Purple Persuasion

It's been a while since I bought Revlon Scandalous (761), and though I painted one nail in a previous post, I didn't get around to wearing it on both hands until just last week. I have to say the result exceeded my expectations, and then some. I love this polish. I didn't want to take it off. I kept admiring how it perfect it was in ways that I couldn't have anticipated just looking at the bottle, or painting a single nail. The blackish-purple base is dark enough to add drama and contrast, but somehow has enough body and depth so it's not dull and flat. The dense fuchsia glitter is sandwiched and set in the polish itself, almost giving a gradient effect as the glitter becomes marginally less concentrated at the tip of the nail. It's vital you paint a top coat (as I've done here with my now beloved Sally Hansen Insta-Dri), as it prolongs wear time and makes everything smooth and shiny. And with a polish as special as this one, you'd want to make it last.

Pen Light

I guess you could say YSL Touche Éclat is the only luxe beauty product I own. I believe it sells for $55 at Myer and David Jones, but I bought mine from Chemist Warehouse for $30. This "complexion highlighter" barely needs an introduction. It's a cult beauty product touted as "the secret of makeup artist and models", said to work miracles to inject life and light back to tired, dull-looking skin. The cylindrical pen feels sleek and luxurious, a shiny gold bullet inscribed with the elegant YSL logo. Removing the cap, you click the nub at the base to disperse product onto the brush. What I usually do is wipe the product off the brush onto my clean hand and then use my fingers to apply and blend. I have shade #2 (Luminous Ivory). It's significantly lighter than my natural skin tone, but looking at swatches of the other available shades, I think I made the right choice (that, and there weren't that many to choose from at Chemist Warehouse anyway).

l-r: natural skin, same area after applying Touche Éclat

When I first bought this, I was on the fence about it. I tried it mostly around where I have uneven pigmentation on my face (namely the sides of my nose and around my mouth), and I did notice that it brightened up those areas significantly, almost to an unnatural extent. A little goes a long way. Three clicks is sufficient to get quite a bit of product, and you only need a small amount, blended out, for a noticeable effect. However, I found the formula to be slightly on the dry side. It wasn't as emollient and creamy as I expected, though I didn't experience any major issues with blending or having it settle into fine lines.

Recently, I had the random urge to revisit my Touche Éclat, this time to see how it fared as an under eye concealer. As the second last photo shows, it somewhat helped to conceal the darkness under my eyes, but mostly what it did was lighten my overall complexion. I tried to take the side by side photos more or less at the same time with the same lighting and same camera settings, and I was surprised at just how much whiter and lighter my skin looked with the Touche Éclat. It doesn't specifically conceal dark circles, but rather just lightens the face in a powerful way. Even though #2 is much lighter than my skin tone, a thin layer carefully blended helps to perfect my skin by brightening the darker areas of my face, evening out the complexion and counteracting dullness. Having said that, this isn’t a product I reach for on a regular basis. It’s something I’d use on special occasions if I wanted a really flawless, highlighted face, or as a concealer for more laidback days when I still want a bit of coverage but not a full face of foundation.

Face, Body and Hands

This year, along with the Beauty Bag, Priceline has also released both a hair and skin care bag. I passed up on the hair one (mainly because I don’t do anything with my hair except wash it every couple of days and spray some dry shampoo in between washes), but this skin care one was just so stuffed with goodies, I couldn't resist. In order to claim one, you need to spend $50 on skin care across the participating brands (which include Avene, Dove, Neutrogena, Nivea, Sukin, Biore, Vaseline, Palmer’s, Yes To Carrots and others).

My bag contained 20 items housed in a Models Prefer black patent mock croc tote. There’s all the skin care I need for the next couple of years in here. Body lotion, hand cream, face cream, face treatments, face masks, face mist, blemish sticks, cleanser, facial towelettes, perfumed deodorant and sunscreen. Granted, I probably wouldn’t actively go out and buy any of the contents (except maybe the Avene Thermal Spring Water), but I guess that’s the appeal of a freebie bag: being able to sample so many full-sized products that I normally wouldn’t purchase.

Here’s what’s inside (and my thoughts on a few):

Apivita Express Beauty Mask With Carrot

Avene Thermal Spring Water (50ml)
It’s really just water (and nitrogen) in a can, but somehow I kind of love it. Spritzed on, it feels genuinely refreshing and calming, and adds a touch of dewiness to the skin if used as a makeup setting spray. The nozzle is a thing of wonder because it disperses a truly fine mist.

Biore Clean Things Up Gel Cleanser

Dove Silky Nourishment Body Cream

Innoxa SOS Skin Tissue Oil Aerosol
This is an oil in an aerosol that you can use on either your face or body. It claims to moisturise dry skin and minimise scarring, stretch marks, wrinkles and uneven skin tone. I’m not convinced about rubbing oil into my face, but it doesn’t seem any greasier than a rich cream, so we’ll see how it goes.

Neutrogena Ultimate Sport Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30+
Pleased about the inclusion of this because I’m lacking a good sunscreen. It’s something that I usually neglect as an individual step (relying instead on the SPF in my day cream), because sunscreens I’ve tried are usually greasy, chalky and leave a white cast. But this one feels light and non-greasy, like I could substitute it for my daily moisturiser.

Nivea Intensive Nourishing Hand Cream
Pretty standard hand cream infused with the Nivea Crème smell, which I find unpleasantly pungent and overpowering.

OXY Emergency Zit Blitz Gel
I just realised it says at the top “engineered for male skin”. You’re supposed to apply the gel directly from the tube at the first sign of a spot appearing. I've been having minor breakouts fairly consistently, so I'm curious to see if this will work the next time I get a pimple (which can't be too far off).

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Fragrance Free Body Lotion
I wouldn’t say this is completely fragrance free, it smells like a much lighter version of the rich, buttery and chocolatey original. I don’t mind the scent of the normal one, but this fragrance-free version seems a bit fresher and lighter.

Playboy Play It Rock Body Spray
Not a fan of the scent. I sprayed it on my hand to test it and then wished I hadn't.

Pure Therapy Intensive Moisture Repair Gel
Not sure how much use I’d get from this as it’s a treatment for those with very dry and flaky skin.

Puretopia Glowingly Smooth Body Polish

Softlips Vanilla SPF 20

Skinvitals Hydraflex Flex-Cloth Face Mask

Sukin Facial Moisturiser (125ml)
I have a 50ml bottle which was another freebie. Wish it had SPF because then I could use it as my daily moisturiser. Otherwise, I sometimes use this at night, but it’s not my preferred choice. I like the feeling of my skin drinking up moisture from my cream (especially in winter), but this is quite watery and light.

U Little Beauty Hand Cream

Vaseline Total Moisture Aloe Fresh SPF 15 Daily Light Lotion

Witch Blemish Stick
Same purpose as the OXY Emergency Zit Blitz Gel but in the form of a stick rather than a gel, and with witch hazel.

Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Hypoallergenic Facial Towelettes
I’ve heard good things about these towelettes and they’re also an Allure Best of Beauty 2011 Award winner, so I’m looking forward to trying them out.

My Own Whimsy

Revlon Blue Lagoon (092) is gorgeous in the bottle, but I was left disappointed with the application. The formula is sheer and prone to streakiness, which usually means I have to paint at least 3 thick layers to eliminate any bald spots. Having to paint multiple coats wouldn't be so much of a problem if the colour didn't become increasingly less appealing with each layer. It goes from a pale baby blue with a resplendent white microshimmer to almost a flat sky blue by the third coat. I was really hoping for something lighter and more pastel. After only a day I was already bored of it, so I decided to jazz things up with a bazillion coats of China Glaze Techno (which I'd been itching to wear properly since I bought it from Paddy's Markets). The result reminded me of a super blinged up version of Revlon Whimsical, which was completely unintentional, and because of that, all the more pleasing. Techno on top manages to soften the brightness of Blue Lagoon. I'm loving the larger holographic hex glitter in Techno and how it gives the illusion of multicoloured glitter. I think the effect would be even more pronounced over a dark base, which I'm keen to try next.