December 16, 2009 in Diary
Phew, what a year! I can’t believe it was a year ago where I wrote about my best finds of 2008! Time sure does fly. Beauty-wise, I tried a handful of new products, and found some stand-out ones. Here’s some of the products I found to be the best this year:
- Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer. I tried this exactly this time last year when my friend C came down to Singapore for Christmas. I had told her all the wonderful things I heard about Laura Mercier, so one afternoon while we were shopping, we went to check out the counter. We both tried this and fell in love. However, the price had us standing there for a while wondering if we could really spend almost 90 bucks on a tube of product. In the end we did, but for those who plan on using it everyday, this may be a bit too expensive. I’m not sure if C still uses it, from what she told me she used it everyday and it was done within a few months, so it really is quite an expensive product to buy twice a year. For me however; a year on and it’s going strong, and I use it twice a week max, and very little at a time. If you’re one who wants a flawless look and only needs a little product and coverage, this will go a long way. Here’s my full review.
- Chanel La Ligne Duo eyeliner. I know this was mentioned last year but it deserves a second mention. Over the summer after my trip to Europe I had stopped using it (big mistake) and just used normal eyeliner pencils, but meh … I think my eyes and I suit liquid liner, so I started using this again the past few weeks and I love it. It really is flawless; and the color is unexplainable – it is black so to speak, but when you layer the eyehshadow with shimmer on top, something happens and it turns into a beautiful midnight color with a hint of blue. Love it! Here’s my full review.
- Clinique Lash Power Curling Mascara. I really need to give some other mascaras a chance, I can’t harp on about Lancome’s Virtuose all my life! Nevertheless, I tried this mascara out this year at the recommendation of Christine, and it really is a great mascara. It can give both a dramatic and natural look. You can read a guest review from C about it here, or read my review here.
- The Body Shop Body Butters. These tubs have been around since forever, and I’ve used them for awhile in the past, but I never really appreciated how good they were until I was given a new tub this year and decided to write a proper review on them. They are fantastic at moisturizing, wonderful smelling, and is a real treat applying – so relaxing! You can read more at my review here.
- Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. Oh, another Clinique on a the list! I’m a big supporter of all things Clinique skin care because it has really changed my skin. This Gel version of their famous moisturizer is no exception – I LOVE this product. I can slap on as many layers as I want and it would never clog up or grease my skin. When I apply it at night, I wake up and my skin looks and feels like a baby’s bottom! Love it. You can read my review on it here.
That’s my favorite beauty finds this year! What about you? Did you find any great products this year? I’d love to hear about them! 
The Body Shop Body Butters are pretty much a cult product, wouldn’t you say? Since I could remember (or when I started reading magazines), they’d always write about The Body Shop’s fantastic body butters. And from the many, many different scents they come in, there’s really something for everyone.
I recently wrote about another body lotion and mentioned that one of the reasons why I liked it so much was because it was non- greasy, didn’t have an overwhelming scent, and didn’t leave on a ‘film’ that would later run on clothes, your bed … you name it. I feel a bit like this post contradicts what I said, but hear me out: if there is one product that I will look past the greasiness, smell and stains, it’s this product.
The Body Butters are very thick, smells quite strong, and can rub on sheets and clothes – the reason being is that they are made to be extremely moisturizing. But that’s why I like them so much; they are ridiculous in terms of moisturizing. (Also, I found a bit of a solution: rub in the lotion for a few minutes – like 5 full minutes – and it lessens the greasy feeling.)
With that being said, I love the Body Butters; but only once in a while.
Like I said earlier, I don’t like the greasy feeling most body lotions produce, but these are so moisturizing that you need them sometimes! I think I use this maybe twice a week at most, when I feel like a ’spa’ treatment in one: the scents are calming, and the thickness of the product makes your really need to rub it in, so it is somewhat like giving yourself a massage – definitely a relaxing experience. The scent fills the room, so it’s important to get a scent that you find really calming.
My favorites so far are Cocoa Butter and Shea butter. I’m on the hunt for the Vanilla version, like I said in my fragrance post that mentioned The Body Shop, they don’t carry the Vanilla range here. I know that scent will be my favorite already! 
Do you use the body butters from The Body Shop? Which ones are your favorite?
Even though I am forever devoted to my beloved Lancôme Virtuôse Mascara, once in a while I like to try new ones in case I find something better! Plus it gives me something to do and makes me appreciate how good Virtuôse is, as I haven’t found anything to replace it yet.
I tried out the new mascara from The Body Shop, Divide & Multiply after buying their Nature’s Minerals mineral makeup, ’cause they popped in a free sample of it in my shopping bag.
Lash-loving that goes the extra mile. Molded brush technology provides exceptional separation and definition to lashes, while each bristle is expertly aligned for maximum separation.
Best if you want to: Extend your lashes to glamorous new lengths with a fiber-based, non-clumping mascara that features a unique, lash-separating brush.
Next-generation, ultra-fine fibers create maximum length with minimum clumping.
Best for dramatic lengthening.
Hmm… Not too sure about the “dramatic” bit, but this is quite a nice mascara actually! Normally I don’t like plastic bristle brushes (I like old-skool mascara brushes!), but this works quite well. The brush separates lashes extremely well, and like they said above, minimal clumping.
The more coats you apply, the more volume you get, and the lengthen it gives is quite impressive. Lashes look long, dark and glossy.
Now for the bad! The only thing I don’t like about this is that I need to wipe the brush down with a tissue before applying. if you look at the photo of it, you’d see the bristles are quite short so quite a lot of product gets caught in between the ’spine’ of the brush and the bristles. The other would be that it smudges slightly, but it really isn’t too terrible.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this! It is great for a very lengthening voluminous everyday look, but for night and parties, you might want to try something dramatic like this one (damn that brush!).
I know The Body Shop isn’t exactly the go-to for mascaras, since they excel in body products, but I was pretty impressed by this! Does anyone use Body Shop mascaras, or have tried this one? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it too!
This impulsing buying has got to stop! Especially since I am broke in the first place!
I passed The Body Shop the other week and saw their stand for their new Nature’s Minerals mineral makeup range and had to take a closer look.
A lot of mainstream brands are starting their very own mineral makeup lines, and The Body Shop is no different! The range includes Foundation, SPF25, Cheek Color, Eye Color, and a Foundation and Eye Shadow Brush.
The prices were pretty affordable, and I thought I should try out their mineral foundation and see if it lived up to it’s wonderful claims:
A premium, up-to-the-minute loose powder foundation, made from minerals. Long-lasting, blend-able powders act like a veil to help defend the skin against sun damage with SPF 25. Ultra light powders apply evenly and blend easily for a radiant, natural-looking complexion. Effectively reduces the appearance of redness, imperfections, blemishes and visible pores.
Without being long winded, I’d say it lived up to its claims, but short term only. I’m not too sure about the whole covering “imperfections, redness, blemishes”, but it did make pores seem smaller and my skin looked smoother. What I liked the most about the powder was that it is extremely light and natural – I hate putting heavy stuff on my face for fear of breakouts! The powder gave a very matte look, which I liked a lot.
However, after awhile it seemed to make my face shine quite a bit, but it wasn’t as bad as some others I’ve tried. Also, so far, no other reactions or complaints other than the minimal shine. (I mentioned this in my post on the pros and cons of mineral makeup.) I wouldn’t call this the best mineral foundation, but it was pretty good, no real complaints here!
So if you’re looking for a powder for full coverage, this is probably not for you. But for those who want a very natural “veil” on the skin so it looks smoother and clearer, I’d say this is a good, affordable choice!
Has anyone tried this? What do you think of mainstream mineral makeup brands?
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