Reviews and Other Stuff

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation Review + Swatches

June 5, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Why hello there, today let’s feature another favorite foundation of mine and probably yours as well. The award-winning Luminous Silk Foundation by Giorgio Armani Beauty (1.0z: $64, 0.6: oz $42). This isn’t a matte finish foundation but it’s on the dewy luminous side as what its name suggests. It’s very fluid with a light to medium coverage that could be easily layered and blended. This feels lightweight and the effect is seamless, flawless and very natural.

There are tons of colors to choose from to suit your complexion. I settled on the shades #3.5 (light to medium with warm undertone) and #5 (light to medium with neutral undertone). Both are slightly similar shades but the #3.5 is slightly more towards the yellow side. Once blended, it gives a slight warmth on my skin tone, especially during the summer. The #5 shade is my perfect all-around everyday shade. Anything above #5 like #5.5 will make the kids in my neighborhood to start running away, lol.

I love how my skin looks perfectly smooth with this Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. It’s like my pores went incognito and I have filters on my face. Haha! It is definitely one of the best out there with similarities like Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer (reviewed HERE), Laura Mercier Candleglow Soft Luminous Foundation (HERE), and Chanel Vitalumière Aqua (reviewed HERE). But the scent of the Luminous Silk Foundation is way better than the other three foundations mentioned above. It has a much pleasing light powdery/perfumey scent that is not typically what you’d smell in most facial foundations.

If I’m not mistaken there are about 24 shades in this particular foundation, ranging from fair to light, light-medium, medium tan, to deep and very deep complexions. Not to mention the different undertones that came with each skin tones. It can be overwhelming to choose the right shade for you since there’s a lot to choose from with this line of foundation, so I suggest testing it in your local Sephora or trying a sample at your favorite store that carries Giorgio Armani Beauty products.

This foundation can be pricey as well, but you can always purchase the smaller size at 0.6 oz for $42 and it’s even more ideal for traveling since it could fit in any small makeup bag. It also lasts a long time because you don’t really need to apply a lot. This foundation is also oil-free so this is good news to all my oily sisters out there. It even makes you look naturally young with facial features that look well-defined.

Apart from its price and overwhelming shades to choose from, I highly recommend this foundation a lot, especially if you’re a fan of dewy or luminous finish foundations with oily-prone skin. It gives a natural and lasting luminosity on the face that feels like you’re not wearing any foundation at all.

The Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation is available at Sephora, Barneys NY, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Selfridges, Violet Gray, Nordstrom and Giorgio Armani Beauty.

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BECCA X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette Review

June 1, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey, Everybody, I’ve been anticipating to review this beautiful, I mean really beautiful face palette. This is one of the hottest beauty items to have right now and I’m pretty sure we’re all curious about it. So, here it is, the Becca X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette ($46) review and swatches.

Upon receiving Sephora’s email promotion about it, I was like “Oh my, this palette is gorgeous”. A few days later, upon receiving the palette by mail (since my local Sephora didn’t carry it yet at that time) I saw that it was indeed a sight to behold. Such a pretty and luxurious looking palette. It seems like Becca’s really good at making tempting compacts and palettes that you cannot resist, and with their collaboration with Chrissy Teigen, this palette couldn’t be more perfect.

There are four shades in this palette, two are highlighters, one is a bronzer and the other one is a blush. I’d say it’s a smart choice to put two highlighters in there because one can never have too many highlighters, especially for those strobing fanatics. Speaking of the two highlighters, they’re kinda similar in tone, but one is slightly darker and rosier, while the other one is lighter and peachy. The bronzer can be doubled for contouring, while the blush is more of a peachy pink.

Rose Gold (Pressed Highlighter) – Just like its name, it’s a golden rosy shimmer that looks very natural especially on light to medium complexion. It could look very similar to the Beach Nectar highlighter in the shade, but once the light hits, you’ll realize that it’s more natural and more subtle in effect.

Beach Nectar (Pressed Highlighter) – A golden peachy shade that’s a tad lighter than Rose Gold. A great highlighter for almost all skin tones because this will really stand out no matter what the lighting is during the day. I prefer this highlighter more than the one above.

Malibu Soleil (Bronzer) – Kind of a medium matte brown that is blendable and gives a natural finish. It sorta reminds me of Benefit’s Hoola, but slightly less pigmented, perhaps. This is such a good versatile bronzer/contouring shade.

Hibiscus Bloom (Luminous Blush) – Pretty coral pink blush with a bit of shimmer. I love that it’s not too pink and it gives the healthy flush on the cheeks. It also complements well with the two highlighters.

This Becca X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette is indeed a great palette to have and is a must have. It has everything you’d want in a highlighting/contouring palette and the shades complement each other, not to mention their natural effect on the face. They may be all on the peachy side or that the effect is slightly more peachy, but I think that’s the purpose. It’s meant to make you look healthy and glowy ala California skin. The shades are also blendable and can be layered as well. I know some fair-skinned peeps have complained that the palette looks too dark or too pigmented on them, so it may help to be very light-handed when applying the colors.

I also noticed a few fallouts especially on the Beach Nectar highlighter, but it’s not so bad, at least not for me. Couldn’t really say any more negative things about this palette. I’m glad that I bought it and I think you might wanna have it too. It makes me feel like Queen Cleopatra that just got out of Sephora all gilded and well-chiseled, blinding everyone’s eyesight, until someone says “you look oily” and that’s when I start to become The Hulk. LMFAO.

The Becca X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette is available in Sephora, QVC, Lord & Taylor & Ulta.

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Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon Review

May 31, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey all! Another lip product of the moment here. A couple of months ago, a sample of their Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon was included in one of my beauty purchases. It was in the shade Glacé. Somehow, for some reason, I misplaced it but when it magically popped up on my vanity table, I knew I had to give it its much-needed attention. To my surprise, I was blown away by the quality of the said the said lip product. First of all, I really love its texture. It gives a soft matte finish, non-drying and it feels really light on the lips. It’s very much like a lipstick, but velvety. It has a perfect complementing matte effect that doesn’t really settle into the lips’ fine lines, unlike most matte liquid lipsticks. Second, because of its “pen type” applicator, the application is smooth, easy and accurate. Thirdly, it has the most amazing scent of a lip product I’ve ever tried. The hint of orange is really interesting on this particular lip product.

One thing that struck me the most about the Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon (0.05 oz, $24) is how beautiful the Glacé shade is. It’s a gorgeous dusty mauve that really complemented my lips’ natural tones. It looks like something I could wear every day and it looks my kind of shade. Because of that, I couldn’t help but take note to drop by at the Bite Beauty aisle for more shades of the Matte Crème Lip Crayons for my next Sephora visit.

When I finally had a chance to check out the other colors of the Matte Crème Lip Crayons, I realize that they’re almost all good. Lots of very pretty everyday shades, lots of muted colors, and wearable pinks and browns. It was so tempting to buy them all. But I couldn’t get crazy, so, I decided on two starters, the Pastille shade and the Amaretto.

Pastille – Dusty Mauve. A shade that’s very similar to Glacé but more on the mauve-purple/pink side. The shade is very pretty and will complement any skin tone. It’s muted for daily wear I’d say that this is the next best thing especially for those who wanted a bit more color from Glacé.
Amaretto – Peachy Nude. I’m normally not crazy for nudes, but this particular nude is a yes for me. It’s peachy warm and it’ll look great on anybody with a light to medium skin tone. It’s even great a perfect neutral nude for darker tones. This particular nude hue is very versatile for sure.

Glacé – I’m really gogo gaga about this shade. I still have my original sample size that I’ve been using constantly lately, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be purchasing it in its regular size soon. This is a beautiful shade of dusty mauve rose that I tend to prefer in most of my lipstick shade. It also kinda reminds me of YSL #66 Bois de Rose which is my signature lip shade.

About the packaging, it seems like every Bite Beauty products feel really comforting to the touch. I love their velvety textured containers and tubes, so the Matte Crème Lip Crayons are no different at all. Also, its packaging allows for no-mess application and there’s definitely no need to sharpen the product at all.

Verdict, these are definitely one of the best lip product finds for me lately since it has everything I’d want in a lippy; the ease of application, great pigments, lightweight comfortable textures, non-drying matte finish, and colors to last for 4-6 hours with delicious non-boring scent. What more could you ask for?

The Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon is available only in Sephora.com

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