Posts Tagged ‘Mascara Tips’

I have this nasty little habit when I go mascara shopping: I tend to pick up several mascaras at once and store them somewhere for a couple a months before I get to opening any one of them. Call me a mascara hoarder, but even when I got the Maybelline Colossal Volume Express mascara waaaaayyyy before it hit the shores of Singapore as the Maybelline Magnum Mascara, it took me about 8 months later before the mascara got to see daylight. LOL.

Please dont ask me why that happens. But perhaps it’s just knowing that after I’ve found the best mascara that I dub the holy grail of mascaras, nothing else comes close. Except maybe its sister mascara with an additional pulse.

Still, I’m always on the look out for new mascaras that promise to curl, lengthen and volumise your lashes. So when I walked into Duane Reade, the local drugstore, the first night here in New York, I had a bimbogasm when I saw the shelves of makeup. I picked out a whole bunch of mascaras, but decided I only have so many lashes that I can coat with mascara. So those we couldnt get back home in Singapore were the ones I landed up with.

Clockwise from top:
- Covergirl Lash Blast Luxe mega volume shimmering mascara
- Covergirl Exact Highlights eye brightening mascara
- Maybelline Define-a-lash Volume mascara
- Rimmel Glam Eyes Lash Flirt mascara
- Maybelline Pulse Perfection Vibrating mascara (review here)
- Maybelline Define-a-lash Lengthening mascara (review here)

Me picking up the same two mascaras time and time again is probably the best testament to how amazing I think they are. As for the rest, I promise I will get a review up for each of them within the next….. 3 months maybe? Haha. Or it might be better if you told me which one you’d like to see a review on and I’d get started on that pronto.

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With the beginning of a new month, I can safely tell you that beginnings are just as difficult as endings. A beginning always holds uncertainty; a beginning is always full of pebbles along the way; a beginning is always where you start mucking about before you finally find what works for you. As much as you always plan for something, the unexpected never fails to happen and it’s these unexpected surprises that you have to deal with that make a simple beginning challenging yet so very exciting.

It is with the beginning of dweam.com as a Singapore Beauty Blog that I say goodbye to my previous direction. It is today I welcome a new beauty direction in my blog.

I’ve always toyed with the idea of starting a full fledged beauty blog. I can tell you it was difficult to do so. The beginning is always tough. I never thought that I was qualified to do so despite spending all my years in University on stage dancing; never thought that all the time I spent in front of the camera and on the runway was enough for me to tell anyone how to do their makeup. In fact, why would they listen to an ugly duckling like me?


Can you guess which one is me? Hahaha. Fresh faced into Uni. Taken when I was in Year 1 in 2004.

But maybe it was really when I finally ventured into the pageantry circuit and had to “fend for myself” that I finally got the courage to start. Afterall it was then that I had the most “drastic” changes in terms of how I looked. Hahaha. No, it was not plastic, but merely a refining of the basic techniques I already had. With this experience in dance, modeling and pageantry, yes, I’ve decided to give myself the go ahead. That’s not to say, up to this point, my beauty tutorials, makeup reviews and DIYs come from professional backgrounds. They are simply genuine reflections of what I do, use, experience and feel for the products on a regular basis.


Fast forward 4 years later, 2008.

However, beauty, to me, is not merely about who has the biggest eyes, the fullest lips, using the best makeup or having the most extensive number of products. I have to say that coming from a Psychology background (oh yes, I’m trained in Psychology. Let me read your mind now) that beauty to me is really just a mental state. I fully believe that we can and all should dream of the beautiful to be truly outstanding. My one month in the Philippines representing Singapore as Miss Earth also taught me that exact same thing. It wasn’t the girl who had the flashiest clothes, biggest eyes or the best hair that eventually won the crown. It was the girl who could compose herself well in times of duress that finally got crowned Queen. It was her who could smile despite not having things go her way. It was her who was a friend to all. Despite landing only Top 16, I have to admit, I learnt a lot during that trip to last me a lifetime.

Being beautiful is an art, but more importantly, being beautiful is a holistic development. As I share with you what makes me beautiful outside and in through my DIYs, reviews, tutorials, outfit posts, the not-so-newly conceived SneakerSunday and the occasional lifestyle posts, I hope new readers and potential followers will take my hand (albeit a virtual one) and join me in my beauty journey. For those who have been following me for a long time, I thank you for your unfailing support. There are so many people I have to thank, because without them dweam.com would not be where it is now. But, I will leave that for another day.

As an ending note, my dream for this blog is to inspire you, my reader, to become more beautiful inside and out as you explore uncharted territories with me, in this new chapter of dweam.


2010. Photo credits: Brad Lau

This is me. This is dweam now.

Not everyone can be a beauty queen, but everyone can be beautiful.

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Beneath all that dark eye makeup you might see me with usually, lies a very lazy girl. I’m really quite a fuss-free person even though I’m mad about makeup and have a deep love for dark dramatic eyes. But we all have our off days, and from time to time (actually most of the time if I can get away with it. HAHA), I opt for a no makeup face.

How To/Tutorial: No Makeup Face

I recently decided to do a no makeup face (and have it photographed) while having Sunday brunch. Sundays are meant to be days where you chillax and enjoy good company without worrying too much about how you look. Yet at the same time, in the presence of company, you do want to look presentable without being overly madeup.

So here’s how-to achieve a no makeup face:

1) You want to appear like you have no makeup at all yet still maintain a flawless complexion. Concealer is thus, your best friend in this no makeup face. Apply concealer and blend thoroughly to the dark circles under the eyes with your ring finger. Also remember to conceal any blemishes or other spots.
2) Next, dust powder foundation all over your face with a big fluffy brush for a natural finish.
3) Choose a natural peachy blush for that rosy flush and sweep it over the apples of your cheeks. I used the NARS Orgasm blush because it’s has lovely golden sparkles that brighten up your complexion instantly.
4) Light pink lips are the way to go in a no makeup face. I like the e.l.f Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lips for a hint of colour and gloss. Also because the lipstick is in the form of a pen, it’s so easy to carry around!

Do you have an alternative method to achieving your no makeup face? Share it with me or even better, show me!

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Happy Easter guys! In the spirit of all things colourful and yummy, this is a face of the day inspired by all the delish Easter eggs! I also have to thank Violet Le Beaux for sending me the adorable crochet heart shaped ring. Her rings (she gave me 3 but I only photographed 1) were so cute that I decided to do a look that would match them: a pink kawaii look that hopefully she’d be proud of. Haha. I was going for a sweet dolly eyed effect and thus used a whole bunch of pink coloured products for this look.

She made the rings specially for me and sent them all the way from Down Under, Australia! Who would have thought that you could meet such awesome people thru blogging. <3 If you're interested, she's selling the cute rings on her blog.

Anyway here’s the breakdown for this Candy Coloured Easter face of the day:

Face
M.A.C Studio Fix foundation
NARS Orgasm blush (review HERE)
M.A.C Accentuate Sculpt sculpt and shape powder

Eyes
M.A.C Paint Pot in Rubenesque
Silk Mineral mineral eyeshadow in Coral Sparks
Majolica Majorca eyeshadow in GR750
Kate Gel Eyeliner in Black
Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara
Pink glitter mascara

Lips
e.l.f Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lip

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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.

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Christmas is barely days away! Have you been naughty or nice through this year? Hopefully you’ve been nice and made it to the nice list!

Not too long ago I had a shoot where I had to be “naughty”. With big hair, glitter sparkles, dark eyes, dark nails and red lips, I was a rockstar drummer.

Although most of the other makeup was the make-up artist’s, the eyeshadow was mine. Proudly showing off to her the NARS eyeshadow I had gotten with the help of a close friend, she agreed that the pigmentation was fantastic and proceeded to use it for my look. I love the intensity of it!

Face of the Day

Face
Makeup Forever products

Eyes
NARS eyeshadow duo in Pandora
M.A.C mineralise eyeshadow in Cinderfella
Kate Gel eyeliner in Black
Maybelline XXL volume+length mascara

Outfit
White balloon tee: Forever 21
Gold multi-layered chain necklace: Forever 21

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