Reviews and Other Stuff

Dolly Wink Eyelashes Review

September 11, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Konnichiwa my friends! It’s me Sailor Moon, or more like Doraemon, LOL. How are you all doing today? During last week’s review, we talked about the Japanese-style eye makeup application that lengthens, widens, and emphasizes the eyes. Now, this review is all about a brand of “Gyaru style” false eyelashes that could help you achieve just that. These are called Dolly Wink eyelashes. They are a little bit longer than most falsies and they come several different styles.

They’re not necessarily made in Japan. Mine is made in Vietnam, but I’m quite sure that you’ll find them everywhere in Japan and in most Asian countries. One thing I like about these false lashes is their durability. I have used and reused some of this for 3-4 times and they still look good as new. I used to be a fan of Ardell lashes, but after one usage, they just become weak and fragile. With this one, each strand is robust and it can withstand re-gluing and cleaning without a problem. Another thing that I like about them is the length. Because it’s a bit longer than most falsies, you can customize its length according to the style that you want. If you’re into full-on, wide, dramatic, and large Gyaru eyes, then you can keep the length as it is, and it’ll adhere closer to your other crease. If you’re not feeling the whole Gyaru vibe, you can cut them and they’ll have a more natural effect.

These lashes come in different styles which are identified by numbers. Each pack has 2 pairs of lashes and it comes with a free eyelash glue. While I haven’t really used the free glue much, I find that my good ol’ Duo lash glue seems to work better than the ones that come free with these Dolly Wink packs.

#2 Sweet Girly: This particular style wants to emphasize a very dramatic cat eye. It’s a bit short on the inner side, then it becomes longer and flares towards the end or the outer crease side. I like this because it adds drama but it also seems a bit too long for a day to day look. Also, these lashes are made to be straight all the way down.

#9 Natural Dolly: Probably the most natural of all the Dolly Wink lashes (at least the ones I own). It’s not too dense and it’s not too sparse either. Each strand crisscrossed each other which emphasizes the eyes in a very natural way. This is probably my most used Dolly Wink falsies as well.

#10 Sweet Cat: My second most used Dolly Winks, especially when I need a good natural cat-eye style. Each strand is a bit short and dense which is something that looks better on my eyes. It makes the eyes dramatic but not over the top and fake. This does a foolproof cat-eye look that’s cute and pretty.

#11 Pure Sweet: These lashes are straight all the way down, a bit sparse, and quite long, even if it’s tapered towards the inner corner. It’s a little too long for me that it looks a bit unnatural to wear everyday. The length is similar to #2, but this is less dense. I wish this was crisscrossed for a more natural effect, so I only use this on special occasions that call for “big lashes don’t care” moment.

#17 Diamond Dolly: Another dramatic style with some sort of triangular/diamond-shaped strands towards the middle which really emphasizes the eyes. This works really great for a dramatic cat eye because they’re a bit short, very dense, and well-tapered. Also, the strands are crisscrossed.

The prices of these lashes vary a lot by style. Some may start at $10, while some may reach up to $30. The brand also makes lashes for the lower lids (seen HERE), which are a lot shorter. Having both the upper and lower lashes really makes for a true Gyaru look, so that’ something to consider.

My top favorites here are #9, #10, & #17 because they’re a bit shorter and since I love to do a cat-eye style of eye makeup, these three styles of lashes really help to create that look, aside from being lightweight, durable, and easy to clean.

The Dolly Wink lashes are available at Amazon.com

Ciao now!

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Eye Makeup Brushes Roundup, Part 1

September 8, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Oh hi! Today’s post is the first part of a roundup of my favorite eye makeup brushes. The other half will be posted soon, so stay tuned on my Insta. Some of these brushes are old, while some are kind of new. They’re pretty much what I use up to this day and I usually take some of them during my travels.

Eye makeup brushes for me are somewhat a challenge to choose and probably the most type of brushes I own and usually purchase. That’s because it’s hard for me to find the right size and shape of eye brushes for my small downturned hooded eyes. Every brush needs to be somewhat small and precise enough to contour my lids and further emphasize my crease. So I ended up with some trial and error before I found the ones that sort of worked for me.

For starters, I love Sephora, Sigma, and especially Make Up For Ever brushes because they have versatile small enough brushes for my needs. MUFE’s brushes are soft, well-tapered, and they pick up the eyeshadows well. Sigma also has reliable brushes that you can’t beat the price. If I need a spur-of-the-moment brush, I know Sigma’s quality won’t disappoint. Sephora has interesting and uniquely-shaped brushes that also affordable and they sometimes go on sale.

Sephora Brushes (1-2 years):

Sephora Collection PRO Shader Brush #18 ($18): A versatile small brush eye shader brush that not only packs colors on the lids, but it’s great to line the upper and lower lash line or apply highlighters on the inner crease, especially if you have smaller eyes. It can even highlight the browbones. I love that it’s soft and pretty much easy to use.

Sephora Collection PRO Domed Crease #16 (Discontinued): I bought this brush with the intention of creating or enhancing that outer V on the crease, though it serves its purpose well, it can be too thick if you have very small eyes, and you can’t get too heavy-handed on this because it can pack a punch of colors on the lids.

Sigma Brushes (2-3 years):

Sigma Small Tapered Blending Brush #E45 ($16): If you wanna do a perfectly contoured crease or a nice cut-crease, then this brush is for you. This delivers a very precise effect of achieving that long-desired crease, while the bristles are soft and pliable. Ideal for monolids, smaller eyes, and hooded eyes.

Sigma Firm Blender #E44 ($17): One of my latest Sigma purchases, I bought it because I wanted a good blending brush that can truly soften and blend any dense pigments I may have packed on my lids. This is a bit firm which is nice and each side is tapered, so I also use this for creating that outer V on the crease.

Make Up For Ever Brushes (1 year or less):

MUFE Medium Blender Brush #218 ($25): A soft blender brush that’s not only ideal for blending any cream or powder eyeshadows, it can also be used in the crease and also to highlight the browbone and inner corners of the eye. I also think that this is a great blending brush for smaller eyes, and I like that the brush is pliable enough to layer different eyeshadows on the lids.

MUFE Double-ended Shader & Smudger Brush #204 ($25): This is a longer-than-usual MUFE eye brush because it has different brushes on both ends. One is a tiny eye shader that’s great for lining the lash lines accurately, while the other end is a smudger to create a nice and seamless smokey-eye look. I bought this brush with my desperation to create a perfect Gyaru-style (or Ulzzang in Korean) eye makeup. Gyaru is a Japanese eye makeup technique that’s practiced to lengthen or enlarge the eyes. Because when you have smaller eyes, you get desperate. When you get desperate, you try to do the Gyaru eyes. When you wanna try the Gyaru eyes, you’ll need precise eye makeup brushes. When you need precise eye makeup brushes, you buy the MUFE brushes, especially in #204. Period. End of Story. Hehehe. (P.S. This is not a TV Commercial).

MUFE Medium Precision Eye Blender #216 ($25): This is kinda like a more precise version of the MUFE #218, but I think this is pretty much made to emphasize the crease of the lid and also to create a nice smokey eye look because the brush itself is quite dense yet very soft that it’s ideal for applying it along the upper and lower lash line. This is another great brush if you have smaller eyes and you’d want that smoldering look.

Final words, these brushes are nice to have and they’ve stood the test of time, at least for me. My Sephora brushes pretty much have held up to regular washes and wipes, a few bristles may have been stretched out here and there, but overall, they still work ok. The Sigma brushes are durable, reliable, and well-made as always. The MUFE brushes are more ergonomic, aesthetically-unique because the handles are made of sturdy wood, and the bristles are really soft. They also make high-quality brushes for smaller eyes.

Do you own any of these brushes? What do you like about them the most?

That’s it for now guys, stay tuned for the second part of this review.

The Sephora brushes are available at Sephora.com

Sigma Brushes are available at Amazon.com, Bloomingdale’s, Dermstore, Dillard’s, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters & Sigma Beauty

The MUFE Brushes are also available at Sephora

Ciao!

Happy Friday,

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Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi VS Sole di Positano Eau de Parfum Review

September 6, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hello All! Ever been a fan of Tom Ford scents? Actually, I’m not, and what samples I’ve tried from his line of fragrances before didn’t register much to my memory. Although, in fact, I may have remembered having sniffed the Orchid Soleil and it was little too overwhelming for me. That is, until, I happen to wander inside Sephora and decided to test the Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi Acqua by chance. It literally blew my mind. The first spritz of the scent pretty much made my heart stop for a few minutes. I wanted the scent right then and there, but I had to wait until it completely settled on my skin so that I could judge its dry down. Unfortunately, while the top notes were exhilarating, the dry down was a bit of a letdown because it seemed too acidic for me. The TF Mandarino di Amalfi Acqua (Eau de Toilette) is a perfect fresh harvest of mandarin citrus scent that is SO good but it gets a little bit acetic with time. Yet still, I couldn’t get past my experience with that scent, so I decided to try it’s Eau de Parfum version hoping that the dry down won’t be that disappointing. Yes indeed, it’s a much more pleasing and much more pronounced scent. Because I love the scent very much, I also tried the Tom Ford Sole di Positano which is the latest release in Tom Ford’s Private Blend collection.

I haven’t found a lot of reviews that talked about or compared these two scents, so I hope this review will give you an idea as to how these scents are compared to each other. To start, the Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi and Sole di Positano Eau de Parfums are pretty much similar fresh scents that will jumble your brain synapses the moment you sniff them. I’ve never smelled such perfect scents in my life. They might be kind of alike, but if you pay close attention enough, then you’ll notice that they do have their differences.

Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi (1.7 oz: $230, 3.4 oz: $312, 8.4 oz: $595) – A slightly more intense version of the Mandarino di Amalfi Acqua which smells like fresh bursts of strong mandarins that are slightly sweet and perhaps a bit floral. It’s one of the freshest and strongest mandarin citrus burst I’ve ever tried and its middle notes pretty much stayed strong and fresh for the first one or two hours. Later on, as the scent approaches its dry down, it becomes slightly acidic or herbal-like, but not so much like its Eau de Toilette counterpart (Mandarino di Amalfi Acqua). The scent pretty much lasted a long time on me, probably for a good 4-6 hours until it requires reapplication.

Tom Ford Sole di Positano (1.7 oz: $230, 3.4 oz: $312, 8.4 oz: $595) – Its top notes don’t start as strong as the Mandarino di Amalfi, instead, its moderate citrus scent is more balanced and more steady. It is also more floral and a bit tarty than the Amalfi, with hints of jasmine as it reaches its middle notes. This scent is very clean and very sparkly. It tends to last up to 4 hours on me, give or take, and its dry down remains fresh as the first spritz. It may be a bit milder than TF Mandarino di Amalfi, but this scent is much more reliable as it doesn’t change its notes much from top to end.

If you ask me which scent I would prefer between the two, I think I may be a bit leaning towards Mandarino di Amalfi. Why? because I like that it’s more intense. But, I also love the Sole di Positano because of its clean and balanced scent that I know I could use anywhere and everywhere, and it also seems to be more versatile. For me, the difference between the two is probably just about 0.5 in points. Ha! In fact, there’s a moment where the two of them start to smell the same as they reach their middle notes unless you really pay close attention to their respective scents.

I will definitely still be using these two scents as we get closer to the colder days. They’re simply hard to get enough of, and unless I’ll find a nicer Fall-Winter fragrance soon, I think I’ll definitely come back to these two Tom Ford scents.

As I wrap up my favorite scents this summer, I definitely think that these two TF fragrances are now at the top of my list as my favorite summer scents of all time, aside from the Hermes Garden Collection (reviewed HERE) and the Atelier Cologne Clementine California (also HERE). Both the Mandarino di Amalfi Eau de Parfum and Sole di Positano are such perfect Summer vacay scents that are incredibly fresh, a tiny bit fruity, a bit floral, and most of all, very clean, well-crafted, and well-balanced. The only caveat is that they’re really pricey. However, the 1.7 oz bottle not only looks luxurious and unique, but it also lasts a long time.

If you’re looking for something to remind you of that perfect Summer stroll along the beach, or that enchanting Mediterranean afternoon vibe, look no further, who knows? you might just love these Tom Ford scents as much as I do.

The Tom Ford Sole di Positano & Mandarino di Amalfi Eau de Parfums are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Net-A-Porter, Barneys NY, Lord & Taylor, Bergdorf Goodman, & Macy’s

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