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I picked up this Maybelline Define-a-Lash mascara at the Bangkok International airport on my return trip from there a while ago and bought it again at Philippines’ NAIA duty free because I think I might have just found my holy grail of mascara. After using it for several moths on end now, I’m finally writing a review on it .

The first thing that strikes you about the mascara is its bright green packaging; it is eye-catching and hard to miss. The entire thing looks futuristic and you might think, to youself, that green isn’t exactly a conventional color for a beauty product. But pull out the wand and here’s surprise number two: the comb is a rubbery one that is flexible. Wow, not only is the packaging bold, so are its claims.

Here’s what Maybelline says about this mascara:

This zero clump mascara creates stunning length with clean definition.

* Patented shaped-to-the-lash brush
* Ophthalmologist tested, Contact lens safe
* Waterproof; also available in washable formula

“Separated, sensuously long, no clump” lashes. Mmmmmmm… I like that. The promise of a no smudging formula would mean fluttery lashes that last from day to night. But could it withstand the hot and humid weather in Singapore? I’ve always had the problem of little mascara flakes on my bottom lids after a day of living in my mascara.

So how did this mascara fare? Let’s see.

Zero clump? CHECK!
Separated and defined lashes? CHECK!
Stunning length? Well, the lashes didnt exactly STUN me but they DID look longer.

All three claims FULFILLED! I’m impressed!

Although they never mentioned this, but another thing I really like about the mascara is it’s ability to hold a curl. Curl your lashes and sweep on about 2 coats of this fabulous mascara early in the morning and you’re set for the entire day! I came home after a long day and found my lashes sitting prettily curled just as I had curled them that very morning. On top of that, NO FLAKING! YAYYYY!

Here’s the evidence.

I’m SOLD.

I swear I’ve never seen my eyelashes looking so long and pretty before. In fact, I cant remember what my eyelashes used to look like before this mascara. Haha. Is it any wonder why I have 2 of them sitting in my drawer at this very moment?

Sadly, they dont carry this particular mascara in Singapore but it’s available at drugstore.com. In fact, I’m going to the Philippines in April again. Anyone wants me to get it for them? Lol.

I stumbled upon the Urban Decay website late one night and my heart stopped short.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND!

Let’s not talk about Alice whom everyone obviously knows. But who can forget the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit with his pocket watch, the Cheshire Cat with his amazing wide grin and of course, the Queen of Hearts.

Off with her head!

Not only does the collection come out in time for Spring 2010, it also marks the launch of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland movie.

The palette comes with 16 eyeshadows, 2 eye liners and it’s famous Urban Decay Primer Potion all in a beautiful box that opens to a pop up of Alice in the mushroom forest.

Named in line with Wonderland, the 16 best-selling eyeshadows are given topsy-turvy names like White Rabbit, Jabberwocky and Oraculum. With the best-selling Urban Decay Primer Potion tucked neatly beside these shadows. I’m quite eagerly awaiting the palette to arrive here so I can lay my grabby little hands on them! I might take a leaf out of the movie stills to inspire me to use the psychedelic colours.

What do you think of this collection? Would you buy it?

Winners for this contest are Joie, Ivy & Xin Hui. Congratulations babes!

With the long weekend approaching and a time to celebrate our Nation’s 44th Birthday, it’s time to get creative with your eye-makeup! If you’re going to the National Day Parade like why not take pride in our national colour and jazz up your eye-makeup with a tinge of red.

I shall be patriotic this weekend and in the process show you 2 looks with red undertones using a bunch of mineral eyeshadows from Silk Mineral.

Look 1 – The Copper Sun

Step 1 – Using Pearl White, highlight the middle of your eyeball; the part that protrudes the most.

Step 2 – The key colour for this look is Pink Copper – a copper (reddish/brown) eyeshadow that has very slight pink undertones. Colour the inner and outer corners of your eye up to your eye socket.

Step 3 – With a soft fluffy brush, blend OUTWARDS into the Pink Copper starting from the white. This helps to soften the copper colour and melts both colours into each other.

As you can see in the second picture, when your eyes are opened, the colours fade into one another smoothly without any obvious line.

Step 4 – With your favourite eyeliner (I used Kate Gel Eyeliner in Black here), line your eyes, curl your lashes and stick on flirty falsies to finish off the look!

If on the other hand, you decide to have a girly night or a romantic dinner after the National Day Parade, smokey eyes might be the order of the day. This time however, I’ll use a soft pink to give a sweet yet sexy appeal to your usual smokey eyes.

Look 2 – The Sweet Siren

Step 1 – Coral Sparks covers half your lids starting all the way from the inner corner of your eye.

Step 2 – You can opt to use black on the outer corners of your eye, but in this case, I chose a shimmery grey from ZA 10 carat eyeshadow palette and brushed it on the outer corners of the eyes, also sweeping a little just under the eyebrows and the inner corners.

Step 3 – Blend blend blend! Blend the grey color over Coral Sparks with a windscreen wiper motion to smoothen the colours out.

Step 4 – For added effect, line your bottom eyelid with the same grey till halfway.

Step 5 – Finally, line your upper eyelids and stick on a pair of dramatic eyelashes for that va-va-voom effect!

Viola!

Now you’re all set to attend a parade and party the night away!

To recreate the above looks, Im giving away 3 eyeshadows sponsored kindly by Silk Mineral. 2 are the exact same ones I used in the tutorials!

I have Coral Sparks, Pink Copper and Cotton Candy (an orangey pink which you can use for both day and night in both looks) to give out and all you have to do is answer the following question:

Mineral makeup from Silk Mineral has no Talc, no Boron Nitrate and no Bismuth Oxychloride. True or false?

Leave your answer with your name and working email in the comments section and the FOURTH, EIGHTH & NINTH commenters will stand a chance to win one of these three beautiful colours!

Deadline for qualifying comments is Saturday 8th August 2359hr.

All comments will be screened.

I picked up this Maybelline Define-a-Lash mascara at the Bangkok International airport on my return trip from there a while ago and bought it again at Philippines’ NAIA duty free because I think I might have just found my holy grail of mascara. Despite using it for several moths on end now, I’m finally writing a review on it .

The first thing that strikes you about the mascara is its bright green packaging; it is eye-catching and hard to miss. The entire thing looks futuristic and you might think, to youself, that green isn’t exactly a conventional color for a beauty product. But pull out the wand and here’s surprise number two: the comb is a rubbery one that is flexible. Wow, not only is the packaging bold, so are its claims.

Here’s what Maybelline says about this mascara:

This zero clump mascara creates stunning length with clean definition.

* Patented shaped-to-the-lash brush
* Ophthalmologist tested, Contact lens safe
* Waterproof; also available in washable formula

“Separated, sensuously long, no clump” lashes. Mmmmmmm… I like that. The promise of a no smudging formula would mean fluttery lashes that last from day to night. But could it withstand the hot and humid weather in Singapore? I’ve always had the problem of little mascara flakes on my bottom lids after a day of living in my mascara.

So how did this mascara fare? Let’s see.

Zero clump? CHECK!
Separated and defined lashes? CHECK!
Stunning length? Well, the lashes didnt exactly STUN me but they DID look longer.

All three claims FULFILLED! I’m impressed!

Although they never mentioned this, but another thing I really like about the mascara is it’s ability to hold a curl. Curl your lashes and sweep on about 2 coats of this fabulous mascara early in the morning and you’re set for the entire day! I came home after a long day and found my lashes sitting prettily curled just as I had curled them that very morning. On top of that, NO FLAKING! YAYYYY!

I’m SOLD.

I swear I’ve never seen my eyelashes looking so long and pretty before. In fact, I cant remember what my eyelashes used to look like before this mascara. Haha. Is it any wonder why I have 2 of them sitting in my drawer at this very moment?

Sadly, they dont carry this particular mascara in Singapore but it’s available at drugstore.com. In fact, I’m going to the Philippines in April again. Anyone wants me to get it for them? Lol.

I’m still alive. Swamped under work, but still barely breathing.

The past 2 weeks have been exhausting although my temporary workload didnt require me to be on my feet as I normally would. Im actually glad that post Chinese New Year festivities, I resume duties back in school. Under-stimulated is an understatement. The 6 week break off from school, however, gave me the chance to bond very well with my colleagues over buffet lunches in the office. Anyhoos, with a new classroom structure for school next week, but retaining the same teacher with the same routines, Im looking forward to working closely with the team and ensuring a positive and fluent environment in the classroom.

On to a less boring topic, our superb project is really manifesting itself, though of course, there are the little nitty bitty details that need to be ironed out. And the impending long weekend is certainly a welcome relief from the whirlwind madness of everything, although I seriously doubt many of us will be getting much rest during the first 2 days of the Lunar New Year.

The opportunity to go out despite all that, means I get to experiment with make up again as I have been recently! YAY! My most recent attempt was for the vPost Nuffnang Christmas Party. I did kinda do my makeup for it in a bit of a rush, but was nonetheless pretty satisfied with the final results. I might need a stronger mid-colour. Oh and did I mention I won an OSIM uSurf for my scrapbooking efforts in the Most Promising Blog Journalist contest.

FIRST PRIZE BABY!

Anyway, as I was saying, the Soccer Player makeup I put on for the night.

Eyes
Inner colour: Artistry Eye Colour Palette in Discreet
Outer colour: Victoria Secret Beauty Rush Luminous Shadow in In the Mink
Kate Gel Eyeliner in Black

Do up the rest of your face the usual way and viola!

The face of a real soccer player may not necessarily always look like that. Haha.

We’re taking a break from reviewing mascaras for a bit and moving on to other exciting stuff like GEL EYELINERS! There isnt much of an abundance of gel eyeliners available here in Singapore save for the 2 major makeup brands that I know about. Maybelline just hopped on the bandwagon and introduced their gel eyeliner here, and I couldnt help but feel that it took a stab at the Kate eyeliner packaging and concept by also packing the brush together. Can you believe my incredulity when I saw their gel eyeliner several days after I came back from BKK on a high?

Anyway, the Kate Gel Eyeliner wasnt readily available in Singapore but I still managed to get my hands on it! Ever since my excitement at finding them in MBK Watson, I have been looking for the perfect excuse opportunity to open my gel eyeliner and use it. Then came the chance.

Now, remembering that I’ve always been using pencil eyeliners and/or liquid liners, I surmised gel eyeliners to be the in-between. If I could “rank” them, I’d say that pencil eyeliners are for beginners because you can draw lightly (ie. sketch) before deciding to apply more pressure to your desired line, while liquid liners should be handled by users who generally have better control over their brush/tool. Thus, gel eyeliners are for people like me who arent exactly new to eyelining, yet arent as skilled and still sometimes make mistakes when it comes to drawing the perfect line.

I judged the gel eyeliner on its ease of application and it’s staying power. My problem with pencil liners was that it would transfer to my upper eyelids owing to my naturally oily eyelids AND hidden double eyelids, thus leaving me at the end of the the day with well, hardly any eyeliner left.

Kate Gel Eyeliner’s staying power, despite also having this transfer problem, was very much bearable as compared to using a pencil. At the end of a long day, the line was still visible, though not that much fainter, and someone most likely would still be able to notice that you took the trouble to line your eyes.

Ease of application was such a breeze. Just dip the accompanying brush into the pot, brush out a little bit of eyeliner, touch the brush head to your lids, draw and go. The line was precise, consistent and there was no worry about dragging/pulling your eyelids. You know what they say about applying too much mechanical stress to your delicate eye area. It takes me about 2 minutes to draw both my eyes and this amount of time I can afford when in a hurry to get to work early wanting to beat the morning peak period traffic. If you have the extra time, wiggle on some mascara and your eyes are pretty much dressed up for a casual day at work.

For gel eyeliner noobs like me, you may want to consider this gel eyeliner if you’re graduating from your pencil liner. It definitely helps that the brush is a square flat brush instead of them long skinny types. Say hello to eyelined eyes from now on.