Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

Hi everyone!!!

I HAVE FINALLY BOUGHT THE NARS SHEER GLOW FOUNDATION. I've been wanting it since like 2012 maybe but Nars wasn't sold in Singapore. When it finally came I was quite broke la to be honest so I waited awhile to get it because I had recently bought other foundations and like it's quite ridiculous la who even needs so many foundations. But anyways I got it cause I wanted a new foundation for my birthday.

The cap doesn't fit properly after you open it. Like the cap doesn't align with the bottle when it's screwed tight. It's not only my bottle though because I've checked with others. 

Foundation also doesn't come with a pump which is quite ridiculous to be honest because you're paying freaking 72 SGD for this foundation. It holds the usual 30ml of product. 

The pump costs 10SGD and I bought it because I have OCD. If you're fine with pouring the foundation out from the bottle straight then don't buy it cause 10 bucks for a pump is quite ridiculous. Also, the pump doesn't even have a cover.... but it has a lock so you don't have to worry about pressing the pump accidentally. 

This foundation has no SPF so it means that there won't be any flash back when taking pictures with flash which also means this foundation is good for night because you would probably need to use a flash when taking pictures at night and you won't have a ghost face.
The consistency of the foundation is not thick but it's not runny either in my opinion. Its not as light as a tinted moisturiser but it's not as heavy as other foundations I've tried. You can feel that you're wearing foundation but it's not the suffocating kind of feel. I hope it makes sense. Basically, it wear comfortably.

The colour rage is amazing! They have like ten million shades so you will probably be able to get a shade for yourself. They also run quite yellow which is good for Asian skin. I have really yellow/golden undertones and the Nars base products seem to suit me really well. I have the colour Fiji if anyone needs a reference. I'm in between Mac NC20 and NC25.
the colour matches me very well. When you first apply it it MAY seem a little light but after it settles for like 10 mins it should match fine. I also noticed that this foundation doesn't oxidise which is a plus. Ain't nobody got time for your face to become orange at the end of the day.
The foundation also photographs nicely :)

Coverage wise, it's medium buildable. I have tried it with a stippling brush, my fingers and a Beauty Blender. Using a brush gives a higher coverage compared to the Beauty Blender. It evens out my skintone fine but because I use a light layer, some of my dark acne scars can still be seen.

Using fingers to blend the product helps it melt into the skin because of the warmth. The coverage is slightly higher than a beauty blender in my opinion.
This foundation sets to a dewy finish. Not matte at all. Please bear in mind I have combination skin. 
It transfers a little when I dab my face with a tissue so you must make sure to set it with powder. It gives off a really nice finish but for my skin, especially in Singapore with the humidity, I had to blot like once or twice during the day which is normal. It doesn't control oil very well. It doesn't claim to anyways so it's fine to me.

All in all, I really like this foundation because the colour is really perfect for me. It's so hard finding a foundation match for my skin like I've mentioned before and I really love the Nars colour range.

Coverage wise is alright for me. 

Side note: I feel like this foundation works better for me when my skin is not blemished and spotty. So I would say for it to work perfectly, you would need to have good skin already.

I could also be a little bias la because Nars is one of my favourite make up brands HAHA but this foundation in my opinion would be suitable for dry, normal or combination skin. For those with oily skin it might work if you set with a good powder. Even if you're not oily I would suggest setting it with powder anyways.

Hope this review was helpful!!

Lots of love,

Alexandria ♡

Review: GLAMGLOW Supermud Clearing Treatment

Hey hi hello!
I'm back for another review~

I bought this mask like in the beginning of March. I've been seeing it being raved about everywhere like on youtube and all and I was waiting for it to come to Singapore. When it finally did I went to get it. ( After awhile la cause I'm broke 24/7)
THIS MASK IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE MASK I HAVE EVER PURCHASE YET. Like seriously it's 92 SGD for 34g??? Crazy expensive. I was really really praying that I would like it and that it would help my skin because I was getting like spots and all from stress and hormones (Zzz)

So at first, I used it as a treatment mask. I've only used it like about 5/6 times so far. Anyways, the first 5 times I used it I used it only in my problem areas like a small patch on my cheek, my nose and my chin. I honestly did not see much difference in my skin although maybe my blackheads looked smaller and some were gone. But it wasn't a huge difference. I then tried using it over my whole face and there still wasn't a huge difference. Maybe slightly clearer but not enough to justify the price.

It doesn't sting my face badly so that's a plus and it washes off easily as well. 

I was super upset because I felt like I had wasted 90 bucks. Do you know how much make up I could have bought...... sigh. ☹

SIDE NOTE: the packaging said that if you use it for your whole face you can use it about 12 times and if you use it as spot treatments you can use it 1000 times. I paid 92 bucks for a mask that is only enough for 12 uses.. I swear it's really damn expensive and I'm the type of girl who wouldn't mind spending money on skincare. So for me to say that kinda shows something.
I left it alone for like a month and I just decided to use it again.

Conclusion:
I'm honestly still unsure about how I feel about this mask. I feel like the results are not enough to make me want to repurchase. You can only see a small difference and it's not like it's that amazing at treating spots in my opinion. Maybe it just doesn't work for me.
The origins mask I just blogged about is more beneficial for me. ☺

Holiday 2013 Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

Back with a product review after like a month cause I wasn't sure what to write about.

Last month Flo and I bought this Set of Stila Liquid Liners @ Sephora and decided to buy it since it was on offer. Usual price was $70+ but we got it at $42?! How to not buy please. It came with 1 full size Black liner and 3 smaller sized liners. Super cheap considering that the full size costs bout $20+ if I'm not wrong.
So anyways back to the liners..
I have been using gel liners for like years. Literally years and I have never really tried liquid liners before so I don't really know why I bought it. I guess it was because there were only 2 sets left and Flo and I took it as fate. HAHA

These liners are supposed to be long lasting and they are supposed to 'Stay All Day' as the name suggests. I personally feel that this product lived up to that. I was truly amazed at it's staying power. I have relatively oily eye lids and these liners did not smudge at all unlike gel liners ( after a few hours).
I was super addicted to this eye liner last month ( January 2014) and I literally used it everyday. It was truly amazing. I don't really have much to say about it but just to try it yourself if you're a fan of liquid liners. The brush is not too flimsy and not too stiff. The ink isn't watery either. The opacity is just right. This liner is really the bomb.com.

One thing I noticed though was that the brown and green liners had this tacky consistency and it did some weird thing towards the end of the day. It became a little like glue? But the black and navy didn't do that at all. I'm not sure if it was just those 2 that I got or it's just like that with those colours. That was the only bad thing about these liners.

I even cried while wearing them and they held up pretty well! (Y)

I would still be using it everyday if I were still wearing eye liner. ( I have been using only mascara and concealer + brows recently)

Maybe I will do a post on my everyday make up as requested by someone last year :p

That's all for now!

Lots of love,

Alexandria ♡

DRUGSTORE MAKE UP REMOVER

I originally bought this make up remover cause I wanted to try something different. Usually before I buy anything (skincare/make up) I would always always research on it first. Like read reviews etc to make sure that it won't break my sensitive skin out. I was out with Flo (read her blog w her friend @ here)  one day and I just made an impulse buy and bought it.
It was the Maybelline New Clean Express Miracle Oil-Gel.

I was pretty sure it was gonna be a rubbish product but I just bought it anyways.

I hated this the first time I used it. I put a sufficient amount on my DRY hands and applied it all over my dry face and I felt like it was tearing my skin. It was so dry omg I wanted to die. I put it aside and never touched it.
After a few weeks I decided to give it one more chance. This time I used a different method. I put a lot of product on WET hands ( I wanted to finish the bottle asap so I spammed it). IT WAS AMAZING. omg. It took off all my make up okay I'm not even kidding. Even waterproof mascara. Like. WOW. It was really WOW. After you wash it off your skin just feel so clean yet soft. It was not dry and all. And sometimes when my skin is really dry or when I'm tired ( after clubbing HA HA) I will just use this alone to remove my make up and not even use a cleanser after cause it's that good. Like my skin feels that clean that I don't even need to use a cleanser.
I don't use as much product as I used to, now that I'm not in a hurry to finish it but this make up remover is really awesome. It's quite affordable too and you don't have to use that much. This bottle has lasted me for months and I use it quite often.
BEST PART ABOUT IT IS IT DOESN'T BREAK ME OUT. It's an oil-gel so it like has the effectiveness of an oil but texture of a gel it's super amazing I really really love this. I would repurchase when I finish this bottle!

Was really pleasantly surprised by this product and I recommend it to all ☺

Having a mental block and I'm not really sure what to blog about next! Any suggestions? You can leave an anonymous comment on this post or email me @ alexandriadecosta@gmail.com☺

Hope everyone will have a great weekend!

Lots of love,

Alexandria ♡

Clarisonic

Hi everyone!! This post won't be about make up hahaha finally another skin care post~ 

I will be giving my opinions on the much raved about Clarisonic! 

I waited really really long to get it cause it was super expensive when it first came to Singapore (2012). The Mia was like 215/245 SGD and the Mia 2 was 245/300+ SGD if I'm not wrong. I couldn't bear to spend so much money so I just waited and waited and finally decided to get it in September/October 2012. It's much cheaper now and I'm super mad about that but it's okay. It's always my luck when it comes to these things~

Anyways~ buying it was one of the best things I've gotten using my own money. 

Reviews always said that your skin will break out really badly when you first use it cause it's like clearing out all the toxins from your skin. (For most people) I don't remember experiencing any really bad breakouts though. So yeah thank God~ 

I honestly feel that this product is worth every cent cause the feeling after you use it cannot be achieved by anything I've tried so far. Even after scrubs and such. The feeling is like clean and soft, not dry and squeaky at all My skin just feels super good when I use it. I don't use it everyday though because it can be a bit too much as my skin is quite sensitive. I use it whenever I've been wearing foundation for a few days in a row and I just want a thorough cleanse. 

I use it with the cleanser that I get from my dermatologist. 

I really really love the clarisonic and I would recommend it to anyone with any skin type :) it really works like no other and it's worth every since cent :) 

If you do decide to get it, don't forget to change the brush head every few months! They cost about 35-45/50 SGD depending on the type. I use the sensitive brush head ( the one that comes along with the Mia) and I'm using a second one already :) Should probably change it soon though hahaha 

That's about it for this post!! :) 

Have a great week ahead!! 

Lots of love,

Alexandria ♡

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12- Hour Full Coverage Foundation Review

Hi!!!

I am so sorry there wasn't any post last week. Didn't really have time to do a proper post so hopefully I'll be able to get 2 up this week ☺

Picture is a screenshot from tartecosmetics.com 

I finally got my hands on the Tarte foundation last month after researching on it for months (or maybe even since last year) and patiently waiting for Tarte to come to Singapore. This foundation costs $60 and it has 1.7Fl. Oz/ 50ml of product. My other foundations are all 1 Fl. Oz and that's the usual size for foundations in general. So I was super duper excited to finally get it and I even got Florencia excited to get it too. We got colour matched and apparently I'm Fair Sand. Which is the lightest shade and she got Fair Beige. I think I'm yellow- neutral undertoned. I say yellow- neutral because I'm not really yellow undertoned but I'm not really cool and I can use both types of foundations/concealers ( cool & warm). I think the colour is a little too light for me now though because I'm kinda tanner now but it's not that obvious and I guess a little bronzer would even it out. Also, my face is lighter than my body so my foundations are usually not the same exact colour as my body and I don't want it to be also cause then my face would be dark and I wouldn't look normal. Foundation usually looks better on my skin after a few hours as well. 

So anyways back to the foundation. The first time I tried the foundation I must admit that I hated it. My skin was going through a dry phase and this foundation was stinging my face and it was so hard to blend because of the dryness on my face HAHA 

Side note: I used to have really really oily skin but now my skin is kind of normal to combination. I do have dry face phases but other than that it's quite normal~ like only oily after awhile and around some areas. 

So yeah, I really hated the foundation I removed it the minute I put it on ( also partly because my mother was rushing me and I got irritated and didn't have time to blend and all). But Flo wore it too and she said she loved it. After reading all the beauty gurus rave about the foundation I was determined to like it cause it was quite expensive and I didn't want to waste my money. So I waited for my skin to stop it's stupid dry nonsense and I gave the foundation another try. I liked it a bit better but I wasn't really feeling it. Like the coverage wasn't that fantastic and like I didn't really like anything in particular. 

I wore it a few more times and I've finally come to a conclusion.

These are my thoughts, I'm not saying I'm 100% right or anything but this is what I have observed :

1) The foundation doesn't make me that oily but after like 6/7 hours I do get shiny. But not oily.

2) The foundation is not full coverage. It's like light to medium. 

3) It's a semi matte finish. Not too matte and not too dewy.

4) It's lightweight. Doesn't feel heavy or thick on the skin.

5) There's no scent.

6) It doesn't really oxidize. 

7) It didn't blend easily on my skin. 

8) It separates on my skin after 8 hours of wear.

I applied this foundation using my fingers, a beauty blender and a buffing brush and the buffing brush works the best. 

Overall I would give this foundation a 6-7/10. Honestly not what I expected. I'm not sure if it's because the colour subconsciously bothers me cause I'm a paranoid person by nature or what cause today after staring at my face multiple times I realized that the colour isn't that bad like it's lighter than my body but it's not obvious, know what I mean? In other words, it matches my face but not my body. 

The formula didn't really work well with my skin but maybe it will work well on someone with oily skin ☺ Flo loves this and she has oily skin so maybe it's better for an oily skin type ☺

So ya anyways, the foundation only has an SPF of 15 which means I would still have to use sunscreen underneath this. 

I am quite sure I won't repurchase this but I will just use it up since I already have it. It's not a foundation that I enjoy using, like my Shiseido & Chanel. I am honestly disappointed by this ☹

Has anyone else tried this foundation? Maybe I'm doing something wrong~ Please let me know if you have any thoughts on this okay? ☺

Will probably do a post on face masks next so stay tuned!! ☺

Lots of love,

Alexandria ♡