Monolid Love

A dear friend got married after being in a 2-year long distance relationship. I was invited to her wedding dinner and decided to go slightly simple and polished with this look.

Tinted moisturizer on the face, with powder to set.

A wash of brown eyeshadow along the faux socket of my monolids, just to contour. Then brown winged eyeliner, a gel one by Inglot, thicker along the ends. 

Popped on half falsies from Daiso (only $2 a pair!) and lined my inner lower rims with NARS' Rue Bonaparte.

Which is the most amazing nude eyeliner ever. Not that I have tried many types, but this had the best reviews online and I sure as hell agree with them. They open up eyes instantly, without being too obvious, like white liner. A MUST-OWN for every makeup enthusiast out there -HONEST.

Contoured my cheeks with a shimmer bronzer, with a swipe of light peachy blush on the cheeks (not really visible in this iPhone photo, unfortunately). 

And because it was a night event, I decided to skip my usual nude lipstick and opted for a more intense color - Bobbi Brown's Black Cherry, blotted a few times after a light-handed application with a lip brush.

Ta-da.

♥
Liquidsugarlust

The good people at Sigma Beauty sent Drywords and I their signature F-80 brushes each a long while back, and this review is certainly long due.

Now first of all, I've never been one to spend a gazillion bucks on brushes. The most expensive brush I own is a MAC 217, and while it is a dream to use, I've never been one to splurge on makeup tools when you've got more affordable and equally great brands out there (eg. Ecotools, Coastal Scents)

I've seen these Sigma brushes everywhere on the Internet - from blogs to of course their online store - and I've always been toying at the idea of ordering from them. And after trying the F-80 out, I gotta say...Sigma brushes are freakin' awesome.

The F-80 is a beautiful brush with a flat and dense top made out of synthetic hairs, perfect for buffing in liquid or cream foundation. The handle is thick and sturdy, and the entire brush is about the length of my palm. I wouldn't say it's very travel-friendly, but if you have a makeup brush roll, this would fit fine inside. It also comes with its own brush guard, which is lovely for packing.

What I love about this gorgeous tool is the softness of its bristles. It feels like a dream on the skin, given you'd be using it a lot for buffing in circular motions on your face. I use this to apply my liquid foundation. I start off with a drop or two on the back of my left hand, tap the brush all over to pick up the product and then stipple it evenly all over my face. And as a final step, I buff everything gently into place, creating a seamless, almost airbrushed look. 

The density of this brush helps to give a smooth foundation application. I'm not too crazy about how it sucks up a lot of liquid foundation (it can be quite a task to clean and I do this once every week), which makes me feel like I have to use a bit more than my usual amount just to get the desired coverage.

But the end result is always fantastic, and even if you're a noob in makeup, you simply can't go wrong with this brush. Just tap, tap, tap and then buff, buff, buff for perfect glowing skin!

While I reserve this purely for foundation, it can also be used to apply cream blush. I would suggest a more light-handed application for this - clown-faces are never in. 

All in all, it's a good brush to have in every makeup lover's collection...and at just USD16.00 a pop, I would say it's a pretty excellent investment. Plus, good brushes last forever if taken care of well (Sigma has tips on how to keep your brushes clean on their site). Oh, and while we are on the topic of cleaning, I've washed my Sigma F-80 about ten times now and so far it has not shed on me. 

Definitely investing in more of their brushes soon. Perhaps one of their lovely Essential Kits. :D

♥
Liquidsugarlust

A couple of pick-me-ups.

Stock clearance sales are always great times to find little treasures.

I'm totally loving the minimalistic and industrial-looking metal bangles - perfect for layering.

Same goes to the woven cross bracelet. 

And of course, every girl needs a pair of cute silver flower hair snap clips. 

♥
Liquidsugarlust

Walked by the MAC counter yesterday and saw the MAC Extra Dimension collection in its gorgeous glory. Couldn't resist, of course, and snapped up one Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb.

Absolutely loving the texture, the barely-there yet definitely-there sheen and its staying power.

Perfect for highlighting and adding dimension to an otherwise flat face. Well, for me anyway.

Must resist getting the other two shades. (Whisper of Gilt and Glorify)

♥
Liquidsugarlust

It's been forever and a day since we've posted, and I am ashamed to say in the 5 months of MIA, we have been accumulating shiloads of makeup/skincare products that totally need to be reviewed. That, and a ton of FOTDs that should have been documented but never made it to the living daylights of the blogosphere.

We apologize!

But this will all soon change, for the love of monolids. Proper posts will be up in due time.

In the mean time, here's a GPOY with the Naked Palette and some falsies. So easy, so fast and so pretty for monolids. Tutorial coming up real soon!

♥
Liquidsugarlust

Lookie what I spotted at Cosmed in Taipei while I was there recently. Cosmed, by the way, is a drugstore/pharmacy chain in Taiwan.

It's a cute donut-shaped eyelash box! Which I initially had no idea what it was till I saw the graphical description on the side.

So I got two out of curiosity, one in white and one in mint green. There's a third color - pink - but I suppose I didn't need three of these. But I guess I kinda do now, coz I absolutely love this nifty little plastic contraption!

It opens up to look reveal a split compartment for you to pop a pair of falsies in...

...or even two pairs, which is what I did coz I felt it was a bit more economical. Now all your falsie-related travelling woes are solved - no more worrying over whether your lashes might get squished under all the other makeup you have, even if you brought them along inside its original flimsy box. This container by a Japanese brand called Naf keeps them safe, neat and there's no way you can lose it because it looks so cute.

Definitely something I'd use frequently when I go travelling. I can store up to four pairs of lashes in two boxes, and they really don't take up too much space. The donut is about the size of a ping-pong ball, and about half an inch thick. It was also only a couple of bucks - steal!

Wished they didn't have to sell it only in Taiwan though. Unless I may have not noticed them in local stores. Hmmm.

A short and sweet post today because I need to get into packing for a 5-day trip to Taiwan! Absolutely looking forward to the shopping and eating. If anyone knows of makeup products that I should be looking out for in Taipei, please leave a comment below and let me know!

Anyway, back to beauty - I find nude colors very sexy, especially when they are on nails. I'm currently on a hunt for the perfect nude shade, and I guess I've found something close enough in the form of this darling:

OPI Barefoot in Barcelona

Isn't the name itself such a dear? The color is delectable as well - a pinkish-brownish hue that's not too washed out, nor too overpowering.

Two coats and you're ready to roll

I love how it's so easy to slap on, even for clumsy people like myself. It goes perfectly well for those with fair to medium-tan skin, and looks best on short to medium length nails. Any longer and it'll look rather tacky. Otherwise, it's sophistication and class all the way!

So many beauty bloggers have raved about the UNII palette, and when I found out they had a booth at IMATS Sydney 2011, I was ecstatic.

Ecstatic because I was definitely not gonna pay USD 29 to order it online, plus god-knows-how-much shipping charges, and even more elated when I found out these babies were going for only AUD 20 each at the show.

And yes, I kicked myself several times over the course of the past few weeks for only getting ONE.

The UNII palette booth at IMATS Sydney was simple and understated, and the unfortunate part was that they only had 2 colors (blue and lime green) in stock that day due to some shipment issues. I picked Twilight, the fancier name for the blue one.

Really like the feel of the palette in my hands. Simple, sturdy and not too bulky design. Something you can easily fit into your bag, or even an evening clutch without taking up too much space.

I filled mine with Inglot lip colors and eyeshadows, a Kate Media blush as well as some loose pieces from a Coastal Scents palette. It actually comes with a rubber grip that you pop into the case as well, but I took mine out coz there was obviously not enough space. I don't find it a necessity, to be honest.

The mirror is a lovely addition so you can apply your makeup on the go. You can even pop in a couple of brushes into the case to complete this ingenious creation.

Ever since I got this, I have the urge to depot every singe eyeshadow product I own. Which is a bad idea, because I only have one palette which as you can see, is already chock full with items. And that leads to the whole 'damn-why-didn't-I-buy-more-than-one' agony.

For all you makeup enthusiasts, this is definitely a must-get, especially if you want to centralize all your products and not have to dig through drawers just to put together a look. It's travel-friendly and chic, plus, it comes in an array of colors so you'll be spoilt for choice.

Now that I've attaned my UNII, I'd like to check out the Z palette.

I mean, come on, we can never have too many makeup products. :)

♥
Liquidsugarlust

Two of my fave colors - purple and gold - on my lids. And I am happy.

Nothing too fancy here - just the usual two-tone technique and lots of blending to make sure they look flawless together.

Oh look - matte gray nails! Courtesy of Maybelline's Express Finish in Gray-T Glamour and a coat of Essie's Matte About You Top Coat. Fantastic finish, by the way. Who knew matte nails could be so chic? The only downside is that it chips too quickly, say, in about 3 days?

And here's a closer look at my so-very-monolid-but-still-awesome eye in all its made-up glory.

Here's what I used for this look:

Face
- MAC Prep + Prime
- Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 125 (a tad too light for me, I reckon)
- MAC Select Cover Up Concealer for undereyes
- Inglot Cream Concealer in 21 for blemishes 
- NYX Cream Blush in Natural (so natural you can't see shit, unfortunately)

Eyes
- Too Faced Shadow Insurance on lids
- Inglot Freedom System Palette in shades of gold, deep purple and taupe for browbone
- Maybelline Gel Liner in Black
- Daiso falsies
- NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Black/Gray 
- Fynale Cosmetic Lens, Gara in Pink

Lips
- Inglot Freedom System Palette lip color in deep pink

Have a fantastic weekend, y'all!

Ah, it was a virginal taste of one of the coolest makeup expos in the world.

IMATS Sydney 2011 - Day 1 (24 September 2011) on a cold, blustery Saturday Spring morning. I was freezing. I was sleepy. But boy, was I ready!

So the event was held at the Sydney Convention Centre at Darling Harbour, one of my favorite haunts whenever I'm in the glorious Aussie city. They've got really nice restaurants around the corner, and I personally love the sitting by along the boardwalk and watching seagulls attack other people for mere scraps of chips and burger bits.

Anyway, I digress. So yes, my first experience at this amazing trade show that everyone's been raving about. Sydney is obviously the nearest city to Singapore, and come on, any self-professed beauty junkie HAS to attend an IMATS at least once in her life.

The Inglot booth

Okay, so I didn't manage to take as many photos as I wanted to because I was just too engrossed with everything makeup-related around me. FYI - there were about 37 exhibitors on the floor, ranging from popular brands like Inglot, MAC, MUFE, Illamasqua, Ben Nye to the more localized ones such as Gorgeous Cosmetics, Napolean Perdis and SMiiNK.

The Illamasqua booth - which was virtually unaccessible.

I was at the event at around 9am (doors opened at 8.30am) and the place was already fairly packed! I tried to squeeze myself into the Illamasqua booth, but a lot of stuff were already sold out. Not a surprise really - they were going for 10-20 bucks each...and we all know how expensive their products are at retail counters. I could've swiped a couple of odd-colored lip glosses and cheek stains which I'd never use, but nah. Instead, I wandered from booth to booth, mentally ticking off the things I wanted and then get them the second time around.

Crown Brush!

I ended up spending most of my moolah at Inglot. The MAC counter was terribly congested, and frankly speaking, I didn't want to join the snaking queue, which was not moving a single inch. So yes, Inglot it was, despite having to wait for half an hour for the staff to process my payment.  I also grabbed some brushes from Crown Brush (prices were from AUD 3 to AUD 20), a UNII palette (fuck yeah!) and OCC lip tars.

The haul

Eyebrow brush, eyeshadow brush, oval pointy eyeshadow brush, lip brush, stippling brush - all from Crown Brush.
Inglot cream foundation, Inglot cream concealer, Inglot AMC cream blush, a couple of eyeshadow colors from the Freedom System range and a lipstick round.
OCC lip tars in Trick and Hush. 
UNII palette.

Unboxed my babies

Considering this was my first IMATS, I didn't exactly spend a ton. That's because I had another 2 weeks in Sydney to spare, and it really wouldn't have been very smart of me to blow all of my vacation money on makeup. Even though it seemed like a logical thing to do for a makeup junkie. Haa.

Anyway, I was still immensely pleased with my haul and the experience. Only wished I had gone with my partner-in-crime, but I reckon she'd have a bigger blast at the IMATS London next year. Reviews of all products will follow, but I can tell you now that I'm absolutely loving the UNII palette. I need to get more of these versatile darlings. Then I can depot all my single eyeshadows and blushes and put them all together in one sassy receptacle.

♥
Liquidsugarlust