Beauty

Beauty related posts.

Facial mists

~ stashy ~ 55 Comments

Continuing with this week’s topic of “radiant skin”, today we’ll be talking about water.  To achieve radiant skin, It’s essential to keep the skin hydrated inside and out – and the easiest way of course, is water.

Yes, another zoolander reference. 😛
facialmists2
Yes, drinking water is good for starters – but beyond drinking 8 glasses of water blah blah blah, water in the form of facial mists can be used on your skin before, during and after applying skincare and makeup:
• Before: I spray a hydrating mist on my skin just before I apply my hyaluronic acid serum so that the hyaluronic acid has moisture to bind to.
• During: I will sometimes spray water onto my foundation brush to make my foundation more dewy.  If using a Beauty Blender type sponge, I use water to soak the sponge to make the application flawless.
• After: I spray a setting spray to reduce the powdery appearance of finishing powder, and also sometimes during the day I will mist my face with a spray to refresh my makeup

Continue reading →

Salux beauty skin cloth

~ stashy ~ 16 Comments

When someone touches my arm in passing and blurts out, “omg your SKIN, it’s SO soft!” I’m a bit embarrassed and surprised – I mean, I really have no frame of reference to the degree of skin softness on other people. This invariably leads to said person asking someone else to touch my skin to verify that it is indeed SO soft, which leads to petting time at the zoo…

I can’t pinpoint exactly why my skin is “SO soft” but I can attribute it to a few things:
•  Genetics 60%
•  Skincare products (soaps, shower gels, lotion, body butter) 25%
•  Salux cloth 15%

Salux2
What is this Salux cloth?  It’s like the cherry on the cake!

Continue reading →

Chemical exfoliants

~ stashy ~ 19 Comments

Since it’s officially summer, this week’s focus will be on “radiant skin” and I’ll be covering topics relating to achieving clear and glowy skin.  First, we’ll look at chemical exfoliants.

Don’t let the word “chemical” scare you, this is just to distinguish between the physical / manual type (scrubs, cloths, loofahs) and the ones that solely use non-abrasive ingredients to exfoliate the skin.
chemicalexfoliants2
The 2 key categories of chemical exfoliants are BHA (beta hydroxy acid) and AHA (alpha hydroxy acid).  A trick I use to help myself remember which is for what purpose is: BHA = blemishes, and AHA = anti-aging.  Typically, BHA works better for oily skin types whereas AHA benefit drier skin.

Continue reading →

It’s Summer Solstice, let’s talk about sunscreens

~ stashy ~ 23 Comments

Happy Summer Solstice!  Aka the longest day of the year, aka official first day of summer.  And I want to remind everyone to wear their sunscreen today, and every day! 🙂
sunscreens2
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know what I’m an advocate of sunscreen.  No other anti-aging skincare is as effective as sunscreen.

There are 2 general categories of sunscreens: 1) chemical and 2) physical (or sometimes referred to as mineral).  I personally prefer physical sunscreen (combinations of titanium dioxide [TiO2] and zinc oxide [ZnO]), for a number of reasons:
• much more photostable than chemical sunscreens
• less likely to cause skin reactions
• combined, TiO2 and ZnO covers the entire spectrum of UVB and UVA rays (and you want to protect well against both: UVB causes sunburns but UVA causes aging)

Continue reading →

Shiseido skincare reviews

~ stashy ~ 43 Comments

First, let me insert my usual disclaimer here that I’m no expert on skincare – I’m just a skincare enthusiast.  I’m also by no means a guru on all things Shiseido – there are just my experiences with these products.  I’ve been using skincare from this brand starting about 5 years ago.  I would categorize the brand as high-end but not luxury, with the skincare above the $50 price point and mostly below $100 each.  Shiseido is sold primarily through department stores and inside special beauty boutiques in some drugstores.  All of the products shown are made in Japan.  The line has some nice moisturizers and cleansers that I’ve repurchased – but like all brands, there are good and bad products within the range.
shiseido_skincare2
I thought I’d provide a quick overview of some of the products that I’ve tried.  I’ve categorized the items into Love, Like, and Loathe.

Continue reading →

Maybelline Concealer Comparison

~ stashy ~ 32 Comments

I like the brand Maybelline mainly for one product: their concealers.  I don’t like their mascaras – they smudge terribly on me.  Not really a fan of their lipsticks – their packaging bother me (why would there be a neon outer casing that doesn’t match the bullet shade?)   Their eye shadows are just average (although their matte single pans are good, but I fear they’re being phased out).  However, Maybelline concealers are phenomenal!  There has not been a Maybelline concealer that I’ve tried that was complete rubbish.  For me, the Instant Age Rewind (IAR) concealers are one the best under eye concealers on the market, regardless of price point.

Since I have quite a few Maybelline concealers in my stash currently, I thought I’d do a quick comparison and review of them:
maybellineconcealers2
From left to right:
• Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer in Medium 130
• Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer in Neutralizer 150
• Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector in Light medium 720
• Fit Me Concealer in Sand 20
• Face Studio Master Conceal in Light / medium 30
• Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Buff 340

These concealers are all very affordable, retailing for less than $15 and easily accessible at most drugstores.  I use all of these concealers mainly under my eye area.  I prefer stick or cream concealers for blemishes or redness.

Continue reading →

Cute Asian cosmetics

~ stashy ~ 28 Comments

Like a lot of you, I’m a sucker for cute packaging and I think Asian brands do them especially well. But, these products are not just a pretty face.  Even though some of the packaging look like they could be cheap makeup for children, they’re actually quite good quality.
cuteasiancosmetics2
Here’s a sampling of some cute Asian beauty items I have – all of these items are either Japanese or Korean brands.

Continue reading →

Back-up Worthy Items

~ stashy ~ 46 Comments

After being burned one too many times with discontinued or limited edition items that I LOVE, I decided to take matters into my own hands and purchased back-ups of certain products for insurance purposes.  Here are some items I have unopened in my stash:
backupworthy2
Anna Sui Dolly Girl Lipstick in Natasha 003 – $25
I’ve already used up an entire tube of this – this is my second tube, plus I have another unopened one in my stash. It’s a gorgeous sheer coral shade with tiny shimmers that’s very hydrating. I use this as a tinted lip balm and it goes with any makeup I’m wearing.  The pretty packaging and bullet design are just added bonus!  This was a limited edition item from 2011.

Continue reading →

Infinity Dreams Award 2

~ stashy ~ 17 Comments

infinity-dream-award
I was nominated for the Infinity Dreams Award by fivezero!  Now, I’ve been nominated for this award before but I’m making an exception to not doing an Award twice since I’ve not done one from fivezero! 😀

The Infinity Dreams Award Rules:

  1. Thank & follow the blog that nominated you.
  2. Display the award on your blog.
  3. Answer the questions given to you by the amazing person who nominated you.
  4. Nominated other bloggers & come up with questions for them to answer.

Continue reading →

Favourite MLBB Tag

~ stashy ~ 55 Comments

I was tagged by Sandy of Lippie Obsession to do this and it’s right in my wheelhouse!  Since I pulled out all my lipsticks yesterday for the lip stash post, I figured I’d do this tag today.  For the Makeup Muggles out there, MLBB stands for “My Lips But Better” which means these lip products enhance the natural lip colour – usually a close match or slightly darker / brighter / lighter / shinier – whatever is “better” to you.

I do not wear lipstick regularly, but when I do, I typically choose a MLBB shade.  My lips are quite pigmented, so some of these colours may seem deeper than what you might consider a MLBB lippie.  I chose these lipsticks not only for the colours, but also for how much I like the formulas:
mlbb3
From left to right:
• Illamasqua Glamore Nude Lipstick in Minx
• Elizabeth Arden Exceptional Lipstick in Breathless #17 (of COURSE I have to include this! See my post comparing the old vs new)
• Guerlain Rouge G de Guerlain Lip Color in Garance 06
• Shiseido Perfect Rouge in Dreamscape RD351
• Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick in Fig
• Shiseido Lacquer Rouge in Portrait RD203
mlbb4
(That Guerlain tube was a PITA to photograph!)

Continue reading →