Question of the Day: What are your favourite brushes?

I’m currently craving more eye brushes to add to my collection (yes I know that its a weird craving, but hey, I’m a beauty blogger, lol), so I’ve been wondering, what are your favourite brushes?

My current favourite MAC brushes are MAC 109 Eyeliner brush – perfect for applying cream/gel eyeliner like my Bobbi Brown gel liner, MAC 134 Large Powder Brush – perfect for applying loose powder, but because it is full enough that I even use it to blend my face colours together, and MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush – perfect for contouring, which I do everyday.

As for my favourite non-MAC brush is the Dior foundation brush. Seriously, this is the softest foundation brush you will ever find. It is made of very thin synthetic fibres, but lots of them so it is very full and dense. Foundation application is easy and flawless. Because it is so dense, you can even use it to apply cream blushes. It is a bit more expensive than MAC brushes, but it is so worth it. If you get a chance, go to your nearest Dior counter and just feel it. Yes, that sounds kind of disturbing, but really feel it, it is such an awesome feeling.

Anyways, which brushes are your favourites? Any brushes you recommend?

Question of the Day: What is your signature fragrance?

Do you have a signature fragrance? There are people who collect perfume and just wear whatever they feel like wearing during the day. There are other people, like for instance Marilyn Monroe, who swear by one fragrance, and in her case it is Chanel No. 5.

I’m a mix of the two. I do have a few fragrances that I reach for more often than the others, but I am still a pretty big perfume collector. Although I have tried to stop buying perfume and at the same time trying to give away some scents I’ve grown tired of, I still have quite a few on hand.

Fragrances are usually classified in four different categories: Fresh, Floral, Oriental and Woody. Fresh fragrances are usually very light and fruity, often using scents that are citrus-y and clean. Examples of fragrances that would be classified as fresh include L’eau d’Issey from Issey Miyake, and the most of the products in the Clean line of perfumes. Floral fragrances have scents, like the name suggests, often derived from flowers. They can be combined with fresh scents to become lighter, but often they are mixed with stronger notes such as musk. Common scents used include peony, jasmine and rose. Examples of floral fragrances include the Light Blue from Dolce & Gabbana and Clinique Happy. Oriental fragrances are often derived from spices, such as clove or vanilla. They are most commonly mixed with woody or floral scents to create depth. Examples of oriental fragrances include Dior Addict and Guerlain Shalimar. Last but not least, woody fragrances are scents that come from wood, such as pine, cedar or sandalwood. Woody scents, along with oriental, most often provide the bottom notes to most perfumes, again to create depth in the scent.

Out of all of the full size bottles of perfume that belong to me (not including the samples, or else the list would never end), I have two favourites.

The first one is Dior Addict 2. Unlike its “mother” perfume, Dior Addict, Addict 2 is a very fresh and floral scent. It has notes of grapefruit, bergamot, freesia, orange, lily of the valley, pineapple and lotus flower. I love wearing this in the summer because it is very light and perfect for a day out in the sun. I probably reach for this one more than any other fragrance I own.

The other perfume that I use quite a lot is Gucci Envy Me. After I yearned for this perfume for about 4-5 years, it was finally given to me as a gift for my 19th birthday last year. I believe within the first month of getting it, I had already used up 20% of the 100mL bottle. This has notes of peony, jasmine, litchi, pink pepper, pomegranate, pineapple and white tea. I would reach for this bottle more for evening events, or if I was going out for dinner with friends or something. It is a bit stronger than Dior Addict 2, which makes it more suitable for use at the end of summer or beginning of fall.

Commonalities between my two favourite perfumes include: pink bottles (who doesn’t love a good pink bottle?), fruity-floral scents (both has pineapple in it!), and summery. I guess I am just a very summery person!

Winter perfumes that I like to use include Calvin Klein Euphoria, which is a woody-oriental scent, and Dior J’adore. They’re both a lot stronger than the two mentioned above, which is better for winter wear because it is less overpowering.

What are your signature scents?

Question of the Day: Do you use toner?

Many people overlook toner in their everyday skincare regime, however not many people know that toner is actually one of the most important steps that should never be skipped.

What is toner?

My definition of toner is a liquid substance that cleans your skin and prepares it for moisture or treatment. Toner is called “lotion” in Asian countries such as Taiwan and Japan as toners there usually have more purpose than just cleaning your skin. Other functions of toner can include,

• exfoliating your skin;
• getting rid of the last of the makeup or gunk on your skin;
• clearing the surface of your skin from whatever was washed out from your pores;
• moisturizing your skin;
• and more.

Therefore toner is a crucial step of your skincare regime that you should always complete.

The correct way to apply toner is with a cotton pad. I’ve had friends in the past who never used cotton pads because they said it was a waste of the product as the cotton absorbs all of it and you need to pour out a lot of liquid in order for it to be effective. This is actually not true because the cotton pad is actually the instrument that is used to do that little bit of last minute cleaning. Without the cotton pad, toner will not do its job properly.

If you use the Asian “lotion” instead of toner (not the Western type of lotion), you can soak cotton pads in the liquid and apply it like a mask. However this should not be done with lotions that contain lots of alcohol.

My favourite “Western” toner is Lancome Tonique Radiance. It is quite high in alcohol content so it is not suitable for people with sensitive skin; I only use this in the summertime when it is hot and stuffy. When you use this toner, you can actually see the dirt and grime being wiped off your face even after multiple cleanings with a face cleanser or makeup remover.

My favourite Asian lotion is Kose Medicated Sekkisei. This lotion’s main function is not to cleanse, but to treat. This is a brightening lotion, that supposedly helps reduce melanoma (dark spots) on the skin. I have not noticed much change in my dark spots, as opposed to my Diorsnow White Reveal Essence, however I find that this lotion has just the right amount of moisture for my skin without making it too oily or too dry. This also has some alcohol in it, but it can be used as a mask as the percentage is not that high.

A lot of people say that you shouldn’t have alcohol in any of your skincare products, but personally I feel that a little bit of alcohol can actually do you some good as it helps with deep cleaning your skin and making it feel clean and refreshed. Just remember to exercise discretion when determining the correct method of applying the products.

Do you use toner?

Question of the Day: What is your favourite blush?

What is your favourite blush?

I like DiorBlush in 733 English Rose. Being Asian, my skintone is more “yellow” based, so when I use something that is more pink in shade, it looks grey and not as sharp. So I prefer a muted shade instead of something that is too pink. Because English Rose is not overly pink, you can also use it for mild contouring.

I really love DiorBlush because their formula goes on very smooth and is not too pigmented so that its hard to control application. Also it comes in two parts, one matte colour and one shimmer colour. The shimmer one is to create glow while the matte one creates colour.

I also use Dior Shimmer Star in 004 Pop Diamond as blush when I’m in more of a hurry because it is a blush and highlighter in one. When all of the colours in Pop Diamond are applied together, it becomes more peachy. Pop Diamond contains a lot more shimmer than English Rose, so application should be more carefully controlled to prevent looking too shiny. You can equally use this as just a highligher if you just use the light pink colours on the very side.

Another blush that I just love is Chanel’s Powder Blush in No. 48 Enchanteresse and. It is also a very muted colour which creates subtle colour. I would prefer that over English Rose when I am doing more of a day or formal look.

What is your favourite blush?

Question of the Day: What do you look for in a Lip Balm?

Lip Balm is very important to me. I have the tendency to lick my lips during the day to keep, which I *know* is very bad for my lips because it makes them even drier. So to compensate for it, I need a very hydrating lip balm formula at night.

I need a lip balm that:

• does not contain any petroleum or petrolatum, because it clogs pores and prevents other “good” ingredients from absorbing into the skin;
• will not leave a waxy film on my lips in the morning, because that is not only gross and uncomfortable feeling, it means that whatever it was, it didn’t absorb into my skin;
• does not have methol, because it will slowly burn your lips;
• does not have, or only minimally has, artificial fragrances and/or colourings

I’ve tried many many brands of lip balm, including the original Chapstick, Body Shop Lip Butter, and of course, other drugstore brands. I’ve never really found the one that I was looking for, particularly one that did not contain petroleum. Since they were drugstore brands, they used petroleum mainly as a filler. Of course petroleum offers temporarily relief of dry skin which is often why people assume its moisturizing when all that its doing is clogging your pores.

And then I went on to try more “scientific” stuff, like Vichy. It was my favourite lip balm for a while, but it still left that waxy feel on my lips in the morning.

That’s when I discovered Burt’s Bees (I know, I’m 100 years late…). The one I tried out was its Replenishing formula with pomegranate oil. This one, according to the box, is 99.60% natural. The ingredients listed also did not include any petroleum (!!!) so I, of course, bought it right away.

I can now understand what the hype about Burt’s Bees products are. This lip balm is absolute heaven. It really moisturizes my lips, now my lips feel smooth and supple and there is no waxy residue left in the morning. As an added plus, it smells awesome and in any case that you get it in your mouth, it also tastes great. From now on, I’ve ditched my $15 Vichy lip balm and go to this $5.99 one.

My question to you: What do you look for in a lip balm?