Organic Skin Care Blog – Product Reviews & Healthy Skin

Givenchy's Rouge Liquide has just hit Singapore, and this is clearly a pretty big launch here, and is very on-trend with the popularity of liquid lipsticks. All 14 shades are being launched here (yes!!), and the selling point of the lipsticks is that the packing is pretty unique - it looks like an ordinary lipstick when you open it, but what you are seeing is just the flocked applicator. To apply the lipstick, you twist the base, and the liquid lipstick will move up through the hole in the applicator.


Cool, right? Above is the lipsticks when the case has been opened (you can see the flocked applicator and the hole through which the liquid lipstick is pushed up). The applicators all have the same shade of red, so you can't tell what shade the Rouge Liquide is without looking at the base to see the shade name. Just a note of caution though - the applicators can be a bit tricky to use initially. As with most "twist up to push the product out" products, you do run the risk of the twist mechanism going "click-click-click-click - no product - click-click-click-click - no product - click-click-click-click - a whole globule of product emerges that's way too much for one application". So, twist and wait the first time you're using it! You only need a little bit to cover the lips, because the product is pretty dense and pigmented. This isn't an issue after the first time you use the Rouge Liquide however.

Alright, enough gushing about the packaging, let's get to the meat of the post - swatches!
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We did skincare in the last empties post, so today we're doing makeup - and sunscreen! Usually it takes me longer to use up makeup than skincare (probably because there are more makeup products than skincare products under rotation at any one point in time, and I vary my makeup routine more than my skincare routine). So this is sort of an achievement!


Alright, let's start!
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Chantecaille's Summer 2018 makeup collection has launched, and here are swatches of the entire collection! And close up product photos! I know these aren't exactly the earliest swatches, but I thought better late than never.

The collection is inspired by vacation and beaches, and has an appropriately themed colour selection with limited edition packaging (for the bronzers and eyeshadows). The rest of the collection (Lip Sleeks, Mermaid Eye Matte cream eyeshadows, Les Perles Metallic Eye Liner) are all permanent.


Let's take a closer look at the collection.
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The Marc Jacobs Shameless Youthful-Look 24H Foundation SPF 25 has just hit our shores, and it comes in a whopping 29 (!!!) shades! Obviously, I absolutely just had to swatch it - you guys know that I do love swatching things, so I just couldn't resist!

The Marc Jacobs Shameless Foundation claims to be oil-free, and offers medium coverage, alongside a natural finish. I have to say though, when I swatched it, I felt like it did perform better coverage-wise than your average medium-coverage foundation. The Shameless Foundation shade range also boasts a pretty easy-to-navigate shade naming system. Basically, pink-toned shades start with R, and yellow-toned shades start with Y. And the higher the number, the darker shade. So for example, R440 would be a fairly deep shade with red undertones, but Y130 would be a light shade with yellow undertones.


Alright, so without further ado, here are the swatches! I have to say, I am also so proud of myself for taking such photos in a club (yes, literally in a disco-loud-music-dancing-strobe lights-type club), and I think patience and searching out for good lighting helped!
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And this is the official last empties post from 2017! After the previous empties post part 1, which focused on cleansers, we're going to look at all the other various leave-on products! There's quite a lot to go through here, including masks, lotions, moisturizers, sunscreens, and more!


Truth be told, I'm always surprised by how much skincare I use up whenever I do one of these empties posts, especially because I don't think of myself as the kind of person who religiously masks her face every week or even slaps on serum every night! Believe it or not, when I'm really tired after a long day of work, I go to bed with no skincare on! The very horror! But sometimes you just gotta sleep, you know? In any case, I attribute my ability to use up my skincare to my large face, haha. I guess a larger surface area does use up more product!


There's a lot of empties here to round off 2017 - I'm surprised I used up all this!
So, let's get started, and finally wrap up 2017 in beauty on this blog!
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Recently, I've been seeing lots of "anti-haul" posts on Youtube and elsewhere. Basically, in a nutshell, an "anti-haul" is just a list of things you didn't/aren't planning to buy - as opposed to a "haul" which is list of things you bought. From the posts I've seen, it seems to have been partly borne out of a bit of a backlash against Youtubers and "influencers" shilling all sorts of dubious makeup trends and products, so this trend helps people to articulate how they are saving money by highlighting what they are not buying, and what trends they're not buying into.

I'm all for it. I mean, as a beauty junkie and beauty blogger of 7+ years, of course I've hauled many a haul (and have the haul posts to prove it too! But I do agree with the general anti-haul sentiment that not every trend is worth getting into, and not every makeup product is for everyone - after all, not every "must-have" palette is suitable for every type of skintone, undertone, and colour preferences. And while I'm not about to stop hauling (oh no, not at all!), I do agree that I do enjoy my makeup stash best when my makeup purchases are thoughtful and curated, and when I don't just jump on every hype bandwagon. And, I get to save money! So for me, anti-hauling isn't at all "OMG DON'T EVER WEAR MAKEUP!!!111!!!11!", but more of "hey, not every makeup product/colour/trend is going to work for you, and you'll enjoy makeup more if you buy what you're happy wearing, and what looks good on you".


So, with that said, let's get into one of the recent makeup trends that just haven't been doing it for me - warm, orange eyeshadow! There have been a ton of warm and/or orange-y eyeshadow palettes released this season, and the orange eyeshadow was pretty much the "it" item of the summer, and still going strong. But for me, since I have an olive, neutral-cool undertone, the orange eyeshadow trend really just became the "swollen eye" trend. I do love some of these brands (and do indeed have other products from some of these brands here), but here are some of the recently-popular orange/warm/rust-toned eyeshadow palettes that just didn't do it for me.Continue Reading . . .

Benefit They're Real Double The Lip and They're Real Duo Eyeshadow Blender are the latest products from the brand, and have been out in the market for about a month now. And, I have swatches of both the Double The Lip Lipsticks and Duo Shadow Blenders!

As you can guess from the name, the Double The Lip Lipsticks are a two-in-one product - there is a complementary darker and lighter shade in the same tube, with the darker shade serving as an in-built lipliner, and the lighter shade serving as the filled-in lipstick colour. The They're Real Duo Shadow Blenders also operate on a similar principle - there are two shades, one light and one dark, in a tray, and you use a sponge applicator to swipe and apply both shades at once.


Anyway, if you're wondering how all this works, and what the shades look like, well, here are swatches of both, along with my quick thoughts!
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Marc Jacobs' Highliner Matte Gel Eye Crayon is the brand's new eyeliner product, and an extension of the existing Highliner eyeliner range. As the name suggests, the main difference is that the new Highliner Matte Crayons are, well, matte, as opposed to the original Highliner eyeliners which had a bit more of a sheen. And as with the original Highliner eyeliners, these are also advertised as being akin to having a pot gel eyeliner, but in pencil form. They're also advertised as having "15 seconds of play time" before they set, so you can smudge out, soften, or otherwise adjust your eyeliner before it sets.


I've never tried the original Highliners before, but they seemed to have really good reviews, so I was hoping the new Matte Highliners would be equally great. And I'm glad to say that after testing out all 12 shades - yes there are 12 shades of Matte Highliner - I think these are actually of really good quality! And as always, this review will look at what makes this product so great - the formula, the colour payoff, as well as the weartime are some of the critical factors here.


Marc Jacobs Highliner Matte Gel Eye Crayon: An addition to the existing non-matte Highliner eyeliner range
So, without further ado, let's begin the review. Of course I've got a lot of swatches and photos for you, but let's start off with something a little bit more mundane - the ingredients list!
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RMK's Spring/Summer 2017 Color Change makeup collection is officially launched, and I come bearing swatches! This makeup collection also coincides with RMK's 20th anniversary, and RMK's Creative Director, Kaori, selected the two shades of pink and beige to head up the Color Change collection, as they are integral to any make up look. The number of products in this collection is also pretty large - there are 6 eyeshadow duos, 6 lipgloss duos, 7 lipstick shades, and 7 blush shades, and 6 nail polish shades. So you can imagine my arm after all that swatching!


RMK isn't kidding when they say the collection is made up of pinks and beiges - literally every product here is in pink and/or beige, and basically pinks and beiges make up like 95% of the collection. RMK also has a nice quality of makeup, with generally soft textures, and buildable pigmentation, allowing the products to be applied sheerly or packed on for more colour, and this collection does fall quite nicely in line with the quality in the standard RMK products.
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Maybelline's Super BB Cushion Fresh Matte SPF25 has just launched this year - making it one of the earliest 2017 launches in the drugstore! I thought there was no better way to start off the year than looking at a new and shiny product, and the Fresh Matte BB Cushion caught my eye - after all, you can never have too many BB cushions, right?


The Maybelline Fresh Matte BB Cushion is a matte cushion, and it claims to be a lightweight foundation with a "natural matte finish that keeps excess sebum under control & is up to 12H long lasting!" All of these properties are super useful in our hot, tropical weather, and for people with oily skins. It's also the matte counterpart to Maybelline's Super BB Cushion that was launched in May 2016 - so if you liked that cushion but wanted a matte version, it has now arrived.


Maybelline Super BB Cushion Fresh Matte SPF25: A matte counterpart to the dewier Super BB Cushion
So, let's check out the mattifying properties of the Maybelline Super BB Cushion Fresh Matte - starting with the ingredients list!
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L'Oreal Tint Caresse was launched a few months ago, and basically, it's a pretty nifty powder lip tint. Yes, powder, with a sponge applicator! L'Oreal advertises this as the "1st lip gradation cushion tint for lips that blossom with delicate colour", and the idea is that the sponge and powder combination is supposed to make it easier for you to get that on-trend ombre lips look.


The Tint Caresse seems to be developed out of Japan, or at least, the packaging and wrapping all has Japanese text. Sometimes L'Oreal does develop Asia-exclusive products, so perhaps this could be one of those - indeed, the idea of gradient lips is pretty much a Kbeauty/J-beauty sort of concept. I'm always pretty happy with such products though, as it often results in some pretty innovative and unique products. The shade I'm reviewing today is Orchid Blossom, which is one of several shades.


L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom: The Tint Caresse seem to be an Asia-only product
This is the first time I've seen a powder lip product before, so I have to admit, I had all sorts of curious questions about it. How did L'Oreal formulate a powder lip product? What does it feel like on lips? What does it look like? Well, let's find out, by starting at the ingredients list!
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In addition to the skincare empties that I blogged about, I've also actually emptied some makeup! I'm particularly happy about my makeup empties, because it typically takes me longer to use up a makeup item than a skincare item. Anyway,


This time round I've got some staples - like my Coastal Scents loose powders - as well as some new appearances! Most of these are products I love and would totally use again, and as we go through each of these items, I'll explain why.


Makeup empties: Lipstick, liptint, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and powder!
Without further ado, let's get started!
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Pixi Beauty's Multibalms have been out for a couple of months now, and I've finally gotten around to reviewing them! The Multibalms are basically a stick of cream colour that dries down to a powder, and can be used both on lips and cheeks, for a "quick touch of colour to the face". The Multibalms also claim to be "infused with aloe vera, shea butter, and rose hip oil" as an extra perk, too.


As you know, Pixi has been known for some of their great beauty products for awhile now, and the brand has gained a reputation for its affordable, but still high quality, products. In particular the Pixi Glow Tonic has been extremely popular, growing from its cult beauty status to even receiving praise from mainstream beauty press. So, I was pretty excited about the Multibalms, hoping that they would also be just as worthy of praise.


Pixi Multibalm: With 5 shades covering all the basic colour families
Of course we're going to have swatches of the Multibalms, too. But first, let's look at my favourite part of the product to analyze, the ingredients list!
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Estee Lauder's Pure Color Envy Hi-Lustre Light Sculpting Lipstick has launched in Singapore, and if you're a lipstick junkie, you're probably aware of this already. The lipsticks are supposed to offer "lustrous colour" with "brilliant shine" according to the Estee Lauder website, so finally we have a product that's bucking the matte lips trend that I've been seeing on Instagram. I can't say that I have strong feelings one way or the other, though - as far as lip products go, I'm happy with anything that doesn't have huge chunks of glitter!


Estee Lauder's Pure Color Envy Hi-Lustre Lipsticks do have a pretty neat colour range, and in Singapore we'll be getting over 10 shades. I've swatched all 11 of them (yes I know that only 10 shades are lined up below, I found an extra shade to swatch after taking that photo), and I have to say, these are a range of very nice, wearable shades. We have a number of nudes and MLBB (My Lips But Better) shades, as well as some wearable reds and plums. The finish is nice as well, with a texture that isn't too heavy or thick, and feels moisturizing on lips, and a moist, subtle sheen that is pretty sophisticated - there isn't any overtly "oily"-looking shine or chunky-looking glitter.


So without further ado, let's start swatching!
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Palladio is a US-based beauty brand, that's probably better known for its cosmetics that include vitamin and herb-based ingredients. The brand is somewhat niche within the US due to its limited distribution (when I was there, I only recall seeing it at some Sally Beauty stores), but nevertheless, it still has a good customer base with strong reviews, and some of its better-known products are the Velvet Matte Lip Creams (as well as other lip products), Rice Powder and foundations. Palladio is now coming to Singapore, and fortunately is much easier to get here than the US, with some Guardian stores carrying the brand. So, I figured now is a perfect time to do a review on some of their products!


Since Palladio's Velvet Matte Lip Cream Color is one of the brand's more popular products, having received lots of rave reviews, I figured that these were probably a great place to start! I have three shades, Sateen, Brocade, and Boucle, that I'm reviewing today, and these are probably my favourite shades from the entire range.


Palladio Velvet Matte Lip Cream Color: Since the brand is new to Singapore, I figured I should try these first!
So, let's get on to the review! Unfortunately for some reason I wasn't able to find the ingredients list for the product - the ingredients list wasn't printed on the individual tubes, nor could I find it online. But, I do have lots of swatches for you!
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The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation was launched earlier this year, and The Body Shop claims that this foundation "mimics the look of fresh-faced natural skin with a nude glow" to "make every day a good skin day". It also claims provide "up to 24h moisturization", and doesn't that sound great?


I was half-expecting this to be a lightweight, watery foundation from the description, but it turned out to actually be more of a creamy foundation instead. And I'll admit that I've basically been procrastinating on this review because there were so many foundation/BB cushion/base product launches in the start of the year, that I just never quite got around to blogging about it! But now that it's already past the first half of the year, I figure I should get a move on this review, finally. So here you are!


The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation: Launched at the start of the year, this foundation claims to hydrate skin for 24 hours
So without further ado, let's start the review! And as with all reviews, let's begin at my favourite place - the ingredients list!
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Shu Uemura has launched over 40 new eyeshadow shades, and I've finally swatched all these new shades at last! If you've seen my a previous Shu uemura eyeshadow swatch post,, then you've seen part 1 of the swatches, and today we'll be finishing up with part 2! In part 1, we swatched mostly colours, so now we're moving onto the neutral shades. So, if you liked browns, beiges, and greys, the swatches for those shades are all here!


For those who aren't familiar with the shade names, the shade finishes are denoted by their names - M stands for Matte, ME for Metallic, IR for Iridescent, P for Pearl, and S for Satin. Generally ME shades have the most shimmery finish, followed by P shades and IR shades, followed by S shades (which are pretty close to matte, in my opinion), and lastly, with no shimmer at all, the M shades.


Anyway without further ado, let's move on to the swatches!
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Albion's Elegance Face Powder A Poudre Haute Naunce launched a couple of months back, and I was pretty excited about this, because it's just so pretty, and also because this is officially my first Albion makeup product! Albion is a luxe Japanese brand, better known for its skincare, in particular its lotions, but it also has a line of makeup products.


The Albion Elegance Face Powder is basically a pressed face powder with different coloured sections, much like the Guerlain Pressed Meteorites. The Elegance Powder claims to help brigthen the skin, cover pores, and also last on the skin. are three shades of Elegance Powders here: No. 1 (Elegance), No. 4 (Clear), No. 5 (Gorgeous), and No. 6 (Airy). The shade I have is No. 1. All the powders are pretty sheer, however, quite sheer (as we shall see in my swatches), so for the most part, there isn't too much of a great difference between shades to the untrained eye.


Albion Elegance Face Powder: Several different shades of powder combine to form one shade of finishing powder
So without further ado, I'll be reviewing my Albion Elegance Face Powder in shade No. 1, and of course, with most reviews I'll start with the ingredients list!
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Shu Uemura is launching 41 new eyeshadow shades as part of their "Colour Atelier" campaign in July. Yes, you heard it right, 41! This will give a total of almost 100 shades of eyeshadow for you to choose from, depending on your location - I believe Singapore gets 41 out of 43 new shades, to give a total of just under 100, but other countries may get the full 100 shades. Of course, Shu Uemura's eyeshadows are something of a makeup cult product, so this is pretty exciting news. Even back when I first got into beauty, they were already touted as one of the brands of eyeshadow that were a must-try for their great pigmentation, multiple finishes, and smooth textures. So, with that in mind, I knew I absolutely had to swatch the new shades being launched!


So, being the obsessive swatcher I am, I basically spent two hours swatching all the 41 shades that were launching here in Singapore, both for myself, as well as for you guys! (You might have seen some of this on my snapchat - I'm musicalhouses there too.) I'm told the eyeshadows are reformulated as well, although to be honest during the swatching session, I couldn't really tell that much of a difference. Which is just as well, because the old textures were already great as they were.


I'm swatching the first 3 rows of the shades laid out above, and the last 3 rows will be in part 2. So, if you're into bright shades, these are all swatched in this post! I swatched these in indoor lighting, and I've done my best to get them as colour-accurate as can be, and I do think the swatches turned out decently! Anyway, without further ado, let's get down to swatching!
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Givenchy's Rouge Interdit Vinyl Colour Enhancing Lipstick was just recently launched in Singapore, and of course, I had to get swatches of as many of the shades as I could for you! The Rouge Interdit Vinyl is supposed to be a lipstick with high shine, medium colour, and also moisturizing to the lips, with black rose oil. There are 16 shades in all, from nudes to reds to brights to vampy shades, so there is something for everyone here.


Anyway, I have to say, I'm super proud of myself for producing these swatches in less-than-optimal lighting. You see the photo above? Yup, that's basically the lighting conditions I had. But, I think the swatches did turn out pretty nicely given the lighting conditions, and I managed to get most of the shades, so without further ado, let's start on the swatches, together with my commentary on them!
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