Two of My Illamasqua Powder Blushers

You know how much i love my Illamasqua powder blush in Lover, and you might have read my review for Illamasqua powder blusher in Tremble. So today i'd post a short comparison review about them ^^~

 

Talking about packaging, i have to admit that Illamasqua is playing around the same design for most of their product.

It's really good to help customers identify their product, but could it be better quality?

I love my blushers and i want to carry them anywhere without worry.

up : tremble, below : lover

If you have many blushes, the clear lid help you to find which one is which.

tremble and lover, heavy swatch

Tremble and Lover, well blended

From Web description, it's clear they're so different.

Lover is soft apricot while Tremble is soft lilac pink

Tremble is much more dupe-able (i cant give you any dupe suggestion though) but if you're craving for Illamasqua's powder blushers quality, go get it.

Lover brighten my complexion in much better way i never think an orange blush will.

Both of them are easy to blend, soft, buildable and best of all : last long.

Illamasqua succesfully set a new standard for my blushers ^^~
Oh how i wish Illamasqua will enter in Indonesian market!

have a nice day~

A Short Comparison Post : Real Technique & Ecotools Retractable Kabuki Brush

*both products are purchased by me*

After a post about Real Techniques Retractable Kabuki Brush, i will continue with a short comparison with the one from Ecotools. Both share a same name : retractable kabuki brush.

 

There's the size comparison both brushes and my own hand.

Both are handy but RT is slightly heavier than Ecotools. It's understand-able since RT's is longer than Ecotools.

Ecotools using Aluminium cap, while RT using clear plastic cap.

 

 Left : RT brush is 12 cm length

Right : Ecotools is 9.5cm length

both hairs are approximately 3.5cm length

Both handle are made from Aluminium. They also work in the exact same way.

As you could see, RT use 2 colored hair (mostly associated with stippling brush or Sigma's F series) but as far as i know (and correct me if i'm wrong), both black & white colored hair are synthetic.

Ecotools also use synthetic hair and it's slightly more dense than RT's.

I already owned Ecotools Retractable Kabuki Brush and find it's very handy. The one from Real Technique does a lovely job too.

Ecotools with it's usual dense & dome shaped hair works better for pressed & loose powder and powder foundation.

RT with angled brush could also work for blush & bronzer.

In my opinion, they're not a rival but a companion ^_____^

Now i carry both of them in my travel bag.. Maybe i should get a new, bronzey retractable kabuki brush from Ecotools hehehe..

ps. my ecotools retractable kabuki brush is the old version, so it's come in silver handle.

pps. i know my pictures in this post has different lightning, but it's un-important since it's only for tools not a swatch post :)

Thanks for reading :)

 

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer "Nude" Comparison Swatch

Laura Mercier has been known for their Tinted Moisturizer. Well i have 3 of them, 2 in sample size (creme compact and regular tinted moisturizer with SPF 20) and 1 is from a set so it's in 1 oz size (Oil free tinted moisturizer). All of them in the shade "Nude", so i think i need to write this for my blog.

After trying some bb cream from 2012 and 2013, i think none of them really works for me. Well, some are works, but they're always causing some breakout on me. Tinted moisturizer, in this case Laura Mercier's, are low on that aspect. And none of them oxydize on me, so it's a plus.

 

There they are!

 

Oil free TM, 1 oz size.

Regular TM, 0.15 oz (sample size).

Both has SPF 20.

 

The font logo has been fading, but it's Laura Merciers.

Mine is in 0.09 oz or 2.6g.

It's come with mini sponge too, but i haven't use it.

 

 

My "nude" tinted moisturizer family.

Here, i will not only focus to swatch comparison, i would also add few other differenciation.

 

Looks gross, i know.

Judging by the color directly from the packaging, they're in the same family but not really the same.

For skin-swatch here from left to right : oil free tinted moisturizer, regular tinted moisturizer and creme compact tinted moisturizer.

 

First pict : Heavy Swatch

 

Second pict : Lightly blended

 

Third pict : Completely Blended

Nude is described as light beige for fair to light skintones.

Oil Free TM is the have the most yellow undertone. While the Regular one has the less yellow undertone.

Regular TM giving the most glowy finish and sheerer coverage. I always blot my face before applying powder with this. If you love glowy finish, take this one.

Creme Compact TM giving the best coverage. I can also do concealing with it.

The one with most yellow undertone, Oil Free TM, match my skintone best when fresh applied, but after several hours (and my face being oily) it made me look somehow muddy. Sometimes it's break me out too.

Talking about oil free, maybe it is but it doesn't have the best oil control at all. I still need to blot my face several times a day.

I rarely use Regular TM since it's so glowy and sheer. The oil control is nice, but a tad worse than her oil free sister.

I prefer to use it at night when i need more glow.

Creme Compact TM is my favorites. I love the coverage, oil control, no break out issue and how it could double as concealer. Even no brush needed here, your fingers would do the job.

Sadly, it's really expensive for a tinted moisturizer. Correct, it's expensive even for a foundation. On sephora, it's $45 for 0.26 oz ($52/oz). Sooo, no. I wouldn't repurchase it

My conclusion here is.. No matter how much i adore Laura Mercier's TM for qualities i've told you ealier, i wouldn't repurchase.

But i'm here to present you the comparison swatch, so i have to remind you that my opinion is subjective :)

If you love your Laura Mercier's and is okay to deal with the price, then take them.

If you love your regular or oil free one, you might want to try the creme compact.

if you're not on both side, just read it for additional information from me ^___^

see you,

Benefit Box O'Powder Swatchfest!

Benefit with their box o'powder oftenly getting success touching my weakness spot. As you can see through the picture above, i have seven (7!!) shades of them. Crazy, there's so many blushes outta there but i have seven shade from a brand only *gluk!*

There's only Dandelion, Hervana and Bella Bamba in their full size box. Another four are in mini size. See? you dont have to get all of them in full size product. As far as i know, there's mini size benefit blush in dandelion, bella bamba, coralista and hoola that oftenly come in mini set. You can get mini dallas in powderazzi palette (discontinued now), and mini sugarbomb in sugarlicious kit. The only one that's only available in full size product is Hervana.

This post will only contains of mini review of every shade. I've reviewed 6 of them (minus bella bamba) previously. Link of each post will provided in the end of post.

Talking about the packaging.. Aren't they're beautiful?

I know, i oftenly stated about how not travel friendly they're. But i almost keeping a place for at least one of them, simply because they're so pretty.

Too bad they have low staying power. They stay about 3-4 hours in good day (could be longer under Guerlain Meteorites) and only about 2 hours in hot day.

And here they're .. The Swatches.

The whole gang : dallas, coralista, dandelion, bella bamba, hervana, sugarbomb and hoola.

My favorites shades are : coralista (the flattering daily shade), dandelion (as finishing powder), hervana (pretty shade!) and bella bamba (don't judge it by it's pan!).

Dallas is a lovely shade but most of the times, it turns muddy on me.

Hoola is pretty, but sometimes it turns orange on me. It's a good match for coralista, though.

Sugarbomb is pretty, it's fool proof and a good choice for my no-blush days.

Dallas is a beautiful muddy-plum shade. It's so boring in pan, but turns pretty on my cheek in the first 30 minutes. In a good days, it will stay good, nothing too muddy. But in bad days, it seems like i'm wearing a bad contouring shade. 

Coralista is a soft, pinky coral with subtle sheen. I'm in love with it and use it everyday in a hotter days.

Dandelion is a soft baby pink with micro golden shimmer. It could be a lovely finishing powder if applied with synthetic brush, or a soft baby pink blush if applied with natural haired brush.

Bella Bamba is a 3D watermelon shade. I'm not sure what 3D means here, but it does doing the job to brighten my face in tired days. It's the most pigmented one in the bunch, so it need more attention to apply.

Hervana is the most popular one. It's warm pink with peach undertone while blended together. This one is pretty for day and night use. I highly suggest you to use natural haired brush with this baby.

Sugarbomb is a warm peach blush. It's more to be sugary cheeks for me. In my opinion, it's the least pigmented of the bunch.

Hoola is matte medium cocoa brown that can turn orange when oxydized, so i don't wear it that often.

I know there's a new shade from Benefit named Rockstar out there. It's such a pretty shade but i don't think i'd put my little paws on it. Benefit blushes are getting more expensive per oz these days, and i think i have too much experience with them now.

Benefit Box O'Powder are retailed for $28 (i don't know how much does it in Indonesian Store).

Last, here's the link for my review of :

Benefit Box O'Powder Dallas, Coralista & Hoola

Benefit Box O'Powder Dandelion

Benefit Box O'Powder Hervana

Benefit Box O'Powder Sugarbomb

The Balm Instain Powder Blush in Houndstooth (Review, Swatch, Comparison)

Hi Pretty ~

i'm finally back with another instain powder blush review, in the shade "Houndstooth" which is (according to the balm) suit for spring. I know we doesn't have spring in Indonesia, but i think it's suit this day's weather, when it's hot-but sometimes can be cloudy-or raining.

Houndstooth has a half side of a pretty elegant woman wearing lovely purple hat on it's cover.

And it's designed like magazine's cover, with some magazine feature around the face.

Personally, i like Houndstooth's woman than Toile's. The half-side face seems more lady-like for me （*/∇＼*）

Like another blushes from the Balm, Houndstooth doesn't have Talc, Fragrance and Parabens in the ingredients.

Houndstooth is about the same size with The Balm Sexy Mama you might has familiar with.

It's about 7.5 x 5.3 cm and contains of 0.2 oz or 5.5g of product.

As the name suggested, Houndstooth has houndstooth pattern bordering the pan.

The words above it's mirror are the same with another Instains.

If you're curious, the blush is just like that when i received it. It's a lil bit hard to remove, but it doesn't affected the quality in my opinion.

Now into swatch ..

I swatch it over Revlon Colorstay Foundation in "Sand Beige", so you can clearly see how it would look like over foundation.

The Balm described Houndstooth as "mauve", and according to web swatch, it supposed to be more brown. 

On my skin, it's turn pinker and has quite lavender undertone, while it's still being mauve.

Bad description, i guess?

Oh well, my pic can speak more than million words ┐('～`；)┌ 

Houndstooth is quite easy to blend, compared to Toile. The under side is it's also doesn't stay as long as Toile. While toile could stay for eight hours on my skin, Houndstooth is only able to stay about six hours on my skin before it's start to faded. In my opinion, houndstooth is as staining as toile does.

Houndstooth is neutral enough to be use daily, with heavy eye make up or alone. Below i pick some blush to compare with my new baby houndstooth :

on the far left, there's tarte amazonian clay blush in exposed (my review about it is here) and i'm happily seing the pattern is almost gone,

in the middle there's the balm instain houndstooth

and on the far right, there's the famous benefit box o powder hervana which i haven't write a review about (；¬д¬)

UPDATE : I've reviewed benefit hervana here :

http://sweetvanillascent.blogspot.com/2013/06/benefit-box-opowder-hervana-review-and.html

Tarte Exposed is a nude, a neutral plum with hint of pink. It's all matte and most pigmented among the three.  It could last up to 8 hours on my skin. Talking about price, Exposed is retailed for $25 for 0.20 oz or 5.6g.

The Balm Houndstooth is a mauve and has slightly sheen finish. Compared to tarte exposed and benefit hervana, Houndstooth has medium pigmentation which could last about 6 hours on my skin. It's retailed for $22 for 0.2 oz or 5.5g.

Benefit Hervana is described as "soft orchid blossom flush" but because it's made from four individual shade, the color appear might slightly different from swatch to swatch. But in average, they created a soft warm pink with subtle peach undertone and has satiny shimmer sheen (according to temptalia).

They doesn't carry lots of pigmentation alone, so do when they're together.

While Hervana wins in term of buttery texture (houndstooth is the hardest while exposed is not as buttery as hervana), it lost in pigmentation and staying power. Hervana could only stay on my skin about 4-5 hours.

Retailed for the most expensive price among the three, hervana contains of more product  (0.28 oz) and it's the only one that has brush included in.

i guess i've write a lot about hervana here, didn't i? (o*･ω･)

If there's a question, if i have tarte exposed and or benefit hervana, do i need houndstooth?

I'd say yes.

This lady-like blush is a love.

my other review of the balm's blushes :

the balm powder blush in down boy

the balm instain powder blush in toile (review, swatch and comparison)

instagram @taniaasvs

selling beauty stuff and everything in between @Primafacie_Corner

Tarte Exposed and Benefit Dallas, a Comparison

Welcome March!

it's new month already and i totally forget about monthly favorite .. oh well i think i might skip that again .. *sigh*

since i saw several question asking the difference between Benefit Dallas and Tarte Exposed, there i made some comparison for you :D

My Benefit Dallas stay inside Powderazzi set :)

on pan, they look kinda similar, but not the same

Benefit Dallas is natural, dirty rose shade, a lil bit plummy and has a sheen finish. Truthfully, i don't adore it as much as i adore another benefit blushes (let say, coralista, dandelion and hervana). But Dallas has the same texture with another benefit blushes i have, creamy (but sometimes turn powdery on pan), good pigmentation and buildable but lack of staying power.

Benefit Dallas is available on benefitcosmetics.com for $28 (7.0 Net wt. 0.28 oz.)

Tarte Exposed is nude, dusty red-pink rose with nearly matte finish. I found it turn a little bit pinky-er on me than before.. It's pretty shade of every natural-earthy girl for anytime. Tarte Exposed has a good pigmentation, very buildable, soft, and i found it last 6-7 hours on me.

Tarte Exposed is available on tartecosmetics.com for $26 (0.2 oz)

* My Comparison *

Shade : Tarte Exposed (Benefit Dallas somehow looks so muddy on me)

Lasting Power : Tarte Exposed (definately)

Texture : love them both

Packaging : Tarte Exposed (more practical)

Price : Benefit Dallas (since it contains more product)

Tarte Exposed = 3.5/5 while Benefit Dallas = 1.5/5

So for me, Tarte Exposed is a big winner. Benefit Dallas' single packaging is pretty, i know, but experiencing from another benefit blushes, they're not the best on travelling. The only good thing about them is portable natural blush that Tarte doesn't have, but it's not a big issue for me.

Price wise, even if Dallas contains more product, i never think i'd ever ever ever finish a blush. Tarte has a good affordable price, but contains less than half product compared to Dallas which make it more expensive per ounce.

What do you think about them? Which one is better for you? :)

Comparison of Original and (possibly) Fake Naked 2 Palette

Hi Belle :)

i wasn't expected to write a post about original and possibly fake naked palette, but i read someone's post about that and trying to help her solve her problem. So i think, why not post in on my blog either?

Naked palette by Urban Decay is sooo popular among the beauty bloggers and many woman in the world. And those popularities is continued by Naked 2, not as popular as her sister but still so tempting. Sadly, their price tag is kinda high, usd 50, and rarely reducted.

However, those price tag are followed by good quality items, and the fact that noone would empty it in short time. But that just my opinion. Theres many people disagree and choose to get cheap (fake) version of Naked palette from ebay, amazon, or if they're in Indonesia, from Kaskus (indonesian largest community forum, which allow their member to trade).

With the excitement of internet these days, it's so easy to find a good picture of Naked(s) palette and make a fake items that look really alike the original one. All shades also explained so well by some popular beauty blogger, and the fake makers are getting more succesfully doing their jobs.

today i found a very good (suspected) fake naked 2 palette. Take a look, ladies :)

the old-fashioned fake naked 2 palette came alone without the lip gloss. But now, it is!

the "naked 2" and "urban decay" font are exactly the same with the original one. Really, it's a masterpiece. I couln't even telling you if it's possibly not original if i just see the packaging, even if i have the original naked 2 i purchased at the trusted seller, Sephora.

i've zoomed the picture and i think the explanation behind the packaging is the same with mine. So still, it's probably original either.

i can't find any "wrong" shades also .. So what's wrong?

i'm telling you, the BRUSH!

let's compare it to trusted beauty blogger's picture :

this one is Temptalia's.

source

and this one is Xsparkage's.

source

• The bristle color is different. Temptalia's and Xsparkage's dual ended brush is in silver-chrome color, while the one from Kaskus is gold. I don't think Urban Decay will made 2 different bristle color for the same product. So..
• In both of Temptalia's and Xsparkage's good karma dual ended brush, the fluffy brush is in left side of "naked 2" words, and the flat brush is in right side. In the picture i took from kaskus, is the opposite. Fluffy brush in right side while flat brush in left side.

i'm not providing link of fake naked 2 palette source of picture because i dont want anyone judge her, or buying it from her without knowing if it's original or fake. As additional information, she's selling it for IDR 480.000 (about usd 50, 1 usd is about idr 9600). Don't you think it's weird since taking the product from USA or any other country need shipping cost, even if she carried it her self, she still need to get profit right?

the original naked and naked 2 palette in their website (urbandecay.com) or sephora (sephora.com) is for usd 50. It's about SGD 80 in Singapore, or RM 180 in Malaysia. So if you have the budget, it's better to get it from trusted seller, because except it's funny getting fake item for the same price with the original one, you'd never know what's inside fake items. There's might be dangerous ingredients or what. Just be careful.

think twice if you find cheap naked palette, and see the picture from trusted beauty blogger before deciding ^^

some beauty blogger might have mistake too, so do i, so dont forget to crosscheck!

thanks for reading, and if you dont mind, follow me ^^

p.s :

oh if you're the seller who sell this palette on kaskus, i'm so sorry, i never mean to ruin your business, i've just telling my reader what's on my mind. Thank you :)

*all pictures in this post are not mine. i've write down the sources except for the possibly fake naked palette. I saved it to my computer and upload them to my blog. I don't want to lose those pictures, just for comparison purpose.