Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation and the right way of covering blemishes

Posted on March 2, 2013 by tinnipoo

Powder foundation seems to be a makeup item favoured by the Asians a lot more than Western women. I could be totally wrong in that opinion; just that whilst in Australia, I didn’t see many powder foundations available in the market, other than mineral foundations.

Since arriving in Taiwan, I’ve tried a few powder foundations. Most I don’t like at all (read about my disappointment with the Za Cosmetics one here), until I came across the Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation.

Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation is an upgrade of the Skin Fusing Powder Foundation, the latter of which I trialled before and loved.

Powder foundations are in compact form. The biggest advantage in this is convenience, not only in the first application but also for touch-ups throughout the day. Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation is housed in Lunasol’s signature metallic case (foundation refill and case sold separately), which is slick and reasonably resistant to finger prints.

Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation comes with a sponge that has 2 different sides. The top white side has a denser texture which can give more coverage, and the bottom beige side for regular application.

The texture of the powder is what makes the Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation different to other powder foundations. It’s creamy yet light, so it’s able to give great coverage, yet does not sink into pores or leave a dry and powdery finish.

Before/After

I thought I’d combine the before and after pics with how I cover up blemishes, which I’m battling with currently due to my insane working hours.

First and foremost, I want to stress that the most important thing when suffering breakouts, is to nurse it back to health with good skincare. For me, it’s a combination of mild cleansers, AHA products, and a variety of masks (read my skincare routine part 1 and part 2).

However, I understand that cover up is required when braving the public with blemishes. But the key message is: do not cover blemishes under a thick layer of makeup! This exacerbates the bumpiness and the discolouration of the blemishes, and there’s nothing more unattractive than a thick layer of war paint on what’s supposed to be human skin.

My simple steps of covering blemishes are:

Prep and prime the skin with your choice of moisturiser and primer. I keep mine to a light hydrating moisturiser to allow my skin to breathe.
Using the beige side of the sponge, apply a thin layer of Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation all over the face. You can see how it nicely smooths over the pores, reducing redness and about 70% of the blemishes.
Take a soft, yellow based stick concealer (I love Face of Australia concealer in warm), gently dot over the blemishes.
Using the white side of the sponge, set only the parts with concealer with another thin layer of Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation (not the whole face).
Use a good highlighting powder (I love Za Cosmetics Cheeks Groovy in 05 June Bride) under the eyes, nose bridge, chin and above the cupid’s bow.
Dust the tiniest bit of pink blush on the apples – I use Face of Australia blush in Hello Dolly.
You may find it necessary to repeat steps 3 and 4 for the blemishes on the apples of the cheeks, to lighten the blush that have gathered on the blemishes.

Voila! A natural and luminous complexion, seemingly untouched by the dreaded scarlet A (Acne ).

Summary

I just adore the Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation – it’s perfect for a lazy, oily-skin girl like me, as it’s so easy to apply, and gives me a natural-looking, shine-free finish that lasts for ages. For the ladies with drier skin, use plenty of hydrating serum, a richer moisturiser and primer underneath.

For the ladies suffering blemished skin, the Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation offers great coverage with the thinnest layer. With the addition of a good concealer, highlighter and blush, you can effortlessly cheat your way to flawless, healthy-looking skin.

Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation retails for NT$1500 for refills; NT$550 for compact (include sponge) and is available from Lunasol counters nation-wide. For non-Asia residents please try reputable Ebay sellers.

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Beauty Insider: My Favourite Face of Australia products

Posted on November 23, 2012 by tinnipoo

Long time readers of my blog may know that, up until 6 months ago, I was the Brand Manager for Face of Australia cosmetics. For those of you who don’t know Face of Australia – it’s an Australian owned and developed cosmetic brand that is great value for money, yet is comparable to department store brands in quality (my principle in product development: benchmark with the best product in the market, regardless of price point).

During my time there I have used every single product, and here are my favourites from Face of Australia:

Face:

High Definition Stick Foundation

I adore the Stick Foundation. Apply with with a good foundation brush and it gives a flawless finish that can be adjusted in coverage. Plus it’s just blendable enough to be able to use a darker shade for natural-looking contouring. I did exactly that when I did my own makeup for my wedding, and it looked great in photos.

Mineral Therapy Foundation

My choice of foundation for everyday wear, as powder foundation is always the best choice for someone with extremely oily skin like mine. I ditch the included brush and use a good quality, full size kabuki brush to buff it on. It gives great coverage that looks natural, and I find the formula to be very soothing, especially on the occasions when I suffer breakouts.

Blush

Pigmented yet extremely blendable. I love the shade Nutmeg as it’s versatile to be used as both blush and contour. Keep your eye out for a couple of awesome new shades by yours truly – I LOVE them and use them on a daily basis.

Eyes:

Liquid Eyeliner and Impact-Curl Mascara

The Liquid Eyeliner is the best seller within the Face of Australia range and with good reason. It’s definitely my favourite liquid eyeliner as it’s easy to use, budge-proof (my eyelids are too oily for any pencil liner to last more than an hour) and is black as ink. Now that my eyelash extensions are almost all gone, it’s found its way back to my daily makeup routine.

Impact-Curl Mascara was a labour of love for me, which produced a mascara that holds the curl and resists smudging even for my dead straight lashes and oily lids. An unexpected surprise is that with prolonged use, it made my lashes stronger and longer. When my last 4 lash extensions fall off I’d be sure to get back into it!

Lips:

Lip Quench Lipstick

I was beyond flattered when so many Australian beauty bloggers praised the new shades I launched late last year. My favourite is Malibu Barbie, then Lychee Crush, Pink Champagne and Nude Satin. I also adore Silver Rose and Power Surge from the existing range. The SPF 30+, though causing a scent that is disliked by some, is a very important feature in my eyes.

Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons

I love Clinique’s Chubby Sticks so simply had to launch something similar in Face of Australia! I have all 3 shades in my handbag at all times as they’re great for work and going out. And to let you in on a secret: I was able to launch these at literally a fraction of the price of their benchmark, whilst still making very good margin

Others:

Purifying Cleansing Wipes

I’ve actually found a lot of cleansing wipes on the market to either irritate my skin, or just don’t cleanse properly. The Face of Australia Purifying Cleansing Wipes effectively remove all my makeup with 1 wipe, yet leaves my face feeling balance and refreshed. I’m totally bummed that I just used the last wipe 3 days ago

Gentle Makeup Remover

A miracle product – it’s duo-phased yet contains no oil. I use this mainly as eye makeup remover, but also as a pre-cleanse on occasions. Last night I tried it on my Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush, which I clean fairly regularly, or so I thought. I dripped 3-4 drops right into the middle of the brush at a time, and half an hour later I was still squeezing out remnants of foundation.

So there you have it! My pick of Face of Australia cosmetics, a brand that I was proud to be a part of and one with many products that I have and will continue to use daily (at least for as long as I can get my hands on it). This is a post I have wanted to do for a long time, but avoided since I didn’t want to cause any conflict of interest between my professional and personal/blogging life. So I hope you’ve enjoyed this post,and if you haven’t tried Face of Australia cosmetics, I sincerely recommend you to.

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Post Laser/ Allergy/ Sensitive Skincare Routine

Posted on October 18, 2012 by tinnipoo

As mentioned a few times before, cosmetic procedures are common in Taiwan, and as a result, fairly cheap. So much so, that a lot of people (including me) treat them as facials, and incorporate them into their skincare routine.

I’ve been getting IPL and Clear & Brilliant Laser fortnightly, which I’ve found to have good cumulative effects in improving the clarity and firmness of my skin. It has no downtime, however does make the skin more sensitive so a milder skincare routine is required.

This is the routine that I’ve worked out so far, which would also be suitable for post-peel, and anyone with long-term or short-term sensitive/allergy skin. It’s gentle, yet still has enough nutrients in it to improve the skin (I can never be a cold cream kinda girl).

Generally, it’s all about what NOT to use when you’re post laser or have allergy/sensitive skin:

No brightening/whitening products
No Alpha Hydroxy Acids of any kind
No abrasions eg. scrubs, exfoliants
Some fragrance

Cleanser & Toner

POD Liquid Detox is great if you have sensitive skin that is oily (review here). My all-time favourite cleanser, Simplicite Plant Gel Cleanser for Oily/Combination skin would work quite well too. Both effective at removing all the dirt, excess oil and makeup from the face at the end of the day, without leaving the face feeling tight and dry.

For toning the skin I stick to plant or mineral water sprays. Kuan Yuan Lian Cucumber Water Moisturising Mist is a good, cheap option. Even better is Uriage Thermal Water Spray (left it at work so I couldn’t photograph ) as it has healing as well as soothing and moisturising properties.

Serums & Creams

Hydration is paramount post-laser as laser zaps away some natural oils. It’s equally important for sensitive skin as it aids the natural healing abilities of the skin. Unitec Advance Hydrating Essence is a great cheaper alternative to For Beloved One HA serum, both hydrating and don’t break me out.

For night time, I layer on the Hyaluronic Acid serum with Avene Skin Recovery Cream, which I completely adore for serious cases of allergy on the face. It immediately relieves the itchiness, and in the morning I can see visible reduction of the redness and allergy bumps on my face.

For day time I switch to Uriage Aquaprecis Refreshing Gel-Cream* (also applied over Unitec serum), as it hydrates my face without making it more oily, and is great under makeup. Note that this does a fair bit of fragrance, but does not cause me any irritation.

Uriage Aquaprecis Relaxing Eye Gel* is a great general purpose eye gel that reduces puffiness.

Masks

Stick to hydrating masks without any brightening agents. I love my emerginC Vitality Mask as it soothes and delivers a huge dose of antioxidants to my skin (get your hands on it if you can, it’s seriously good stuff). For lazy days I opt for L’Herboflore Q10 + Marine Collagen Anti-Ageing Mask that gives my face extra bounciness.

Makeup

First of all, sun protection is a MUST. It’s a must for everyone everyday but especially so post-laser/peel. I have been and will continue to use Bioré UV Aqua Rich SPF 50+ Watery Mousse, which is the best sunscreen I’ve ever come across.

For base makeup, I choose products that don’t say that it whitens (like a lot of Asian base products now), but have added SPF and are mineral based. Face of Australia Stick Foundation ticks all those boxes, and offer good coverage that is also buildable. I top it off with Face of Australia Translucent Powder to set the foundation and reduce shine without adding more coverage.

So there you have it, my post-laser skincare routine that I’ve nutted down after 3 months of trial and error. This should work well for most people, however my last and best piece of advice would be – consult your dermatologist when in doubt. Also note that good cosmetic clinics should offer you a take-home sheet of post-procedure skincare instructions.

Products marked * have been provided for consideration, for my disclosure policy see here.

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FOTD – Have-It-All Evening Glamour

Posted on May 11, 2012 by tinnipoo

Getting the right balance between eyes, cheeks and lips is tricky. The old rule of thumb in makeup, is that where you focus on one, you play down the others.

But greedy me want it all! I love having smokey eyes, flushed cheeks AND vibrant lips. So what to do? Luckily, the BÉBÉ POSHÉ Sweet Doll Super Palette I purchased in Taiwan showed me the way.

I’ve worn this look to a wedding reception, and a night out on the town with the girls, and really like it! It’s not too OTT, as the full-on smokey eyes and beige lips can be too harsh for evening events, and bright lips and nude eyes are a bit, too understated for my liking

Face:

Of course, luminous skin is a must, and also needs to be budge-proof to withstand the hours of party time . For blush, I’ve really been loving BÉBÉ POSHÉ Sweet Doll Super Palette’s tip, in that you use a peach shimmer blush all over the cheek area, and a girlie pink on the apples.

Za BB Cream
Face of Australia Stick Foundation Ivory
YSL Touche Éclat Radiant Touch
Face of Australia Translucent Loose Powder
BÉBÉ POSHÉ Sweet Doll Super Palette – colours A, B and highlighting stick (see details here)

Eyes:

Again I rely on the BÉBÉ POSHÉ Sweet Doll Super Palette for the just right smokey eyes. I find the key to smokey eyes that don’t look intimidating, is to use pink on the inner corners, and terracotta along the socket line (I blend a bit of colour A of BÉBÉ POSHÉ Sweet Doll Super Palette into it).

Leave the brows until after the eyes are done, and go slowly when building up the colours on the eyes – put a bit on, look at your eyes in the mirror, then put more on as required.

I also use 2 pairs of eyelashes, as I find that to give the most natural yet dramatic look.

GEO Circle Lenses Magic Black
Urban Decay Primer Potion
BÉBÉ POSHÉ Sweet Doll Super Palette
Solone Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Pencil Black
Benefit Brow-a-go-go
Face of Australia Imoact Curl Mascara Black
Fake Lashes Princess Lee No. 7 and Chanti No. 135

Lips:

I applied a bright lip colour, but with a lip brush so that it looks sheer.

Face of Australia Lip Quench Lipstick Forbidden Fruit

The best thing I like about this look, is that it goes well from evening to night. It doesn’t look too heavy in the early hours of the evening, but then the eyes take on a more smouldering effect into the night. The result is sexy, yet elegant.

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My next chapter: One way ticket to Taiwan

Posted on May 8, 2012 by tinnipoo

Please excuse the self-indulgent nature and the wordiness of this post, but following some conversations I had on Twitter today, thought I’d wrap it all up in a blog post.

Friday 25th May (this month) will be my last day as Brand Manager for Face of Australia cosmetics, as I will be relocating back to my home country, Taiwan, around mid June. This is something that has been in the works for a few months, and it was during my last trip to Taiwan, that Mr Ronan made his relocation.

What brought on this decision?

Mr Ronan and I first visited Taiwan together about 6 years ago, and we’ve been talking about moving there, on and off, since then. It was a couple of months after our trip back there in July last year, when we talked about as a solid plan.

It was agreed that Mr Ronan will make the transition first. Since he needs to have a spousal Visa to apply for English teaching jobs, it was necessary for him to make the move then and there. I’m still a Taiwanese citizen, so have the freedom of relocating back to Taiwan whenever I choose, and be eligible to work there straight away.

So the main purpose of my last trip to Taiwan, was to apply for a spousal Visa for Mr Ronan. During the same period I looked for jobs in Taiwan, and was offered one on the second day of my arrival.

What will I be doing?

My next chapter: One way ticket to Taiwan

I am very lucky to have found myself a role as Assistant Brand Manager for a skincare company http://www.enviedeneuf.com.tw/, which has allowed me to start in 3 months time after they offered me the role. Whilst on face value, to go to an Assistant Brand Manager role with 1/2 the salary I’m on currently is a step down, to me it’s not so. I’ve not had any experience in the Asian market, not to mention I’m very rusty when it comes to writing in Chinese, and have NEVER typed in Chinese.

Envie de Neuf is a skincare company that is looking to launch many brands with a focus of entering the mainland China market, and already has many counters in department stores Taiwan-wide. It’s a role in which I’d no doubt learn a great deal, and I look forward to tackling it head on.

Other than that, I plan to continue blogging, and set up a mail forwarding/shopping service on my blog (stay tuned). Oh, and my biological clock tells me that having babies should be on my To-Do list too!

Face of Australia

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as the Brand Manager for Face of Australia cosmetics; an unique role which has given me exposure to all aspects of Marketing. During my 18 months of being in the role, I have conceptualised and followed through every step of developing many new products, all of which have been successful in the market place.

I was also responsible for photo shoot, customer service, merchandising, advertising, social media marketing, and of course PR and events for the wonderful beauty bloggers in Australia (and some beyond).

A big thank you to all the customers, beauty bloggers and my Sales & Marketing team for supporting my launches and initiatives. A special THANK YOU & LOVE YOU to Briony, who has made all my concepts into creative realities – how she manages to take my few words to such awesome packaging and advert (examples above and below) I’d never know :’)

Okay… time to shut up

Needless to say, it’s going to be a hectic few weeks and likely a few months ahead. In addition to wrapping things up with Face of Australia, I’m also in the midst of moving my life over to and then settling in Taiwan. I’m going to try my hardest to keep everything afloat, but please excuse the (even more) sporadic blog posts on Chasing Elixir.

There will be more great launches from Face of Australia in the coming months, and I have put in product plans for the next 2 years. So please continue your support for the brand; I truly believe it’s a gem within the Australian cosmetic market.

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A trip down my mascara memory lane…

Posted on February 28, 2012 by tinnipoo

In starting Chasing Elixir, my life is now pretty much 90% occupied by thoughts of beauty products. What will I try next? What will be the next beauty buzz? What am I using now? What have I used before? It’s a fascinating journey, and I find myself surprised by some of the random thoughts that pop into my head here and there.

Somehow in the last couple of days, I’ve been thinking about my very first beauty experiences. My obsession with makeup started when I was about 14, and through the years I’ve tried and purchased hundreds of products, most of them I can’t recall. But what I do remember, is Mascaras.

Mascara is the one item I was always on the hunt for. Especially with my short Asian lashes – I envy all the models in magazine ads with lush, thick, curvy lashes, and wish that I could have the same. Clearly I’m not alone – hence the numerous launches of mascaras by cosmetic companies every year, and the billions of dollars pumped into their advertising.

This is the first mascara I’ve ever tried (hold your laughter please, and stop trying to guess my age, if you hadn’t read about it in previous posts):

Just to clarify, this was my mum’s mascara, as like many women, my first beauty experiences were from playing with my mum’s makeup. I remember thinking how awesome the dial-control system is – not that I ever used anything other then level 10

It made me chuckle a little to see this “innovative” technology back on counters with the launch of Rimmel’s 1-2-3 Looks Mascara, Almay’s One Coat Dial Up Mascara, and Revlon’s Custom Eyes Mascara.

And I even found its TV ad!

The first mascara I purchased was in high school year 9 or 10, when glamorous models dominated the beauty publications. Oh I loved the original supermodels – Naomi, Cindy, Claudia, Christy and the lesser known Karen Mulder. And when Niki Taylor, a model who possessed glamour and girl-next-door looks signed with Covergirl – I literally ran out the door (and then caught 2 buses) to purchase this:

I don’t know if that was the first ever mascara with a curved brush, but I do remember being disappointed that it did not work wonders for my dead straight lashes. But I didn’t care – I had something that Niki Taylor put her name to!

A little further down the tracks, I got into the “trade screts” of makeup artists. I promptly purchased what is supposedly every makeup artist’s essential, Maybelline’s Great Lash Mascara (did nothing for me), and “the makeup of makeup artists” Max Factor’s 2000 Calories Mascara (only clumped my lashes).

The next mascara that got me running out the door to purchase was Prescriptives False Eyelashes Mascara:

I’m pretty certain that the original version of this mascara was in black packaging but the same brush. It was the first mascara with the “false lash” claim – and I ate it right up. It occupied the back cover of a Cosmo or Cleo with no model shot, just a massive image of the mascara and its enticing name (much like Clinique ads these days). It was probably the first sign of me being a future marketer, as I remember marvelling at how such a simple ad could have such a huge effect on me. I handed over a big $20 note for it shortly after seeing the ad.

Since then, I’ve tried many many more mascaras. Notable mentions include Maybelline’s Sky High Curves mascara (my favourite whilst working for the L’Oreal group), Lancome mascara of any variant (though I could never muster the nerve to hand over that much cash to purchase one myself), Dejavu Fiberwig (doesn’t always ‘grip’ onto the lashes, but when it does it gives great lengthening effects) and Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara (hard to remove, but my HG mascara).

And of course I have to mention the latest instalment in my mascara journey, and that’s the launch of Face of Australia’s Impact-Curl Mascara (in store mid-March). Without appearing to use my blog as advertising for my own brand, I do have to say that I have put in hours of research in making it a fantastic mascara that I am happy to use on a daily basis. As a mascara fanatic, I’m just proud

What are your first makeup memories? Please share as I find it such an interesting topic!

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Also Loving… Gradient Lips

Posted on February 6, 2012 by tinnipoo

In addition to two-tone lips (blog post here), another lip look I’ve been loving is Gradient Lips. I’ve done this on a couple of FOTD posts before – it’s definitely more palatable to most people’s taste, and I love it as it gives the lips a really nice pouty appearance.

The other great thing about gradient lips is that, depending on the colours picked, it can look cute, sophisticated or vampy. Here are 3 variations I’ve done:

1. Pouty Pink & Red

Products used: Face of Australia Lip Quench SPF 30+ Lipstick Pink Champagne & Forbidden Fruit; Face of Australia Mechanical Lipliner Pink

I line the lips with lipliner first, then apply Pink Champagne all over. Then using my finger I dab Forbidden Fruit (rich red) on the centre of the lips, starting from inside.

2. Sophisticated Red & Gold

Products used: Face of Australia Lip Quench SPF 30+ Lipstick Power Surge; Face of Australia Mechanical Lipliner Red; Face of Australia Colour Max Eyeshadow Palette Gold Mine

This one is the easiest – just line the lips with lipliner, fill in with red lippy, then dab a bit of gold eyeshadow in the centre.

3. Vampy Purple & Pink

Products used: Face of Australia Eye Definer Pencil Purple; Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Lacquer Crystal Verve

I line the lips thickly with the purple eyeliner and blend it inwards, then dab on the lip gloss in the centre. Be careful not to ‘push’ on the eyeliner too much with the gloss wand.

The other key with gradient lips is that, when applying the centre colour: use small amounts at a time, and build from the inner centre – so the colour looks like it’s radiating outwards. It does take a bit of practice to get a hang of it, but I think the effects are great and it’s fun!

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LOTD – Two-Tone Lips

Posted on February 2, 2012 by tinnipoo

I’ve been dying to try this look ever since I saw this post on Through Beauty Eyes – I think two-tone lips are super hot!!!

Unbeknownst to me, this is old news. The two-tone lip was first created by Tom Pecheux for the Emanuel Ungaro show in 2009, then again by MAC for the Nanette Lepore show in 2010.

But I don’t care – a good look NEVER goes out of style. And today, within the rare hours when I do actually get to really play with makeup at work, I tried my hand at it.

Products used: (Top Lip) Face of Australia Lip Quench Lipstick SPF30+ Malibu Barbie + Lipliner Mechanical Pink; (Bottom Lip) Face of Australia Lip Quench Lipstick SPF30+ Forbidden Fruit + Lipliner Mechanical Red

Reading the comments on a few other blog posts on the two-tone lips, seems a lot of people don’t like it. I freakin’ LOVE it and would love even more for it to become a mainstream trend, so I can wear it out in public!

What do you think? Do you like two-tone lips?

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FOTD – Chinese New Year

Posted on January 24, 2012 by tinnipoo

Following my failure at Chinese New Year Mani, I thought I better try to redeem myself a little with a Chinese New Year FOTD. This is the makeup I did for the reunion dinner on Chinese New Year eve – as it was a relatively casual affair (just me, my parents, Mr Ronan and his parents), I kept the look subdued with touches of gold, red and black.

Face:

Since it was a very hot day in Melbourne, I was a bit more heavy-handed with the powder so my makeup holds up.

Face of Australia Stick Foundation Ivory
Lunasol Limited Edition Cream Cheeks EX03 Light Coral
Face of Australia Translucent Loose Powder

Brows:

Face of Australia Eye Definer Brown
Laura Mercier eyeshadows – Coffee Ground, Cafe Au Lait, and Fresco

Eyes:

Combination of gold, red and black – typical colours of Chinese New Year.

GEO Circle Lenses Magic Black
Kanebo T’estimo eyeshadow No. 3 – I used the sparkly beige gold for the entire lids and under the lower lashlines, and including inner corners of the eyes
88 Palette Eyeshadow - I used a matte red to accent the outer upper and lower lashlines. Also used a black eyeshadow over the eyeliner to set it so it doesn’t run down my face as soon as I step outside into the heat
Solone Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Pencil Black - I lined the inner upper lashlines most of the way, then took it up and extend towards the outer 1/3. Did the same with the lower lashlines so the outer 1/3 is more visible.

Lips:

Another reason I kept the eyes simple is so that I can wear a bright red lippy – which is a must for Chinese New Year!

Face of Australia Lip Quench Lipstick Forbidden Fruit – applied with a lip brush

We went to Hutong Dumpling Bar and ate heaps!! To be honest I reckon their dumplings are just okay, but I really love their Sichuan chilli dishes. My favourite is their 夫妻肺片, which I won’t translate for the non-Chinese readers cos it would most likely sound extremely unappetising. But I LOVE IT – one plate of this on a bowl of rice and I’m in heaven

Near the end of our dinner, a Dragon Dance crew came into the restaurant! It was so much fun and we made a small contribution of red packet, as it was going to charity. Once we left the restaurant we stood outside and waited for the firecrackers to be lit, and more Dragon dance. Mr Ronan’s mum absolutely loved it and recorded the whole thing on her Iphone – so cute of her!!!

Sending you all even more fortune & prosperity <3 <3 <3

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Chinese New Year Mani (Fail Alert)

Posted on January 22, 2012 by tinnipoo

Tomorrow is the first day of Chinese New Year and it’s the year of the Dragon, which is both me & Mr Ronan’s birth year! (We have a very firey household)

So I did a quick mani to get into the festivity – word of warning as you are about to witness an epic fail. I was (still am) seriously debating whether or not to post this but thought what the hey. I don’t claim to be an expert on all things cosmetics so here goes.

I used Face of Australia Molten Metallics in Flaming Lava as the base for all the nails, and only did 2 nail art: Dragon and Fortune.

Dragon:

Dragons are surprisingly hard to draw so I’m sorry for the way it’s turned out!!! When I practised on paper my dragon looked like reindeer with whiskers. Once on the nail it looked like Santa after I dotted on the eyes, and then ended up looking like Shrek when I added the eyebrows. WTF >.<

Face of Australia Molten Metallics Gold (metallic shimmer gold) - for face and ears
Face of Australia Barbados Orange You Glad You Came? (shimmer orange) - for the antlers and whiskers
Face of Australia Colour Pro Scream (black) – eyes
Face of Australia Molten Metallics Flaming Lava - for nose and brows

Fortune:

福 (pronounced Fú) is the Chinese character for fortunate and can be readily seen on Chinese New Year decorations. As long as you know how to write the character, it’s pretty easy to do this.

I used a foam tip eyeliner brush and wrote the character on with Face of Australia Molten Metallics Gold.

Now back to cleaning my place, and I’ll be having Chinese New Year Eve dinner with my parents, Mr Ronan and his parents

Happy New Year – wishing everyone prosperity and good health! 恭喜發財!!!

Chasing Elixir

Staying 25… forever

Tag Archives: Face of Australia

Lunasol Skin Modeling Powder Foundation and the right way of covering blemishes

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Beauty Insider: My Favourite Face of Australia products

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Post Laser/ Allergy/ Sensitive Skincare Routine

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FOTD – Have-It-All Evening Glamour

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My next chapter: One way ticket to Taiwan

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A trip down my mascara memory lane…

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Also Loving… Gradient Lips

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LOTD – Two-Tone Lips

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FOTD – Chinese New Year

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Chinese New Year Mani (Fail Alert)