winter base

1. Vichy Aera Mineral BB

This BB Cream was something I bought when BB creams were a huge fad, but back then I wasn't big a big user of foundations or bases, and would simply dab concealer over my face where it was needed. I thought that Vichy was a good skincare brand so their BB cream couldn't be bad and decided to give it a go. When swatching at my local drugstore, I chose the darker shade which I still find to be quite light on me these days and I only use this when at my ultimate palest. I've been using this a lot during the winter months, both in New York and in Hong Kong as I feel like this is 'better' for your skin than putting an actual foundation on, but who knows if this is actually any better. Though it goes on a tad grey for my liking, it magically evens out my skin tone and somehow gives a bit of a glow. Bonus - this BB cream is paraben free, hypoallergenic, tested on sensitive skin and fragrance free and has SPF 20. 

2. Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in Medium

This concealer is full coverage to the maximum -- it's very thick and was almost difficult to squeeze out of the tube at first, but when dabbed over blemished with your ring finger, it blends seamlessly into the skin. It's heavily pigmented so even the thinnest layer will give you enough coverage, and is tacky enough that it's not sticky, but long-wearing. It's also meant to be creaseless and waterproof -- the waterproof part I find fairly believable as this does make it through a sweaty 45 minute long spin class, but it does tend to gather in my annoying undereye creases (even when set with powder) but that's the only place on my face it does that.

3. Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch in 3 Glow

This is a YSL Touch Éclat-esque type of thing with the clicky brush and the brightening concealer. I don't find this product particularly revolutionary or life-changing, but it helps at concealing my endless eyebags and is a nice item to keep in my purse for when makeup slips off. 

4. Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder in Universal

I've already raved about this powder here so I won't delve into too much detail. This powder has been a long-time favourite in my collection, I've been through about three of these pots now, I pretty much use it every day, so it won't be going away anytime soon.

5. Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Exposed

 I mentioned this lovely blush here when I was favouring it during spring weather, but in all honesty, I've been favouring this blush ever since I purchased it.  The Tarte blushes are known for their long-wearing quality, and safe to say, it meets its reputation. This shade in particular, is the perfect everyday shade to give your face that extra bit of colour without being overpowering, and matches perfectly with a dark night-out eye.

6. MAC Pro Longwear Bronzing Powder in Sun Dipped

Like the prior two listed, this bronzer was also spoken about briefly here. I find that this is probably my favourite bronzer for the winter months -- it's not too dark to make your face look like a separate entity from your body, and it's also got a hint of shimmer in it to give you that extra glow-y look during the paler months. Even better - the packaging is absolutely fantastic, but unfortunately it is limited edition.

everyday essentials

As the paranoid, mildly OCD person that I am, I constantly like to be prepared for all situations. Hence, I tend to carry around a range of things with me in my bag and here's a sneaky peek.

1. Acuvue contact lenses,  Blink eye drops - Because I am blind, sometimes my contacts get dry and sometimes they fall out of my eyes for no apparent reason (don't ask).

2. EOS hand cream - I am an obsessive with any creams / lotions / moisturisers; at any given time, there are an average of three on my desk both at home and at work accordingly, and sometimes two in my bag but only when it's a big bag. 

3. Purell hand sanitizer in Ocean Breeze - I live in a dirty city. Self-explanatory and this one smells nice.

4. Laura Mercier Smooth Focus Pressed Setting Powder, Shine Control in Matte Translucent - What a long-winded name but this does the job when I find myself looking shiny. (and a little Shu Uemura brush to go with it).

5. Trish McEvoy Beauty Emergency Card for Eyes - This is the perfect on-the-go eyeshadow palette, it's super thin, literally credit-card sized as the name states, and contains fairly basic shades that you can slap on easily and still look good.

6. Maybelline Volum'Express the Hypercurl - My favourite mascara ever, how could I not carry a tube in my bag? I also carry a mini pink compact eyelash curler for the days when my eyelashes get a bit droopy. You never know.

7.  Aquaphor - This does so many things and is the ultimate lip saviour.

8. Maybelline Pure Mineral Concealer - Again, one of my favourite concealers, and easy to slap on.

9. Bobbi Brown Touch Up Stick in Warm Beige - Another concealer because you never know when a spot will pop up!

10. Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick in Bad Girl Bronze - This is for when I want to give my look a teeny bit more depth.

11. Cherry Chapstick - Because I have dry lips and also like to obsessively moisturise them.

12. Trish McEvoy Lipstick in Mulberry - This is a sheer berry tint with a lovely hint of moisture.

13. Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in Rose Blush - This is one of my favourite 'your lips but better' lipsticks.

14. Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal in Sparkling Black - You never know where the day might lead and this is great for those last minute spontaneous night out decisions.

15. Altoids - Do I need to explain this?

16. Hair clip and hair ties - Ditto.

Saying that I'm a light traveller is the understatement of the year -- this is only the beauty-related part of my purse.

summer to autumn: base

The weather in NYC has been sort of bipolar -- it's gotten cold and warm again a few times over the last month, but it's finally starting to really feel like autumn so I thought I share some of my transition-friendly choices.

1. Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser in Sand

I've previously done a more in-depth review about why I like it so much in this post and briefly mentioned it here, so I won't go into too much detail again, but this is currently my favourite choice of base as it gives my face a bit of a glow, and helps lock in moisture as the drier weather is starts to settle in. Sometimes when I want a heavier coverage, I'll whip out the Real Techniques Buffing Brush but 99% of the time I'll slap this on with my fingers.

2. Maybelline Pure Mineral Concealer in 02

One of my favourite concealers ever, mentioned here and here, so I won't go into a lot of detail. It really just is my go-to favourite -- it feels light on the skin, has a decent lasting power and covers what needs to be covered. 

3. Collection Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer in 3 Glow

Pretty much every single makeup brand has one of these clicky-illuminating-concealer pen things and as Collection recently branched out to Hong Kong, I thought I'd pick another one of these up. I think this shade is a little bit too dark for me but as I've still got a bit of a summer tan, it seems to work quite well under my eyes. Nothing revolutionary, it's just another useful item to help conceal my dark eyebags.

4. Collection Shimmer Shades in 1 Way to Glow

I really do have to share how much I love this little quad. It has 4 shimmery shades that I absolutely adore; the champagney-white is perfect for highlighting, the rosy and peachy colours are great for perking my cheeks up a little, and the bronzier shade is awesome for adding that extra glowy tan to the high points of your face. All in all, it pretty much has all my ideal face shades, the powder is buttery soft and the colour payoff is excellent.

5. MAC Pro Longwear Bronzing Powder in Sun Dipped

This bronzer was part of a limited sailor-themed collection which launched last year I think? Anyway, the packaging is beautiful, it has a navy and white striped pattern on the lid and delightfully glossy instead of the typical satin black you get with MAC. I find this shade to give me the perfect bronzy look without making me look like an orange and as I've hit pan, I am rationing out my uses carefully.

loves of the summer so far: base

1. Maybelline Pure Mineral Concealer in 02

This is probably the best concealer of my life. I have been through countless tubes of this and thank god it is a fairly cheap product as I manage to get through it all quite quickly. It's the perfect consistency, blends evenly, can be layered for more coverage and is magically somehow the perfect shade for me from when I'm super pale to tan. I had a heart attack when I thought it was discontinued because it wasn't available in the US or UK, but then I found out it was only on the Asian market and all was right in the universe again. I love this to the moon and back and, god forbid, the day it becomes discontinued, I will buy my local drugstore's full stock then cry myself to sleep.

2. Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 02

I bought this quite a while ago when I decided I had to move away from the Maybelline Mineral Concealer and also when I was slightly more tanned. For quite a while I used it but decided that it was too dry and thick for my liking, then I got pale and it was completely the wrong shade for my ghastly face. Since I've gained a bit of colour again, I've been using this as an undereye conealer and found that the peachy-warm tones of it are perfect in masking the blue-y, green-y eyebags that seem to perpetually hang below my eyes. It's not as long lasting as I'd like it to be, but then again, my many undereye creases don't help when using any type of concealer in said region. It can get a bit powdery and cake-y looking when constantly reapplied but I've learned to mix this up with a bit of my Maybelline concealer to stop my eyes from looking like they have been dipped in flour.

3. Inglot Bronzing Powder in 75

One of the softest powder products of my collection, this gives a pleasant bit of colour to the face on those "why do I look like I've lived in a cave for the last month" days. I've been applying this with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush for god knows what reason, but it seems to deposit just the right amount of colour and shimmer on the areas of my face the sun would naturally hit, leaving me with a lovely dew-y "I've just sat out in the sun for the afternoon" glow. I like to think that it doesn't look overly orange or that it's a muddy bronzer and it looks like I've stuck my face in pot of dirt, but then again there are some days I might be wrong and I'm actually walking around looking like a giant Cheeto-face. Who knows.

4. Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder in Universal

A long term favourite of mine, I have gone through quite a few tubs of this stuff and in-between have tried multiple other pressed powders (e.g. the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder). Nothing quite gives the same smooth and silky finish to my skin the way this does, though I have to say I haven't had the guts to try any other loose powders because I just love this far too much and would carry this to my grave if I could. It is neither overly mattifying nor too dewy looking and manages to keep my oil at bay for most of the day.

5. Laura Mercier Smooth Focus Shine Control Pressed Setting Powder in Matte Translucent

I have almost finished up my MAC Pressed Blot Powder, (there is literally  the thinnest ring of product around the edge of the pan I have yet to use), but this has made it into my daily makeup bag in place of the aforementioned. Since my skin has become significantly less oily over the last year and almost a bit dry and dehydrated, I was starting to find that the MAC powder was sucking even more moisture out of my skin, leaving unappealing dry patches of flaky skin in certain areas. This looks oddly blue in the pan which can be ever so slightly off-putting. But when dusted over my face in the middle of the day after reapplying concealer where necessary, it manages to mattify my skin just the perfect amount without leaving my face feeling like it has turned into the Sahara Desert. 

current face

1. Nars Cream Eyeshadow in Cosmic Girl

- a lovely shimmery highlight on the cheekbone.

2. Bare Minerals Eyeshadow in Nude Beach

- by far my favourite Bare Minerals shadow; delightfully shimmery and sparkly yet somewhat neutral.

3. Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Emerveillé

- the most glorious texture for a creamy mousse-y eyeshadow that is perfect for all day every day.

4. Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

- it gives the most natural finish like your skin but better when mixed with a pinch of moisturizer.

5. Maybelline Mineral Pure Conealer

- just your average concealer that isn't outrageously heavy and cakey.

6. Stila Convertible Colour in Poppy

- the perfect colour that gives your face a healthy flush or a "I've just been outside in the cold" tinge.

7. Maybelline Volum'Express the HyperCurl

- my favourite mascara ever, probably my seventh or eighth tube; I have unopened ones lying around in case, God forbid, Maybelline decides to discontinue it.

*All images taken with an iPhone 5.