AMW Reviews: L'oreal True Match Blush in Apricot Kiss

My Aunt who lives in Canada, loves makeup as much as I do knew about my passion for makeup. When my Uncle visited us a couple of weeks ago, she gave me a couple of makeup and that includes the L'oreal True Match Super-Blendable Blush in Apricot Kiss. Just by merely looking at the packaging, I can totally see that the blush shade is wearable and great for daily use! How does it fair? Is it worth the lemming? Should I purchase more from this line? Seriously, I'm not sure if it's sold down here, I haven't seen them around yet.

L'oreal True Match Blush says ---

True Match Blush flawlessly complements your skin's tone and texture. Coordinates perfectly with True Match Makeup, Powder, Concealer and Bronze Glow. True-to-life shades precisely match your skin tone and undertone, leaving you with the most natural flush of color imaginable.

Available in 12 natural shades.

Ingredients:
Talc, Nylon-12, Dimethicone, Polymethylsilesquioxane, Titanium Dioxide, Alumina, Cetyl Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Methylparaben, Glycerin, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Silica, isobutylparaben, Propylparaben.

AMW says ---

Pros

• shade is decent
• sheer and natural looking
  
• texture is smooth
• goes on sheer and shade is build-able
• has mirror, helps a lot on retouching
• has angled blush brush, though its not great quality, its still great for emergency touch ups
  
• price range is ok for the amount of product you get
  

Cons

• does not last long
• plastic case that looks a bit cheap
• a bit too powder so if you brush it with your blush brush, a lot of products are wasted
  

Overall

This is a very pretty warm peachy shade. This shade does remind of a bit of NARS Orgasm and Super Orgasm in between. But again, though this range is quite pretty as it caters more to people like me who loves the natural flush, I find that it does not stay long! Not even half a day which is a big no-no for me! For it's price, its not bad or if you're someone who doesn't mind retouching blush the whole day, this is an ok product to take along!

Tips

• to prevent harsh streaks, use a fluffy blush brush in application
• to use as blush: apply on apples of cheeks and blending upwards
  
• to use as a tanner: apply areas where to sun hits directly
• do not drop this blush or any other makeup! lol
• use a similar shade of cream blush prior to application of this to help make the blush stays longer
• do not swirl the blush brush too much as it's very powdery so you grab a lot of product in one swirl equals product wastage
  

Will I repurchase?

No, this is a nice blush but it's not a big WOW for me

Where to purchase and how much?

At Walgreens for $9.99 (approx Php469.00)
At Ulta for $8.99 (approx Php423.00)
At CVS for $8.79 (approx Php413.00)

Closer look to the packaging
Mirror and Brush



Close up look on Apricot Kiss
with and without flash



Using L'oreal True Match Blush in Apricot
on Cheeks

Hope my review is helpful!
If you can find them locally, please do give me a holler on their price so we can share it to the readers who wants to know :)
Thanks and have a wonderful day!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

I Nuovi Professional's "Dollar for a Fan Contest"

Hi Everyone!

Another contest update! I love sharing finds such as these!

I NUOVI Professional wants YOU to earn a chance to shop absolutely FREE!

How?

Simply drop an email titled "Dollar for a Fan" to your friends explaining why they should join I Nuovi Professional on Facebook and cc mail@inuovi.com.

For every friend that joins them I Nuovi as a fan on facebook, you get to earn ONE I Nuovi (US) Dollar (Note: Maximum of 200 I Nuovi Dollars). Accumulate to redeem for products on I Nuovi website! So if you have 100 friends who joined them, you get 100 I Nuovi Dollars to spend! That's easy!

Please follow directions and please include these on the email for you to qualify:

1. Your name
2. Your FB username
3. Your country
4. Why your friends should join http://www.facebook.com/inuovipro

Remember to leave a message on their wall and let them know how many friends you have emailed. The top 13 fans with the most referrals will win! Goodluck! Contest will run til October 31, 2009.

This is one exciting contest!
Your speed and number of friends are votal to win this game!!!

Goodluck!
Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Urban Decay 24/7 vs MUFE Aqua Eyes

Good morning friends! A space for reader's query! I've had this question so many times and I've been procrastinating with the answer, so sorry! I get lazy at times! :P Yes, its about eyeliner pencils! I know a lot of ladies have chosen their ultimate favorite, and you all know that these 2 brands have been fighting neck to neck for first place! Who's the winner? Read on ....

Dear Nikki:
I know you own both MUFE and Urban Decay eyeliners. Could you do a review on both? Which one works better?

True, I own both Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Liners and Makeup Forever's Aqua Eyes, I've used both brands for months and I've chosen the winner! Please be reminded that I live in a tropical country with humidity as part of our daily living. I also have non-oily lids and very sensitive eyes. What works or does not work for me may be different to some of you. If you have something to say or experiences you'd love to share, click on the COMMENT section below, I'd love to hear from you! :D

Competition:

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eyeliner in Zero (black) and Bourbon (brown)
MUFE Aqua Eyes in 1L (black) and 2L (brown)

Buttercup ready to fight! :P

Swatch without base

Shades:
UD - shimmery black and brown, the shimmery black is darker
MUFE - shimmery black and brown

Versatility:
UD - easy to create smokey eyes as the consistency is quite creamy, great to smoke up using a smudger brush
MUFE - ok to smoke out but not as smokey as the prior brand

Texture:
UD - very creamy
MUFE - creamy but not as creamy as Urban Decay's

Pigmentation:
UD - very pigmented
MUFE - very pigmented

Smudge Proof?
UD - smudge-proof only when applied on the upper lash line. Tightlining and waterlining? Smudges like crazy in less than an hour!
MUFE - smudge-proof on upper and lower lash line. Tightlining and waterlining? Smudges a bit but not as much as UD.

Waterproof?
UD - yes, not unless you rub SUPER hard
MUFE - yes, even when you rub it along with water

Urban Decay

MUFE

How long does it stay for both upper and lower lash line?
UD - whole day
MUFE - whole day

How long does it stay for waterline?
UD - approximately 10 minutes, then it starts to transfer to lower lashline
MUFE - approximately 30 minutes, then it starts to transfer to lower lashline

Removing eyeliner:
UD - with waterproof makeup remover, a bit difficult to take off
MUFE - with waterproof and makeup remover, a bit difficult to take off

Overall:
I've read raves and raves about Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-on Eyeliners. But when I finally tried it on my own, I wasn't comfortable using it because it smudges like crazy and I have panda eyes 30 minutes after application. That's when I realized and understood why Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eyeliners aren't available locally as for me, it's not even meant locally! The product was made for people living in the West. For countries with cooler climate and not as humid as ours. Think of Two Faced Shadow Insurance working perfectly for people on the other side of the world, while we down here complain about our creasing shadows! Same concept. Now, I've learned my lesson.. "A dress made for me is meant to be worn by me" ...now I think that's a good quote eh?

Overall, if I want my liner to last longer, I'd rather use gel liners or liquid liners. If I want to use pencils, I make sure to use an eye seal right after eye pencil application. That's how I deal with my pencil liners! How do you deal with yours?

Hope this helps! :)
Keep smilin!
Stay happy!

Nail Art Tutorial: Romantic Gradient Nails with Rhinestones

Missed my nail art? I hope you do! I haven't been playing with my nails because I've been super busy with a lot of things plus the fact that I broke my nail a week ago! Perfect timing though, as I got a reader request for short nails' nail art! Fact: the nails you will see are considered short! I have short fingers so super short nails isn't an option! And I don't like it when I type without the 'feeling' of my nails! Yeah, I'm weird! hahaha

Here's my Romantic Gradient Nails with added Rhinestones to make it more dainty. I know a lot of you uses the sponge method to create Gradient nails. I know it looks better but I am just too lazy to do so! So please feel free to create the gradient nails using a sponge!

Step 1:

Apply base coat prior to nail polish application. Apply 1 Coat of The Face Shop's Polish in light Pinkish Peach shade.

Step 2:
Apply 2True polish in Shade no. 12 French tip method.

Using Caronia's Base Coat or any brand of base coat, spread the light purple shade downwards.

Step 3:

Using Flashing Neon Sweet Cherry nail polish in Neon Red (from sis Aika), drop a couple of dots on the tip...

Again, using the base coat, spread the polish downwards. Does not have to be perfect!

Step 4:

Using Prettynails' White Nail Art Pen, create 5 dots for flower.

Step 5:

Press in rhinestones. Your choice, I used multiple colors.

Step 6:

Top the nail art with any glittery polish. I am using gold polish to create a nice dimension. I used the Bourjois Gold polish from my blind swap with Cris.

Step 7:

Top everything with your choice of Top coat, applying more on the areas with Rhinestones to keep them from falling out.

I know! Dainty nails again! You can't blame a girl for wanting to
stay sweet :P

If you don't own any nail art pens, you can stop at Step 3 then apply glitter polish and top with a nice top coat. I'm sure it'll still be pretty!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!
Happy Start of the Week!

Weekend Food Tripping at: LukFoo HotPot Restaurant

Happy weekend food tripping! I know some of you are looking forward for food posts and ended up getting hungry afterwards. I guess that's how human beings are! LOL We want to tempt ourselves!

If I'm at my mom's place and wanted to dine out, going down to Chinatown is a big hassle as its far and its super traffic, so to satisfy our Chinese food cravings, there's always Luk Foo Cantonese Restaurant located at Puregold Q.I. I'm glad they opened up another sister restaurant called Luk Foo Hot Pot. Same Chinese restaurant with added Hot Pot dishes in their menu.

First thing's first, order your choice of broth. There's 2 types, Plain and Sate. The plain one tastes...well...plain while the Sate one is on the spicy side. We opted to order for split, meaning, half plain and half sate! Best of both BROTHS! lol And for you to know, the broth are refillable! So drink til your tummy's content!

Make your own sauce. Of course, not everyone has the same kind of tastes so its great that you can create your own flavor. There are different condiments to satisfy your sweet, salty, sour or spicy tongue!

We opted to choose our own "fillings". They do have set menu but my mom is on medication so there are several dishes she cannot eat, we chose our own meat and vegetables.

Assorted meatballs, shrimp dumplings and corn on a cob

Beef slices and veggies



Throw them all in!
Leaving the beef slices behind,
make sure not to cook the beef slices too long,
overcook is no no :)

What I love about Luk Foo Hot Pot Restaurant is that you can still order meals from Luk Foo Cantonese Kitchen. We ordered the usual: Yang Chow Fried Rice, Shrimp with Orange Sauce, Fish Fillet with Soy Sauce and Birthday Noodles. Quadruple Whamo!!!

Time for cooking!!! This is a great time to enjoy sharing, chatting and just relax! Life is fun! Enjoy!

Have you tried hot pot?
Keep smilin'
Stay happy!