Celebrating my birthday at the Royal Opera House

It was my birthday earlier this week! *throws confetti* I had a lovely day which involved lots of presents, food, and a trip to the opera.

Here's a card that I received from my family. Aren't the colours (and the makeup) gorgeous?

Speaking of make-up, I received this lovely set of MAC crushed pigments. It is well known in my family that I love makeup, haha. When I first saw it, I actually thought it was a Ted Baker item. The champagne silver and metallic emerald in particular look like they'll be very well-loved indeed. I'll make sure to try these out sometime and report back!

MAC Guilty Passions / 4 Brilliantly Cool Crushed Metallic Pigments

We ended up going to the opera to watch Puccini's La Bohème. I've only been to the opera once before, and that was to watch Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten at the Hungarian State Opera. It was then that I fell in love with opera and I've been itching to go again ever since. So what better time than on my birthday to coerce my loved ones to watch with me? :)

For the evening, I wore one of the dresses I received as a present. Here's the makeup that I chose to wear with my lace dress:

As I was getting ready, a genius idea came to mind - apply the lipstick after putting on the dress. So here is my FOTN pre-Dragon just for comparison's sake:

I actually really like how this looks without lipstick. For those who are familiar with my makeup preferences, you'll see that it could easily pass as one of my everyday FOTDs.

Products used:

• Shu Uemura Nobara Stick Foundation 564 for areas needing higher coverage, MAC F&B (mix of random sample shades) everywhere else
• Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch - 3
• Guerlain Meteorites - 02 Teint Rose (duty free duo)
• Chanel Joues Contraste - Espiegle
• Chanel Rouge Allure Lacque - 75 Dragon
• SUQQU Blend Color Eyeshadow - 01 Kakitsubata 
• KATE Super Sharp Eyeliner - BK-1
• SUQQU Eyebrow Liquid Pen R in 01 Moss Green
• Natural Collection Lash Care clear mascara on lashes and brows

Yes, that's right! I have actually been doing stuff to my brows. One of my eyebrows is much more sparse and has a pronounced arch, the hairs are unruly and never sit nicely like they do on the other eyebrow. I've never bothered to do anything about them before, well, because I'm lazy and eye makeup is much more gratifying. I guess it's because I experiment with my eye makeup much more and it feels like a creative exploration, whereas eyebrows tend to be a fixed style and the emphasis is on 'perfecting'/'taming' - grooming, basically.  

But in the quest for perfection, and partly out of sheer curiosity, I decided to ask the SUQQU ladies to work their magic on my brows. This trip to the cosmetic counter increased my brow routine products threefold. Basically, I now own three brow products! \o/ That's clear mascara, eyebrow liquid pen and a spoolie. Four, if you count my mini eyebrow razor.

Dodgy brow on your right (my left), filled in with the SUQQU brow pen and set with clear mascara. The moss green liquid pen fills in the tiny gaps in my brows and makes them look more defined. Woohoo! Apologies, the entire right side of my photo is dark due to my position in front of the light. In real life this looks a lot more even, I promise.

Alright, if you've made it this far, I'm impressed! Here are some bonus photos of the opera house. :)

There is no greater demonstration of affection than agreeing to queue for opera tickets with me in the early hours.
My family are the best. 

A beautiful view upstairs in the Royal Opera House

a surround shot view from my seat

Thank you for reading!

Taupey fun: layering Shu Uemura ME856 with KATE Metallic Jewelry Eyes BK-1

Given my recent appreciation of taupes, as well as my current obsession for layering eyeshadows, it won't come as a surprise to you that today I decided to indulge in some taupey layering. 

In my last post, I had mentioned that I was intending to purge my Shu ME856 because it creases on me. Today I decided to give it another go, and as an afterthought, I patted some of this beautiful KATE Metallic Jewelry Eyes in BK-1 over the top. I was somehow hoping that the additional eyeshadow would somehow prevent creasing? Hmm, I shall have to report back. 

Shu Uemura ME856 // KATE Metallic Jewelry Eyes BK-1

The KATE looks surprisingly similar to Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre in this photo, however in reality the two are quite dissimilar. If it weren't for my Mirifique drying out on me, I would have included a comparison photo here. 

Anyway, the KATE doesn't have too strong a colour pigment; its monochromatic, metallic glitters set in a sheer grey base. There are no special flashes of colour, just buildable levels of shine. 

Below are swatches of how the shadows look separately and layered together. I actually used a very light touch to pick up the KATE eyeshadow. It has a cool, wet-but-dry touch to the fingers - sounds strange, but this is the best way I can describe it. 

ME856 has a warm metallic satin sheen on my skin, and when paired together with the cool tones of the KATE, it creates a beautiful neutral shimmer. I love how this turned out! Neither of the shades look that special on their own, but layering the two makes both of them shine (pun not intended but intentionally not edited :P). 

L-R: Shu ME856 // KATE Metallic Jewelry Eyes BK1 // KATE layered over Shu

I'll include a quick FOTD using the eyeshadows today. I am wearing KATE Art Dial mascara and Chanel Espiegle as blush, over Shu Nobara stick foundation in 564 and Guerlain Meteorites Teint Rose.

See why I included swatches? This photo could not do the eyeshadows justice :)

Thanks for reading! I have a feeling the next few looks I create will still involve lots of taupey layering. I am thinking of layering some with the pink and blue shades from SUQQU Mizuaoi. We shall see!

My taupe collection

While I love bright colours (as evidenced by the new banner photo above ^^ and my previous post), there is always a place in my heart for shimmery taupes. Over the past few years, I've unwittingly built up a small collection of taupes, so this comparison is equally for my benefit as it is for yours!

I forgot to include a picture of Shu Uemura ME856, though I did swatch it later; in truth I don't like it that much anymore. It is pretty, but texturally it does not flatter my eyelids and it also creases much more easily than my other eyeshadows.

Here is my (current) taupe family:

clockwise from top left: Shiseido Alchemy RD709 // SUQQU Konruri // SUQQU Himesango // KATE Deep Trap Eyes BR-1 // Dior Incognito // KATE Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1 // SUQQU Sumiredama

The first two shadows on the left are the taupes from SUQQU Himesango and Konruri respectively. Texturally, they are very similar, however the Himesango taupe is a touch cooler than the one in Konruri, which looks positively bronze on my skin. Also is it just me, or does Himesango also look more red than Konruri? 

I dunno whether it's worth prematurely concluding that one of the two must necessarily be more flattering on my eyes. Both have their roles to play in my stash. :D

Much to my surprise, the Shiseido swatches rose gold on my skin. That explains why it often makes me look a bit swollen and bruisey when I use it as a 'wash' over the eyes. :) I was also taken aback by how soft and shimmery the Sumiredama taupe (furthest right) looks. I normally use it layered with the rest of the Sumiredama eyeshadows, but after seeing how it swatches, I am definitely going to wear it on its own sometime.

L-R: SUQQU Himesango taupe // SUQQU Konruri taupe // Shiseido RD709 // SUQQU Sumiredama taupe

In this next set, the one furthest to the left is Dior Incognito. I don't know if the pictures can adequately showcase the beautiful texture of this eyeshadow; it truly feels buttery to apply and blend. Lisa Eldridge once mentioned that she had had the Dior quint eyeshadows tested in a laboratory and that these shadows owe their texture to how well they stay in their 'fatty lipid' form. Once swatched, this shade is more of a grey on my skin. For a truer taupe, I like to blend it with the bronze-brown in the same Incognito palette. 

The three shades on the right are all from the now discontinued quint, KATE Deep Trap Eyes in BR1 (minus the highlight and liner colours). Upon closer inspection, none of these read as taupe on my skin, save for perhaps the darkest one, which is a cool brown with a flash of grey. The lid colour leans red again (meh), while the glittery highlight shade has a beautiful icy greyish-mauve tone. They did look more taupe in the pan, right?!

L-R: grey-taupe from Dior Incognito // three shades from KATE Deep Trap eyes (crease, lid and glitter shades)

Finally, I swatched Shu Uemura ME856 against the two taupes from the KATE trio in BU1.

ME856 (left) really does not appeal to me anymore; in terms of colour/texture/complexity, I find it rather bland. Its metallic sheen is not so flattering on my eyelids when used as a wash, plus it is ever so slightly red-toned, so I will have to purge it. My colouring makes it trickier to wear red, murky tones, and I prefer to avoid them where possible and stick to clear/neutral colours.

L-R: Shu ME856 (added as an afterthought) // darkest shade from KATE Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1 // lightest shade from KATE Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1

The two on the right are from KATE Deep Shiny Eyes trio in BU-1. These, along with KATE Deep Trap Eyes, are some of my favourite Asian drugstore eyeshadows. They are also sadly discontinued, though I think they're still available online in some places. 

The lightest shade (right) appears clearer (and less red - yay!) than all the other taupes in my collection, and for that reason I love it. It reminds me a little of Chanel Moon River, though it's much less shimmery. When I use all three shades in Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1, it gives me the epitome of neutral, subtly sparkly OL makeup. 

So, conclusions? 

My favourite shades are probably the SUQQU Sumiredama, Dior Incognito and the lightest from KATE Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1. These are all clear and neutral enough for me to wear all over the lid without a problem. The others would need a more restricted placement, and while it's definitely not a bad thing, it does make them a bit more finicky to work with. The comparatively less complex KATE Deep Trap Eye taupes are not standouts on their own, but I like them when layered together, especially with the glitter shade over the centre of the lid. 

What do you think, could I do better, in terms of texture/colour/anything else? Am I crazy for purging Shu ME856? :D

Holiday makeup: swatches, FOTDs and Austria pictures

Hi everyone! I've just come back from a week-long trip to Austria with my family. We spent two days in Vienna, then two days in Salzburg (where we also went across the German border into Bavaria), finally returning to spend our last four days in Vienna. It was glorious. We ate lots of 'wiener wursts' (snicker), I tried local beer and actually liked it, and my rusty German didn't get us lost even once during our trip. I consider that a win!

I didn't actually haul anything makeup-related, but I thought I'd share some photos of what I brought and wore on my trip.

my holiday makeup :)

I had such a great time in Austria. I'll share a couple of photos here, more at the end of the post. 

Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna

Leopoldskron Palace, Salzburg, where the boating scene from The Sound of Music was filmed

In my opinion, one of the most exciting parts of going on holiday is actually packing for it. Want to know my shameful secret? First and foremost, I strategise and agonise over what makeup to pack. Once that's done, the rest of the packing takes no time at all. My boyfriend once asked me if I had packed for a trip, and I replied sheepishly/optimistically, "Erm, I packed my makeup...?"

In the past month or two, I've managed to step out from my comfort zone of cool-to-warm pink blush tones into achingly bright and subtle shimmery shades. \o/ Just looking at this picture makes me happy.

L-R: SUQQU Gradation Cheeks EX-02 Mizumomo, Chanel Le Blush Crème de Chanel in Chamade, Chanel Joues Contraste in Espiègle

L-R: Chanel Chamade swatched, blended out // SUQQU Mizumomo separately, layered // Chanel Espiègle

For eye makeup, I wanted to strike a balance between simplicity, complexity and ease of application. Why? Because I is lazy, but want to play with colour at the same time. :D

I chose the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze as a base, because it imparts the perfect MLBB tone on my lids. The metallic sheen is flattering on my eyelids and it blends wonderfully with fingers.

To make room for creative eyeshadow combinations, I brought all three of my Shu Uemura glitter topcoats with me for layering on top of the Maybelline. Shu ME 575 (right) was only included because I didn't want the palette to look empty, but it actually ended up being pretty useful and worked as a nice accent on the lower lashline.

G White Rainbow // G Blue 646 // G Orange 251 // ME 575

Here are some better photos of the glitter eyeshadows on their own. More (and much better) swatches can be found on Kate the Enabler's blog here:

Shu Uemura glitter topcoats layered over Maybelline Bad to the Bronze:

During my trip, I found myself only layering G Orange 251 or G White Rainbow over the Maybelline. The others looked a tad murky, so instead I used the blue one over copious amounts of G White Rainbow. The murkiness of the ME 575 layered over BTTB worked perfectly when used to add depth in my outer 'v' since it still provided interest but didn't add any unnecessary shimmer. 

Okay, now time for lipsticks! 

L-R: Missha Signature Glam Art Rouge in SPK102, Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense in Pirate, Dior Fluid Sticks in 551 Aventure

I am so sorry that these are not in the right order! >.<

As you can see, they are all very different in terms of texture, colour and pigmentation. The Missha is the least pigmented, and has more of a balmy texture with medium-low buildable pigmentation. Chanel Pirate is much more intense with a single swipe, and has a satiny finish which looks luminous and glowy on my lips, especially when first applied. It does dry down into a matte finish after a couple of hours. Aventure is the warmest lipstick in my collection. I love playing with the opacity of this lipstick - when applied sheerly, it takes on a beautiful orangey-pink tone. When applied liberally, it takes on a warmer, more orange tone as seen in the swatch below.

L-R: Dior Aventure, Chanel Pirate and Missha SPK102

Here are some photos of the makeup I wore my trip. They're not the best lighting as they're from my iPad. I pretty much overslept every morning, my apologies for the lack of eyeshadow close-ups! They wouldn't have looked good anyway, as my current KATE Art Dial mascara leaves horrible wet mascara marks on my eyelids every time I apply it. I can't wait to finish it up and go back to my HG L'Oreal Telescopic again.

1) I love how Aventure looks in this photo. I find it looks the most flattering when I apply it sheerly. When it's applied over my natural lip colour, it looks decently pigmented and almost jelly-like and translucent at the same time. LOVE.

Maybelline Bad to the Bronze with Shu ME lined on the lower lashline, Chanel Chamade and Dior Fluid Stick Aventure 551

2) For this FOTD, I layered the blue and white Shu topcoats together and applied mascara for more emphasis on the eyes and lashes.

Somehow I couldn't resist going back to add lipstick to this look and ended up applying the Missha SPK102 lipstick before I left the house. I didn't take pictures of the look with the Missha since I was already running late, but you can see it in action in the next photo.

Shu Uemura G White Rainbow mixed with G Blue 646 and Chanel Espiègle

3) This is Missha Signature Glam Art Rouge SPK102 on my lips. See what I mean about buildable colour? It doesn't feel sticky at all. 

SUQQU Mizumomo, Missha SPK102, Shu Uemura G White Rainbow

4) This last one is perhaps one of my favourites from the trip. The red is so brightening and flattering on my colouring. I wanted this ever since I saw it on the beautiful Anne from Rushing Glam. Perhaps it's the lighting but the lipstick seems to look pinker on me? Hmmm. Nevertheless, I quite like it.

SUQQU Mizumomo, Chanel Pirate and Maybelline BTTB & Shu Uemura G White Rainbow

Bonus holiday pictures:

The Salzach river

inside the Vienna State Opera

Belvedere Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Fooood:

Unsurprisingly, I ate way, way too much meat during this trip. So much so that I bloated up like a pufferfish and had to resort to a sloppy version of a gankin massage to drain out toxins in my face. I dunno whether my meat-eating escapades contributed to the lovely spots around my chin, but you can see them in the pictures above, hehe. It's all worth it though. For SCIENCE! And posterity.

Amazing ribs: 3 flavour combination & a house special flavour

Apfelstrudel <3

a Sichuan restaurant in Vienna by the old Danube river

If you've made it to the end, I'm hugely impressed. Thanks for looking! :) 

Dark teal liner: Soap & Glory Aquabat Eyeliner and YSL Glossy Stain 11

First world problem: I sometimes find myself forced to simplify my makeup so that it doesn't clash with a particular outfit. But it genuinely saddens me when long-sleeved dresses + digital prints + bold colours + excessive hair cannot co-exist peacefully with crazily smokey eye makeup, at least not on my face. 

You'll soon see how difficult it is for my brain to execute a 'simple' eye look. 

• Attempt 1: A sheer wash of Chanel Moon River on the eyes. Meh, too lifeless. Not enough colour.
• Attempt 2: A dab of KIKO eyeshadow stick in 20 Black in the outer corners, blended to meet the middle of my eye. More depth now, but still a bit blah. 
• Final attempt: I cast an eye towards my 'purge-atory' makeup items and grabbed a long-neglected Soap & Glory teal green kohl eyeliner, which I used to draw a more graphic liner. For extra definition, I layered the darkest green liner shade from KATE Deep Eyes GN-1 closest to my lash line whilst still letting the teal liner show through, and finished with a dusting of the base shade over my brow bone. 

Colour makeup: Pink blush from Shu Uemura Blue Morphorium palette. base and liner shades from KATE Deep Eyes GN-1, YSL Glossy Stain 11, Chanel Moon River Stylo Eyeshadow and Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl Eyeliner in Aquabat

Whoops, nearly forgot to include the KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 20. This is my go-to black eyeshadow base for smokey looks. 

Two swipes of each eyeshadow colour with my finger, under natural light.

On my lids, Chanel Moon River looks less warm, and more of a cool champagne colour. It has no perceptible colour base when blended out and just adds an elegant, dimensional shine, which I love both on its own and layered over/under other colours.

The Soap & Glory pencils look very similar to all other long-lasting kohl pencils, and I believe they're also made in Germany. However, they always transfer and smear onto my lower lash line (and sometimes, very unattractively, on my aegyo sal), so it was crucial to 'set' the liner with the KATE liner shade. The powdery texture of all liner shades (e.g. those in SUQQU and KATE palettess) work wonderfully on my slightly oily and hooded lids.

KIKO Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick in 20

How did I own this for months without realising it had glitter in it?! Well, there you go. The KIKO black eyeshadow stick has glitter. It's imperceptible if you are pairing it with other bright and shimmery eyeshadows, though. While they blend decently, they are not as malleable as I need them to be, and I've often found myself stuck with a slightly un-blended and uneven eyeshadow shape.

Two swipe of the Shu Uemura blush and YSL Glossy Stain 11

The blush from the Shu Uemura Morphorium Blue palette (now discontinued) is one of my favourite blushes.

My natural blush colour is more of a cool raspberry colour, and the white base in this pink adds a lovely, unobtrusive and just *pretty* look on my cheeks. It works harmoniously with most eye looks. I also wear this colour in the evening when I go out, because, well, I get red-faced with alcohol anyway.

A wonderful lady once sent me this YSL Glossy Stain in 11, and I have since fallen in love with it. Initially I put on my Maybelline Vivid lipstick in Shocking Coral, but its drying texture did not play nicely with my Winter dryness. Instead, the GS 11 worked perfectly to finish the look.

Here is the final look, apologies for the bathroom lighting:

Fluorescent bathroom lighting

Thanks for looking! The dress is extremely 'loud', and the slight graphic teal liner was a good way of adding more interest to my eye makeup without looking too matchy-matchy or competing with the rest of the look. I am also pleased to report that the YSL Glossy Stain lasted through several drinks. :D