Inglot's AMC Liquid Blush

Wow! I am still buzzing from how much I am enjoying all the products I purchased from Inglot! I have been brave and used some of the bright colors in my Freedom System Palette - if you read my past post here, you would know that I picked out a few bold colors namely:- 362 (bright pink), 331 (medium green), 370 (bright yellow),371 (bright blue),372 (green with slight blue undertone), 441 (purple). I would love to put up some of the looks I have done hopefully in a future post - I am not diligent enough sometimes to take pictures of every look I do but I will make more of an effort so I can show you how these beautiful colors look on my skin.

Another item I purchased which I am quite in love with is the AMC blush in the auspicious number of 88! The lovely deep berry shade caught my eye and I knew it would work well on deeper skin tones. I have never tried a liquid blush before and was quite looking forward to the challenge of applying this. Besides for 15ml's of this at RM62 - I thought it was a steal! Not only that, the blush is very, very pigmented (as with their eye shadows) and a tiny amount goes a very long way. The other thing I love about it is the fact that it comes in a pump bottle which if pumped gently, will give you the smallest amount necessary to do both cheeks. Also, its hygienic because the pump means your fingers never come into contact with the product.

Being a novice at using liquid blushers.....I tried the pump cautiously the first time and dispensed way too much but using pump dispensers is a 'feel' thing right - you need to get a feel of how much pressure to assert on the pump and test it a few times before you get it right. Thats why in the picture below you see two blobs of the blush on the back of my hand. I just spent a few good seconds looking at the color and admiring it.

Here I rubbed the color in a circular motion to test how it would turn out and I was amazed at the incredicly pigmented color. I was afraid of it when I saw this as I thought, it was way too dark for me but I perservered and as you can see from the picture further below.

In the picture on your left, I continued to buff the color and it became quite sheer but I continued to buff the edges and gently work it in.....what you see on the right is the color that I felt really happy with (very very slight difference)!

Subsequently, I used this on my cheeks one morning and again used my fingers. This time I used much less than the first time and put a few dots of it on either side of my cheek. I then tapped on the color to disperse it all over the cheek bones to diffuse the color. This time, it came out very sheer and lighter than what you saw on the back of my hand. Overall, I loved it and noted that the color did not fade the whole day. I did use a light buffing of powder to 'set' the color in place.

At the price of RM 62, if you used a teeny tiny amount.....this product could last forever!! I saw many other colors when I was at the store and sadly I did not have enough time to swatch all the colors......but if you have any of the other colors, do share your thoughts on it.

Sephora's SUPREME Cleansing Foam - Darling or Dud?

In earlier post, I talked about my trip to Sephora and how much I enjoyed it. Here is another product I purchased and this is from the in-house brand. Having been on a mission to find a good cleanser, (I may have found a HG cleanser (diferent brand)!! More in a future post) I bought this one because I liked the fact that it was a foam cleanser.

On the bottle you can see that it is called the 'Supreme' Cleansing Foam and claims to be an all in one cleanser which is able to remove even waterproof make-up and tones at the same time. Quite lofty claims aren't they?

The first thing that hit me when I pumped this product on to my fingers is the smell. It smelt very strongly of chemicals and was quite off putting. Now, I am usually quite tolerant of smells seeing it as an integral part of the whole aesthetics of the product but smell is something quite arbitrary because something that smells good to one person may have an opposite effect on another. This one was a clear no-no to me. Not at all pleasant.

The first time I used it, I did not use a make-up remover prior to washing with this foam. As expected my make up was not removed as thoroughly as I thought it would. When I came out of the shower and looked at my face in the mirror, I was amazed that my eye make up (shadow in the inner corner, waterproof liner and under eye concealer) were still hanging on for dear life. Well, I persisted, thinking it was not fair of me to put the cleanser through such a stringent test! I tried the next day after work and this time removed most of my makeup with a remover, then used the cleanser. I checked my face in the mirror. This time my face looked clean, but did not 'feel' very clean. I then used a little bit of toner on a cotton pad and to my horror, there was still bits of foundation around the hairline and around my nose.

I have tried using this product with every make-up combination possible, no primers, light mascara, just foundation and some lipstick and eye make-up (I don't use a make-up remover prior to cleansing when I don't have primers on) and the results are still the same. There is still plenty of residual make-up left after cleansing with this foam.

Even though this cleanser claims to remove waterproof make-up, things like liners and mascara also are not removed well. I will go as far as to say that my waterproof mascara hardly came off with this cleanser and as a result I needed to use a little bit of cleansing oil on a cotton round to remove this AFTER I had cleansed! I hate how heavy waterproof mascara feels if it is not thoroughly removed after washing.....

As for it's claims to tone skin, I did not at all feel this and I noticed no difference in my face as evidence of this. To be fair, I only used one bottle and this could not have been enough to produce the toning effect perhaps. I could not wait to finish all 150ml's of this product and was really happy the day I threw the empty bottle out! This will not be a repurchase for me and I will be quite cautious when I pick out the cleansers in the Sephora line of products.

If you have tried this, I hope you had a better experience that I did.......

Loreal De-Maq Expert - Ultra Make Up Remover

My make up routine has changed so much in the last year, especially so with the addition of primers and I find that I now am more thorough with my cleansing at the end of the day to ensure that I get all the product off my face. I can bet that you too, dear readers, now use primers as part of your make up routine? 

For me primers really help keep my make-up looking fresh for a longer time - and we all work long hours right and want to make sure that our make-up does not melt off by midday especially so in the heat of Malaysia. For me, having combination skin makes keeping my make-up on and looking fresh a challenge but with primers on my eyelids and as a base now has revolutionized the staying power of my make-up.   

On a recent trip with the family up north a few hours to Ipoh, I came across this curiously named item at the mall. It's called the "De-Maq Expert" which is an ultra concentrated make-up remover - I can picture someone sitting by a window with their brow furrowed, trying to come up with something fancier than, say, "Make Up Remover"!

I already own and religiously use several different brands of make-up removers so I was keen to try out something different.

This product comes in a 100ml tube with a pop cap which makes for convenient dispensing of this gel like, ever so lightly yellow tinted substance. It has a light, sort of grassy smell which I found to be quite pleasant. Because the slightly oily, gel like substance is not runny, it's easy to dispense a small blob of this and work into the face. No need to first wet the face, just put a small amount on your fingers and work it into your skin. You will be surprised to see how well the products on your face sort of melt off!

Be sure to keep this away from your eyes until you are ready to wash this off because if the product gets into your eyes, there will be a few minutes of cloudiness experienced. I did not feel a sting, rather a slight irritation caused by the clouding in my eyes.

I start on my cheeks and work my way around the nose area, on my lips, along the hairline and my forehead before closing my eyes and massaging around the eyes concentrating on the inner corner of the eyes and the lashes. Be sure to keep your eyes tightly closed at this point. After you are done, take a little water and work it into the face to emulsify the gel which then turns into a milky substance. Rinse off well with water. I follow up with a cleanser to remove the product completely.

To be honest, there is one item that I stay away from because of the difficulty involved in removing them well, and that is waterproof mascara. I love them and have a few brands that make my lashes look very lush but hate the amount of work that goes into removing them properly. But since I have purchased this, I have been bringing out all my waterproof mascara's and having a blast with them as they come off easily with this product!  

I must say that I am very happy with this product! Other oil based removers I use, are effective but oily and I have to make sure I follow up with a good cleanser afterward. With this, I do use a cleanser, but at least I am not fumbling with opening it because of my oily hands and then getting the sink all oily.....too much work!

A decent amount of this gel is all that is needed to effectively remove all my make-up. If you see these pictures, you can see how the product has turned brown as my foundation is removed.

All my eye make-up off, concealer under the eye, has virtually melted after a gentle rub of the gel....no vigorous rubbing necessary.

Below is a list of the ingredients:- I don't see any parabens in the ingredients list which is a good thing. The product claims to be suitable for sensitive skin too. I did not break out in spots after using this. As with every product I use, I am very cautious in the beginning and I use new products every other day in the first week. If I do not break out in spots, then I know this product is suitable....I have used this for close to a month now with no breakouts. Each skin reacts differently to different products so please be careful when you try something new.

For a price of RM27.90, I think this is well worth it - there is no need to use much as the product is concentrated enough to make a small amount go a very long way.  I have also tried just using this product and then rinsing it off without following up with a cleanser, but my skin did not feel truly comfortable. Also, instead of washing off the product, I have used a facial wipe - this worked for me but again, I am the sort who likes a 'clean feel' face at the end of the day so its an individual thing.