Reviews and Other Stuff

Tom Ford Cream+Powder Eye Color & Cream Color For Eyes Review+Swatches

January 14, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey Everybody! Happy Sunday to you all! For most of my life, I’ve been using powder eyeshadows. I have a few cream ones but for some reason, I always seem to grab my powder eye palettes quite often. I just don’t know why, but I kinda feel like it’s easier for me to use them because I’m used to grabbing a shadow brush and work the colors around my lids. I have cream eyeshadows sure, but I mostly use them during traveling or whenever I’m time constrained. My favorites are the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick (reviewed HERE), Marc Jacobs Twinkle Pop Stick Eyeshadow (HERE), and Chanel Stylo Fresh Effect Eyeshadow (also HERE). I haven’t really tried those creamy eyeshadows in a pot. But anyways, if you follow my IG, you’d know that I recently took a trip to Asia, somewhere humid and warm. Before leaving, I picked up a few Tom Ford Cream Color For Eyes (0.17 oz: $46) and Cream & Powder Eyeshadows ($62). Why these? First, I wanted to test how well these eyeshadows perform under extreme heat and humidity. Second, I’ve had a few mishaps with a couple of powder eyeshadows before that tend to give me lid irritation whenever exposed to high heat and humidity.

So, for a change, a cream eyeshadow would seem really promising, and if it’s Tom Ford, hmmm, oh well, I really expect more. The TF Cream Color For Eyes are lightweight creamy eyeshadows that are extremely pigmented yet are very easy to blend. Knowing that they are creams, they can be layered very easily. The shades in this line are very beautiful metallics that add drama to your eye makeup game. You may or may not need to use a brush for these eyeshadows. I pretty much use the tip of my pinky finger for application and wipe off any mistakes or smudges with any makeup remover towelettes. A tiny bit truly goes a long way with these, so try not to use so much. What I love about these super creamy eye colors are the fact that they’re not only easy and fast to apply, which saves you a lot of time, they can also create a glamorous dramatic eyeshadow effect. I love love love the way my eye makeup looks. The shimmers are naturally fine but they make my lids look naturally gilded and beautiful. It’s like Andy Grammer’s song “Fresh Eyes”. Oh my, I could do a daytime or nighttime eye makeup look with this and still looks very natural and glam.

Lasting power for these Tom Ford Cream Colors is pretty much 10-12 hours or the whole day. They didn’t crease nor smudge on me, zero fallouts (of course) and they didn’t even settle in my lid’s fine lines. Which is a huge surprise for me because they’re cream eyeshadows, yet they didn’t really move around even when I was sweating like crazy due to intense heat and humidity. What I got are bazillion gallons of compliments from people admiring my eye makeup. Another great thing about these is that you can also use just one eye color instead of two or three and still your lids will look bright, pretty, and naturally shimmery.

Opale – the lightest pearly beige shimmer.

Platinum – a metallic earthy grey-brown.

Sphinx – slightly-peachy gold, such complicated beautiful shade.

Spice – bronze brown

The Tom Ford Cream and Powder Eye Color are two-tiered pot palettes that are slightly larger than the TF Cream Colors. The powder on top and cream in the bottom will give you the best of both worlds for your eye makeup look. The cream ones are the base colors which are more pigmented than the powder ones. They’re also slightly thicker in consistency compared to the Tom Ford Cream Colors reviewed above. They’re also extremely pigmented, long lasting, heat and humidity resistant, plus easy to blend. The powder eyeshadows on top of the creams are very lightweight, no fallouts and the shimmers are very fine, yet still very shimmery and dramatic enough. These eye colors can be layered easily, you can even mix and match these with the Tom Ford Cream Colors without a problem. Very easy to use and they save you a lot of time. Packaging wise is very practical and smart. You can just untwist the creams from the powders which have a small round mirror attached. Also, all shades of this line are very metallic.

Golden Peach – peachy shimmery powder/metallic salmon

Naked Bronze – golden shimmer/metallic bronze

Don’t be fooled by the size of these Tom Ford Cream and Powder eye color pots. They may look small, but a little bit goes a long way, so most likely you won’t be repurchasing these often unless you use it a lot. The only two problems I have with these, are the fact that they’re pricey, and the TF Cream Colors tend to move around the pot because of their creamy texture, especially when you’re traveling to a warm environment. Other than that, I highly recommend these for fast and easy eye makeup application that creates gorgeous and dramatic looks that will last the whole day no matter where you go. I hope TF will release more shades of these soon.

Have you tried these already? which shades do you like?

The Tom Ford Cream Color For Eyes are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Harrods

The Tom Ford Cream and Powder Eye Color are also available at Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods, Net-A-Porter, Bloomingdales

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Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express Book & Movie Review

January 12, 2018 / OTHER STUFF / 0 comments

Raise your hand if you’ve been to the movie theater to watch Agatha Christie’s film adaptation of Murder On The Orient Express. Also, raise your other hand if you’ve actually read her bestselling novel. I know I did and I really quite enjoyed the experience. I must admit that I had never read any Agatha Christie novel before the Murder On The Orient Express. I don’t know why, but I’ve known a gazillion Agatha Christie fans, but I was just not into it.

The story of this Murder On The Orient Express will blow you away. That is, of course, if you haven’t read or seen it yet. But I bet that you all have read the novel and knew the story already. But anyway, here’s my two cents.

The Story (No spoilers, don’t worry)

The Murder On The Orient Express is part of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot Mysteries. As one of her most beloved character, Mr. Poirot is a seasoned detective and he embarked on a prompt return to London boarding on the Orient Express. There he met a rich and shady American, Mr. Ratchett. Mr. Ratchett tried to hire Detective Poirot as his private detective because he believes that his life is in danger. However, Mr. Poirot refused the offer. The next night, Mr. Ratchett was found dead and was believed to be murdered. There goes Mr. Poirot’s specialty-to investigate who killed Mr. Ratchett? which is actually Mr. Cassetti in real life. Upon Mr. Poirot’s deduction, he realized that the killer must still be on the train. But who? Which of the passengers? How about the crews? and Why? Not to mention that the train suddenly got stuck in the middle of nowhere. All that and the spellbinding mysteries to find out who the real killer is.

The Book

The book is thrilling and extremely gripping. You wouldn’t wanna stop reading because every page you turn will lead you to one mystery after another. It’s a fast-paced mysterious atmosphere that will leave you on the edge of your seat. I like the way the book was written. Even though it’s classic, it’s still very timely and the story is unique. It’s unlike any other crime novel mysteries I’ve ever read. I like how each character of the book is well-planned and well-developed. They all seemed very credible and very convincing in their alibis, up to the point that you don’t know who did who. Also, the plot will really set you on an exotic train somewhere in the middle east and the thought of it being stuck with the potential killer roaming around is just scary. Overall, I’ve read the book in 2 days and I was really impressed with its clever writing style, plus the fact that it’s not overly thick yet the story remained concise and riveting.

The Movie

The movie adaptation was released recently and some movie theaters might still be playing them. While there are several alterations to the original story of the book, (even right at the beginning of the movie) still I find the film to be as convincing and moving as in the book. The acting was good and the overall atmosphere was as mysterious and gloomy as in the novel. Mr. Ratchett/Cassetti was played by Johnny Depp, while Mr. Poirot was portrayed by Kenneth Branagh. A few characters were omitted or changed in terms of their ethnicity and names, but still, the storyline is there and the ultimate mystery and revelation are also there. I do feel like some scenes of the movie might be kind of boring for some, but that was part of the thrill, in the sense that Mr. Poirot was trying to find out who the real killer is by studying and observing each passenger on the train. Soon, it will all unravel.

To sum it all up, this has been a very good first-time Agatha Christie novel for me, and her writing style and story flow is superb. I am now a convert and will look forward to reading more of her novels, as well as hopefully seeing more of her book being adapted for movie in the near future.

The Murder On The Orient Express Novel is available at amazon.com

The audiobook is available HERE

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Dior Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm (New Shades)

January 9, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Brace yourselves guys! Dior recently released six new shades of their iconic and ever-famous Lip Glow (0.12 oz for $34). Now, there are more choices of pink tones you can choose from. Two are from their new Holographic/Shimmery finish, another two are Mattes, while the other last two have their usual Glowy/Satiny textures. If you’re a long time fan of these beautiful and hydrating balms like I do, I know you’re gonna be jumping in excitement because the new shades are to-die-for. It was only about a year ago when Dior released the Berry shade and the Lip Sugar Scrub (reviewed HERE) which are both so cute and I still carry them in my purse even to this day. In fact, if you’re gonna ask me what is one of the constant lip products in my bag, you can bet there’s always a Dior Lip Glow in there. As even more fact, I always have one or two with me whenever I’m traveling or when the cold temp starts.

I’ve been kinda taking a break from matte lipsticks lately because the air is just so dry from where I am. I need some real moisturization or else I’m gonna turn into a stone and I might crack. Oh no, LOL. Seriously, my skin’s been really dry lately and I need all the lotions, creams, and balms that I can get. So yeah, my lip’s best friend nowadays are these Dior Lip Glow Color Reviver Balms. They’re so much hydrating and they keep your lips well-moisturized for a long period of time. On top of that, the added tints are really gorgeous. They might be balms, and yes they’re on the sheer side, but the tints are complementing to the skin tone and they give a nice flush or glow to the face. Not to mention the fact that these balms are really lightweight.

Before these new six shades were released, I’ve been in love with Coral and Berry. Especially the Berry shade, because it’s the right muted-rose tint for my skin. But, the six shades below are so heart-stoppingly gorgeous, it’s gonna be hard to decide which one I’ll keep in my purse.

HOLOGRAPHIC/SHIMMERS:

HOLO PINK (Light Pink Holographic) – This looks like the coral shade but with a whole lotta shimmers in it. The pink tint didn’t really show on my pigmented lips, but the holographic effect is there. I would say that this is great if you have a very fair to light skin tone, which is basically lighter than mine so that the pinky tint would show. For me, this is the perfect plain shimmery balm on my lips.

HOLO PURPLE (Light Purple Holographic) – My heart skipped bazillion beats when I first swatched this on my lips. Oh my, that perfect Unicorn shade! who wouldn’t want to be a Unicorn? even if it’s not really the ideal shade for the lips, or even for most makeups. But hey, we all love Unicorns shades, don’t we? This shade is really pretty, the light purple tint showed on my lips, and it’s not over-the-top. It’s also packed in shimmers and sugar and spice and everything nice. This color makes me happy and I bet it will for you too. On the other hand, this shade reminds me of Rihanna’s Fenty Match Stix Shimmer in Confetti (not so much the Unicorn shade) and the Starlit Hyper-Glitz in $upanova.

MATTE:

MATTE RASPBERRY (Magenta) – I wouldn’t call this a true magenta shade, but more like true bubblegum raspberry pink in a soft matte texture. The moment I saw this shade I thought of the many ways I could create the perfect ombre lips with this. It’s even great for layering under a liquid matte lipstick. This shade looks fresh and it gives a really nice pop of color on the face. Like a true winterized lip flush. Being matte, this is not really drying and it doesn’t really settle into the lip’s fine lines, instead, this feels cushiony and comfortable and it has a really nice long-wearing pigment to it.

MATTE PINK – A matte version of the original Pink Glow. This is probably my least favorite of all the new Lip Glow shade released this year because I find the color to be too sheer, and it doesn’t have a lot of pigment to it. It also takes a while for the shade to adapt to my skin tone, but once it does, it gives me a nice faint shade of pink on my light-medium skin. It’s also a bit more drying compared to the Matte Raspberry above. But it’s also quite cushiony to the feel. So I think this would look really great if you have a fair to light complexion.

GLOW/SATIN:

RASPBERRY (Magenta) – This the satiny/glossy version of the matte shade above. This has the same original texture/finish as the Berry, Coral Glow, Lilac and Pink Glow, etc., which are all very comforting and very hydrating at the same time. The pigment of this is not as saturated as the Matte one but they both have the same pink raspberry tint.

ULTRA-PINK – A juicilicious pink that’s a shade deeper than the original Pink Glow shade and a shade lighter than the Raspberry shade. In other words, something in between Pink and Raspberry. It’s not neon-ish, but it has a nice midtone of pink that is simply stunning, cute, and irresistible. I like this shade of pink because it doesn’t make you look washed out, and it’s also not over the top, and the dewy glow texture makes it even look more gorgeous.

Honestly, I like the Satin and Matte shades both. The matte is ideal if you’re a die-hard wearer of matte lipsticks all year round, or if you can’t wear true mattes in winter and want a hydrating matte-effect balm instead. For me, a lip balm with a matte finish is perfect and I’ve been looking for one, thank goodness I found the Dior Matte Raspberry this winter, it would be so helpful for my dry chapped unrevived lips. LOL. As for the satin one, it’s a no-brainer pretty and super-hydrating balm and I recommend it for everybody. On the other hand, the Holos or the Shimmery finishes are magical and simply mesmerizing. You gotta dry at least one or two of them.

The Dior Addict Lip Glow is currently available in Sephora, Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Harrods, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue & Selfridges

Happy Winter Y’all

XX.

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