Not so Taupe Temptress

Here's another look I did with a Maybelline Eye Studio quad - Taupe Temptress:





The colours in this quad are more shimmery than Sapphire Siren.




The usual - middle two shades over the mobile lid, dark shade in outer corner, and lightest shade to highlight inner corner of eyes. Also highlighted under the brow with Marcelle Minerals eyeshadow in Playa.


(not sure what was up with my lashes - I must've not curled them yet in this pic)



Although the colours looked slightly berry-ish to me in the palette, they come off on my skin as being more brownish taupe. I think this would suit warmer, more tan skintones better. Also, the grey-green contacts didn't help - green contacts would've made the colour pop more.


Full face - paired with Canmake Cream Cheek blush in 07 Coral Peach, and OCC Lip Tar in Grandma (yes I finally used it!)




(I'm not too keen on this look really, so did not plan to put up any more pics)


I'm not sure if this colour really went with the quad...but anyways at least you get to see the Lip Tar in action. The colour was very pigmented and intense. I needed less than a drop for this amount of coverage. It wasn't as drying as I expected, but it does go best with moisturized, non-flakey lips.



Definitely not a colour my grandma would wear! Lol :D

Cosmetics giveaway alerts!

In case you haven't heard, one of my favourite bloggers Nic Nic is opening her own store selling Japanese cosmetics at www.apopofkawaii.com!



To celebrate, she is holding a giveaway with numerous japanese products to be won! If you love Japanese beauty products head on over here!


Also, Tine of Beautyholics Anonymous is celebrating her 3rd blogoversary as well as her upcoming birthday with a massive giveaway! Do check it out here :)


Finally, Suzie has a Pinky Pink giveaway to both clear out her stash and celebrate her blogoversary! Send her an email to enter :)

She also has a blogsale going on, among the items are the much coveted, sold out MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator and Mask! Check it out here.

Balmshell glosses

In a recent package from Balmshell I received 2 mini samples of their glosses:



Weekend in the Hamptons - sheer beige pearl


Yummy Mommy - brown-toned berry


Swatches



Here's a lip swatch of Yummy Mommy:


Weekend in the Hamptons doesn't show up too well on my pigmented lips but it is gorgeous over a nude lipstick such as MAC's Brave New Bronze:



These glosses are also paraben free, and contain the following ingredients:

Jojoba oil - brings moisture to the lips.
Lanolin oil - locks in moisture.
Perfume-free, flavoured with a hint of natural fruity vanilla.

If you haven't read my review of the full-sized gloss in Darling You Look Fabulous, here it is :)


I also got to try one of their Smear Campaign lip & cheek stains in Scandalous Scarlet:




Doe's foot applicator



Sponge tip on the other side to help blend the stain out instead of using your finger (hence the 'don't get caught red-handed' tagline!)



Deep red colour with slight burgundy tones, when blended out the colour is quite sheer


The product is quite wearable and fool-proof. Even though it looks quite dark in the packaging, the colour is sheer enough that when dabbed on my lips it barely shows a hint of colour. It would work better as a stain on someone with lighter lips than me.

As a cheek stain, it shows up fine on my NC20-25 skin but any darker and you would have to do multiple layers for the colour to show up.

According to the Balmshell website, the stains are also paraben free, and contain the following ingredients:

White tea extract - contains powerful anti-oxidants that protects the skin
Chamomile extract - an anti-allergenic that soothes skin
Rose water - balances the skin's natural pH level


Also in case you didn't know, Sephora.com has the Balmshell glosses on sale for $11, but the only thing is the discount seems to apply to US only not Canada.

Vacation purchases, Part 4

MAC Cleanse Off Oil - Tranquil



I first spotted this at the Vancouver duty free counter and was wondering what the difference was compared with the regular clear bottle. I didn't get it then because of the liquids restriction on planes but picked it up later from a regular MAC store. Apparently this variation is only sold in Asia so I had to try it!


Missha lashes




Daiso - various fake lashes




Biore UV base:




Johnson & Johnson compact powder with UVA/UVB protectors:




Lucido-L styling pots:




Drugstore odds and ends from Watsons:



I like black Biore strips. They are so much more satisfying to look at post-strip, since the nose clogs are way more visible :D


Random eye tape & q-tips:




Hada Labo Whitening range - lotion & serum



I actually wanted to try their famous Super Hyaluronic lotion (I think thats what its called...) but since I need something to treat old scars I decided to go with this instead. Besides the moisturizing one is probably more easily available online than the whitening range.


Purse/clutch from Topshop:





I really like the distressed pattern, and of course the florals for spring.


Handy little purse hook from Muji




Thats most of what I got really that I can remember :D Anyway if you do want a review on something specific feel free to let me know.

We have a winner!

There were a ton of entries for the Misikko giveaway, so I didn't want to just go by the time the comments were entered but really randomize them.

So, I typed up all the times in Excel first in the order that the person commented, then put the list into the List Randomizer to sort them randomly. Basically it was my equivalent of writing names on paper, putting them into a container and shaking it.


(I had to crop the rest since there were 75 entries which extended beyond my screen)

Then I went to the Sequence generator and asked it to generate a sequence of numbers between 1-75 (the number of entries received). Here are the results!



So the winner was #25 as assigned by the List Randomizer - which is Izumi!

Congrats to her, and thank you to all for entering :) Also thanks for your patience in waiting for the results...I was super busy this week and dreading the thought of typing up every name...but I finally did it!

Quick reviews of Mary Kay skincare

I received a travel sized set from Mary Kay some time ago, which came in handy during my recent trip to Asia.

The set contained an eye soothing gel, eye makeup remover, moisturizing cream, and hydrating gel moisturizer.

Since I had finished my eye cream at the time, the first thing I tried is the Indulge Eye Soothing Gel:



I found the gel to be cooling and quite refreshing. It was actually perfect for the warmer weather where I was, as it soothed my eye area without feeling heavy at all. It also absorbed quickly without stinging my eyes at all. I've tried another eye gel before from St Ives, and that one stung like crazy if it got into my eye. The MK Indulge gel was perfect!


The next thing I tried was the Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover:



The makeup remover is dual phase, so before using it should be shaken to mix the layers.


Once shaken the makeup remover turns a bit cloudy as the layers are mixed.


I used it during my vacation to remove eyeshadow and mascara, and it does a good job of taking them off without leaving much oily residue. Most dual phase removers, such as the Lancome Bi-Facil, leave an annoying greasy feeling on my lids and sometimes get into my eyes / on my contacts as well. However this remover did not leave that nasty oily feel, it simply removed what it was supposed without any residue.


I did not try the moisturizing cream, since it was quite emollient and seemed to be better suited for dry skin (I have combination skin) but I tested the Oil-free Hydrating Gel on my trip as well. It is a translucent gel that hydrates the skin similar to NARS Aqua Hydrator.



The texture is slightly thicker than the NARS product. It has a nice cooling feel when applied, which I really like. Since I only tried a sample size, I don't have the ingredients list but according to the website, it contains Vitamin E and green tea extract and marine extract to soothe the skin. I used it on the plane too and I think it did a good job to protect my skin against dry cabin air.

Since I only tried sample sizes of the gels, I can't attest to their long term effects but as basic moisturizers they did the job well and kept my skin happy!

Canmake Cream Cheek Blusher

On my vacation I picked up the cream blush in a limited edition colour, 07 Coral Peach.




I chose it mainly because it was one of the few in the range that did not contain shimmer.



The colour has a medium to sheer pigmentation. I prefer that with cream blushes, since it gives you room for error just in case you are accidentally heavy handed with blush once day.




The blush is quite small, slightly larger than a MAC eyeshadow. However considering the tiny amount needed to get a natural flush of colour, I can see this lasting several months even with regular use. It may finish up faster though if you have a darker complexion and need to pack on more for the colour to show up.




Here it is compared with MAC's Joie de Vivre cremeblend blush from January of this year. I thought they looked quite similar but there are slight differences once compared side-by-side.





As you can see the MAC blush is slightly redder in tone, while Canmake is a bit pinker. Both are shimmer free blushes, but MAC dries down to a matte finish, while Canmake still has a glow to it. The Canmake blush also spreads and blends a little easier than the MAC blush.

Given a choice, I would definitely spring at the chance to buy more of the Canmake blushes over the MAC ones. The colours are beautiful, and the packaging and size of the product is cute and handy. The only problem is Canmake's limited availability in this part of the world. If you are not in Asia your best bet is to purchase online but do compare prices before you shop!

Makeup stash sale update!

My stash sale has been updated with new items! Click here to check it out :)

Many items are unused, still with boxes, or only tested a few times. I've also reduced prices on the older iteams.

Please email questions or orders rather than commenting on the posts since it is easier to keep track of who picked what first. Thanks! :)

500 followers giveaway #2: Marcelle goodies!

Prizes:



Marcelle Minerals Bronzer in Brazil
Marcelle Eyeshadow Duo in Bamboo
Marcelle Concealer Palette in Universal Beige (read The Muse's review here)


How to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what is/are your favourite summer memories. (If you live in the tropics then any nostalgic memory since you get summer all year :P)

2. For extra entries, you may:
i. Post about this giveaway on your blog if you have one.
ii. Tweet about this giveaway in the following manner: "A Watercolour Sky @watercoloursky is giving away Marcelle makeup goodies! Enter at http://watercoloursky.blogspot.com"

If you do either #2 or #3, please drop a comment on this post again (2 comments if you do both) so I know to count your extra entries.

Anyone can enter BUT you must, must, must click on the "follow" button on the left menu on the sidebar, and select 'follow publicly'. Your profile must NOT be privatized in order for me to check that you are following. Otherwise I will not count your entry.

Open internationally. Contest closes a week from today Monday May 31st, Eastern Standard Time. Good luck!

Sapphire eyes

A while back, I received the Maybelline Eyestudio range to review. They have a bunch of quads in the lineup, and one of the first I tried was the Sapphire Siren quad.



The colours are quite pigmented, and pearlized with shimmers.


The white and black shade have tiny glitter in them but it does not create any messy fallout, much to my surprise. The green and blue colours have a frost finish and blend well.

Here is my look using the quad!










(These pics are before my haircut by the way hence the longer hair)

Although the colours are pigmented, I found that they kind of blend too well into each other and just look like a turquoise blue on my skin. Next time I'll try using a pale base underneath to see if the colour comes out more.

Also used in the look was the Etude House Happy Peach stamp blush. Surprisingly, when I applied the colour with a brush (as opposed to finger swatching) the colour shows up well. In real life it shows up as a natural peachy-pink flush. Don't ask me why the colour looks a bit reddish here...Can't remember what lip gloss I used. Possibly Annabelle's Cherryoke gloss :)

Anyway, so have any of you tried the Eye Studio quads? Opinions?