitive when Im comparing their application/ touch, or maybe you will go "ALL OF THEM SO GOOD MEH?" But yes, precisely because all of them are great to me, I've included them in here! I emphasize again, that I did not include those I didnt like - All products in this series are bought with my own hard-earned money, or gifted by my friends. All opinions are my own.

Shimmery Blushes
To me, Shimmery Blushes give off such a glow that they can double-act as a highlighter. Besides the two star powders from Gerard Cosmetics which I reviewed Here, the other highlighter/ blush that I'm quite impressed with are those recently released by NARS: "Dual-Intensity Blush Duo" - I bought them for my mom for Mother's Day!

Left to Right: Adoration Duo, Fervor Duo

Sorry they looked used- because they are. I haven't decided to open this blog until lately so these reviews are on products that my mom and myself have been using or have already just started using!

These beautiful NARS blush arrived in a "brick" pattern with embossed lines, they are shimmery and long-wearing, and feel like wet powder that don't budge from where they are placed unless you have a very oily skin type. They can be applied both on its own or wet, and the latter being lower in intensity. These are limited edition and available at Robinsons Orchard, NARS Counter for SGD$60 (not including GST). Here are some corresponding swatches (dry, swapped only once):

Next up will be from a brand loved by many - Colourpop. I'm sure many of you have already heard of them and their creams-to-powder intense pigmentation + consistency. I lusted over them since last year but didn't get any because they aren't available to ship to Singapore yet! However, as my birthday gift earlier this year, one of my childhood friends (who is currently in New York working) decided to ship a truckload of products from this brand to me! I feel so intangibly loved and blessed, thank you sisssssy! If you're reading this, I love you duper duper much <3 Without further ado, their recently-released highlight range -

From left to right: Stole the Show, Wisp and Tasty.

Similiar to their eyeshadows, these are sponge-y to the touch and are best applied with fingers / synthetic flat brushes. BUT that is not all! These are NOT creams, and feel like powder AFTER application.. and are only USD$8 a pop! The above picture are their sample sizes - they released these as gifts with purchase - the same size as their shadows which are USD$5 per pop. If you have a way to bring them in from the states, click Here for the link.

Corresponding swatches (swapped only once):

The one I thought looked most mundane in pictures surprisingly was my favourite out of the three; some duo-chrome properties can be seen in Tasty; a pink glitter within a coral hue - which I managed to capture only on video:

Speaking about duo-chrome properties.. next up will be from one of my favourite brands: Tarte! Being a student, my first ever blush from them felt very expensive for me (SGD$45 in Sephora), and I purchased it in a single shade- Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in 'Glisten'. I removed the packaging so it can fit in my ZPalette with my MG blushes (: So here is the product in its pan:

Glisten is a beautiful coral-pink filled with gold glitter that reminds me of NARS' well-raved blush in 'Orgasm'. It has been over a year since I purchased it- until today, I love it and rarely use it because I don't want to ever run out of it. Below is a swatch:

I don't only own 1 blush from Tarte: below is the gorgeous palette 'Pin-Up Girl" (SGD$59) - it contains 2 shimmery and 3 matte Limited Edition shades. I know I shouldn't be including the matte shades in this post but its in the palette together ><" It doesn't look like your regular palette in a box- the powders are safely clasped within a soft exterior clutch. I ADORE this packaging. This is a Christmas gift received by another childhood friend of mine (I'm such a blessed girl, right!?) Thank you, love!

Colours Top down (Swatches from Right to Left - all colours swapped only once):
Irreplaceable, Bashful (Shimmery), Whimsy, Embraced (Shimmery), Breathless.

Last colour on the left (not in the pin up palette) : Glisten.

Before I end this post, I will just finish this section up with 3 shimmery individuals that I love from 3 different brands -

In their packaging and the swatches (Left to Right, swapped once): 

Laura Mercier 'Highlight 01'- A very fair white shimmer with a hint of pink - a very very subtle glow for fair-skinned ladies!

 Too Faced 'Snow Bunny'- When mixed all together, they give a very pinkish gold glow, I like to use it when I am wearing a very natural look and want a healthy glow to my face.

Sigma Beauty 'Sweet Thing'- This is very similiar to the duo-chromed 'Glisten' from Tarte, just darker in pink towards the rose-ish hue.

Alright, that is all for now! I hope this review + swatches helped! :>

Just a short notice here: Even though some of the pictures may not look as "great" when in comparison to the pictures you look online, but all of them have been edited to match its true colour in real life (to my best knowledge) - which means there is NO HEAVY FILTERING, nor EDITS.

Also, when I mention "swapped once", what I mean is I have only dipped into the pigments once, and put it on my skin in one sweep- which also means I did not go back in to build their colour to add on its intensity to look "nicer" in pictures. This is in hopes of showing their authentic colouring and comparison of these products. So you see, all the blushes are actually very smooth and pigmented.

As a consumer, I've tragically bought a mass amount of products thinking that they look gorgeous in their pictures only to be disappointed - because let's face it, some of us can only get some products through online sources so there are no other ways of seeing it truly on your skin. So.. I'm sure all of us want some accurate colour comparisons, unless we want holes in our pockets for nothing right? (:

Thank you for reading this lengthy post, it ended up pretty long despite myself trying to shorten it as much as possible! Please do let me know how you feel about your favourite shimmery blushes and I will be back soon for Part 2 of the Tippy's Favourite Blushes!

Read Tippy's Favourite Blushes Part 2- HERE.

Please remember to follow/ subscribe, share and comment!
Follow me on Instagram: shermaine.ng

Gerard Cosmetics Online Haul!

Firstly, Disclaimer!!

I'm a scaredy cat and I don't wish to be involved in any legal issues or blog wars. I'm just here to share how I feel so, please take a moment to read the right column 'Disclaimer' >>>>

Before you read this post, I thought you should know that I am in no way affiliated to Gerard Cosmetics, and these products are bought with my hard-earned money. All opinions are genuinely my own, and this post contains no pictures that are edited/ photoshopped.

THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEEEEEEEL SO EGGCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS RIGHT NOWNOWNOW! This morning, Mr Postman came along and dropped me a package of - GERARD COSMETICS (GC)!!!! I've made this order a month back, under the influence of one of my favourite youtubers Manny (click Here to watch that video). I'm obsessed with highlighters this season, because highlighters brings out such a glow on my face without feeling oily (I mattify ALOT- I have oily skin!) So during the stressful exams period, I took some emotions out on a retail therapy on some GC and Morphe Brushes. This post is about my haul on GC so I shall do another post on MB another time (:

I stay TOO FAR from all the goodies in the states, and GC took slightly longer than the usual time needed.. BUT IT'S WORTH THE WAIT (Free shipping from Gerard too yaz!) Let's just put away all this anxiety and lemme show you the deal yo!

Here are the goodies I bought:

Star Powders in the shades Marilyn and Lucy - Retails at USD$36 each.

Ingredients stated: Mica, Jojoba Oil, Magnesium Stearate, Kaolin.

May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxides.

Colour Your Smile Lighted Lip Gloss in the shade Cocoa Bean - Retails at USD$24 each.

(Ingredients not stated on packaging nor website)

HOLD YOUR HORSES BABE! Yes, I know they look super gorgeous and yes, I could link you to buy them! But! They have a special deal right now, and I have some discount codes so let me do it for you later, right at the end of this post.

How they look inside:

Look at that gold reflective packaging *wipes drool* - and I really like that they included plastic flaps to keep the insides clean and hygienic. I don't know if they help protect the powders if they fall to the ground though, and i dont wanna know!!! ☹ Their mirrors are VERY clear - clear enough to spot your concealed zits, sigh.

There is a mirror beside the lipgloss (I'm so sorry I didn't capture it ☹), and I felt that it was very handy too (for touchups). However, I caught myself worrying if they would scratch. I guess, a pouch would suffice for that. Upon untwisting the cap, it glows from the inside, purrrrrfect for night touchups in dark places. They dont have a switch though, and could be irritating when you have proper lighting for application. But I can't deny its a really nifty design and I really like that it's so unique.

There was just one thing I didn't like about the packaging: how the pretty gold reflective surfaces capture my fingerprints.

Swatches & Application:

Swatches from left to right: Lucy, Marilyn, Cocoa Bean.

With Natural Lighting

With Flash

GIF Insert

Here is how I look with foundation, 

a little of eyebrow pencil and eyeshadow taken under direct flourescent light.

Here is how I look with Lucy (Left pic), Marilyn (Right pic) and Cocoa Bean:

Close up of Cocoa Bean (Sorry it frayed abit):

Honestly, I feel that the face application photo did not do justice to the highlighters because I capture all these pictures with my Sony Z3. I really should consider investing in a good camera when I can afford to! I felt that the Marilyn was lighter in application and more of a golden sheen when comparing it to theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer (SGD$36.90), but abit of a heavier application when compared to Laura Mercier Highlighter 01 (SGD$52). 

Cocoa Bean was really pleasant for me besides some bleeding (some lip liner beforehand should do the trick!). It's tasteless and creamy, and didn't feel heavy nor overly sticky on my lips, though, not transfer-proof. I personally don't like glosses because they bleed easily on me, but I just wanted to try this colour because it was so similiar to Lime Crime's Velvetine in Salem.

Alright that's all folks! Please remember to follow/ subscribe, share and comment!
Follow me on Instagram: shermaine.ng
Thank you for reading!

Last hiao pictures for you :]

Tonight going out dinner with my boyfriend with uneven face glow LOL.

Here are the links I've promised you:

Click Here to buy my set (Choice of 2 highlighters and a gloss) at a discounted rate.

Check out with code: LizzyGlow to bring it down to $45.

Click Here to buy the 2 starpowders at a discounted rate.

Check out with code: LizzyStars to bring it down to $36 (that's buy 1 get 1 free for you!)

Other additional discounts:

WWLD (35% off entire site)

Mannymua (25% off)

Mannylip (Discounts the '3 lip-bundle' further by 45%)

Manny4you (45% off "just4you" bundle!)