Stuff I brought home, Summer make-up capsule, and No Buy 2016

I went from short uncreative titles (X Lipstick, Facial Oil) to longer ones. Development! There are 3 layers to this post. I will be home for a month during my summer break, and as I was packing for my stay, I have essentially created my own summer make-up capsule. This got me into thinking that I might do a seasonal capsule for my make-up and rotate them every 3 months since I do have a large collection. I then realised how large this collection is, especially for someone who recently got into make-up about 3 years ago. It is slightly overwhelming! Whilst packing, I decluttered some of my make-up items konmari style, asking (1) "Do you make me happy?" as well as (2)"Are you needed because I was curious about something?" and if you are, you're staying. I gave myself the additional latter question because I need to know if I can make green eyeshadows work for me or if there is such a thing as the perfect purple blush. Given my sizable collection, I have also decided on a No-Buy till the end of this year, except for some items that I am considering to purchase because of curiosity reasons, following statement (2). This capsule mainly focus on everyday looks that can stand the Malaysian heat. Additionally, I've also got my graduation and 2 weddings to consider.

This post is totally inspired by Auxiliary Beauty, by the way. Except my towels are all still in the wash, so I'm using my favourite headscarf, which is the coolest ombre blue! (Unfortunately, not obvious in any of the pictures.)

I have packed my make up into four (!!!) bags: tools (magenta), eyes (light pink), complexion (black) and lips (well, LIPS.) This is excluding skin care. 

Base

L-R: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind in Fair, Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Medium, a bubble-wrapped Avril Organics face powder in Nude, EX1 Delete concealer in D100, EX1 Invisiwear foundation in F200, bareMinerals Complexion Rescue in 03 Buttercream, Borjois CC Cream in Light Beige, EX1 Pure Crushed Minerals foundation in M100, Kiko Matte Fusion Powder in 04 Honey.

The Maybeline concealer, Collection concealer and EX1 mineral foundation are close to being empty, I think I can finish them before my flight home in late July. (Update: I didn't!) My pressed powder has about 1/4 product left so I brought an extra powder just in case I ran out. EX1 Invisiwear in F200 is slightly dark for me, even in the summer so it's gonna be mixed with my CC cream/tinted moisturiser.

L-R: Max Factor FaceFinity Primer, Make Up Academy Undress Your Skin Liquid Glow in Oyster, (Top) Sleek Contour Kit in Medium, Sleek Blush in Antique, KIKO bronzer in 01 Natural Tan, (Bottom) Illamasqua cream blush in Zygomatic, Nyx blush in Taupe, Borjois bronzing primer, Make Up Academy cream blush in Framboise Shake, (below Borjois) ELF Tickle Pink.

Eyes

From top & L-R: In the custom palette, where I store my MUA and ELF blushes as well, are eyeshadows depotted from Make Up Revolution Iconic Pro 1 palette (I didn't label the shades, but based on Google, they should be from top & L to R; Need, Must, Fade, Too Grey, Stage), Jane Iradele Daytime eyeshadow, Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creme de Rose and On and On Bronze, the Balm Put a Lid on It eyeshadow primer, Seventeen Statusque and Rose Quartz, B. Smoky Eye pencil in Grey, Etude House eyebrow in Grey, Stilla smudge stick in Lionfish, MaxFactor 200 Calorie Mascara in Black, Covergirl Super Sizer in Brown Black, ELF Lash Tint mascara in Black Noir, ELF brow gel, Make Up Academy eyeshadow primer. Not pictured, a tube of unopened Avril Organics mascara.

(Update: I decided to ditch my custom palette eventually. I don't think I'll wear anything from it and I needed more space in my luggage!)

These eyeshadows are quite recent purchases and I am very excited to play around with wearing more eyeshadows. I know they're only neutral colours but from someone who barely wears anything on the eyes, this is pretty exciting. Most of my mascaras are about to dry out (hence I brought along a new tube of mascara) so I think I'll finish using all of them by the end of summer. I'm also throwing out the MUA eyeshadow primer, actually. It does not work at all, and while I've only tested the Balm's primer several times, I think I like it much more.

Lips

L-R: (Top) Avril Organics in Saumon and Nude, Wet n Wild Bare it All and In the Flesh, NARS Audacious in Jane and Anna, Revlon Really Red, ELF Smoochy Spice. (Bottom) Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey, Avril Organics lip liner in Nude, Essence lip pencil in Femme Fatale.

I wore Jane for my graduation, expectedly. On most days, I switch between Honey and Saumon since they are very neutral, easy colours on me. Similarly to eyeshadows, I rarely wear lipliners and I don't think I needed them. But I like the potential longevity of lipliners and just reapplying chapsticks, so I got myself the Nude lipliner from Avril. Although realistically speaking, I foresee no occasion that I will wear red lipstick, a girl has gotta have all the options amirite?! 

Tools

Do I have a problem? Yes.. and No. I love brushes. In fact, I get more excited for brushes sometimes, more than make up itself. But it's pretty hard to sell the "I love makeup brushes!" when I go cheap with my tools. (As I write this, I think to myself, why do I justify passion only with spending more for it? Does going cheap cheapens the love?) I am here to admit I bought most of my brushes from Ebay as sets (beginners LOVE sets, don't they? Well, I do!) and they're affordable for my budget. Only recently I got into buying the Real Techniques dupes, but for the past 2 years, I've been using strictly no-brand synthetic brushes and I have no problem with this. Even when I bought dupes (especially Real Techniques), I feel that they're good enough! This is the decision I have made with regards to purchasing the tools for my make up application, make what you will of that. 

But just in case anyone is curious, in the First picture I have Wilko Face powder brush, RT face expert brush (the real one), Ebay stippling brush (set) and essential brush (set) and blush brush (no link, I bought it a year ago so I don't have it in my purchase history, unfortunately). In the Second picture, I have brushes from this set and this set, alongside an ELF eyeshadow brush and a random spooly brush. I also have the usual cotton rounds, cotton buds, alcohol spray, a fixing mist, sharpener, eyelash curler, eyebrow razor thingy and an additional SPF.

I rather like this capsule and I enjoy wearing the options I've chosen when I wanted to wear make up. Admittedly, I feel that it is a lot of stuff! In addition to my skin care, I ended up with quite a heavy luggage. Henceforth, I am going on a No-Buy, not even a Low-Buy. I just reached a point recently, "Nah, I don't need that," and "I can probably make that colour by mixing this with that." I am very happy to reach this point actually. It means that I focus on working with what I already have, and I have a lot. I am not strictly on a No-Buy with skincare just yet, but similarly, I know I want to work on finishing my arsenal of serums and stick to having one face cleanser open at a time!

I mentioned earlier that I have a couple of stuff that I will eventually buy because of my curiosity, and it is actually not green eyeshadow. I'm probably going to get ColorPop's blush in Rain since they are now available for international shipping. I am still undecided, since I feel that the colour and pigment is more suitable for pale skins. I've also tried lilac blushes (Illamasqua Dab -- although, it is not actually a blush), and it looks... Odd is not the right word for it. "Out of place, but in a good way," perhaps? And I don't think I need another product to tell me that, although another beauty junkie might reason, "They're not the same!" So far, I want Rain, but I am not tempted to buy it. Another thing I am definitely getting is MAC's Fix+. I am curious if a fixing spray is really necessary for me (as an oily person, I love powdery finishes since I know it'll tone itself down in like an hour so actually, no, I don't feel I need it. But curiosity, man!) and if I didn't need it, I am very intrigued by the "fine mist" from the super high-tech (I imagine) the spray has, as hyped by everyone and their mother. I hope it doesn't break me out.

On that note, I'll end my post here. Toodles, y'all!

Avril Organics Lipsticks

Hey, ho! I am well and alive, just distracted most of the time. The elephant in the room is my inevitable huge shopping spree in the past month. I don't know what to categorize it : retail therapy? The "big haul" in preparation to returning home (Malaysia, to any new readers) where everything is slightly pricier? Or just my "Oh my God, I NEED this!" irrationality? Suffice to say.. Can we not talk/blog about it?

While I have been procrastinating blogging, I have been distracted by many things. Aside from the shopping, it has been going through the archive of Mercedes of l'amour et la musique. I don't think I am her targeted audience. I didn't care for natural/eco products, I've got no disposable income for luxe items and I cringe whenever someone starts talking about new-age *energy* healing crystals. Notice the "didn't"; I am far from being an eco-beauty aficionado, but that side of the beauty industry is intriguing. Does it really matter? Would it make a difference? How bad can conventional (usually more affordable) products be? Additionally, the alternative health Mercedes talks about constantly are actually things my family has practiced for years : acupuncture, homeopathy, healing massages, aura reading, using crystals for health reasons etc., just not hyped in a Valley-girl manner. In a way, she reminded me of my Mum's habits and rekindled some childhood memories. I was very skeptical of her practices, but I am now more than intrigued! One of these days I might just grab a cup of coffee with her, a notebook in hand and I'll ask her everything about it. And she knows everything. (Mothers always do, I suspect.)

In the spirit of this new-found interest in eco-beauty, I sought to look for organic lipstick brands because lipstick is kinda my thing. One that popped up was Avril Organics, an affordable organic French brand. I ended up buying several things (eyeliners, face powder, a mascara; I will review them in the future) but today, let's talk about lipsticks. I bought all of the lipsticks online and in my Google search for its swatches, I found very few and no comprehensive English review of these lipsticks. So I hope this is going to be helpful for someone out there.

There 9 shades and I have 4 of them. The colour that piqued my interest the most was Terre Battue, which looked like a rich terracotta, but has more orange rather than brick red. I instantly thought of my favorite lipstick, Nars Audacious in Jane. I love terracotta lipsticks, and Jane is my first love. I didn't know the undertone of my complexion (i.e. a year of frustratingly trying to match a foundation that won't make me look like an oompa loompa or ghastly grey) and Jane taught me I might be warm. I have since discovered that I am (might be) neutral, leaning warm. Jane also made me realize how I naturally tan as somehow, when I put her on, the darker outer region and lighter middle region of my face becomes more obvious. It's probably because the colour makes my complexion look cohesive. I took this understanding of my face architecture in my subsequent journey of learning how to bronze, and fell for my second love : bronzers.

Anyways, less gush about Jane since I intend to dedicate one post to this lipstick one day.

Bare lips

Terre Battue, Saumon

Nude, Brun Rose Nacre

I would describe Terre Battue as an orange terracotta and it is very warm. My yellow teeth ( Hey, coffee! Hey, tea! Also, Hey genetics!) looks so much yellower, but life is just way too short to wear boring lipsticks (the wise words of Sarah). Terre Battue is the first one I bought and as soon as I got the lipstick in the mail and tried it on, I had to order 3 more colors. Saumon is a lighter version of Terre Battue, Nude is a pink nude and is my-lips-but-better colour on me, while Brun Rose Nacre is mauve, leaning brown.

Avril lipsticks in Terre Battue, Saumon, Nude, Brun Rose Nacre (with flash)

I tried comparing Terre Battue to Jane, and indeed, they are not dissimilar. The orange in Terre Battue is more obvious next to Jane. I also swatched my Nars Audacious in Anna, which is a cool-toned mauve on me to see how "cool" Nude and Brun Nacre Rose are, and I concluded that these colors are quiet neutral.

Nars Jane, Avril Terre Battue, Saumon, Nude, Brun Rose Nacre, Nars Anna (with flash)

They are all very moisturising and have a creamy finish, Nude has the tiniest bit of silver shimmer in it. Saumon applies more patchily than the others, but it is not too terrible. On me, they all become more matte and they remain opaque for at least up to 4 hours without eating and drinking. 

These lipsticks have a slight waxy feel to them. Some might dislike this quality, but I don't mind the waxiness as it is not something I can't work with. It has a pleasant "fake natural" scent (lol this description makes no sense?!) but they disappear very quickly.

Also to note, I love how the lipsticks are shaped. I'm not sure how to explain it and I hope my attempt in these blurry, outta focus pictures are somewhat helpful. There's no sharp point to them, so that part of the lip at the cupid's bow don't appear too strong. The shape is also pretty easy for me to get a decently straight lipstick application on my upper lip in one swipe. No outside-the-lip lipstick accidents. Basically, I thought it was perfect for the shape of my lips and how I like to apply my lipsticks. I didn't know I cared about how lipsticks were cut until now.

I bought these lipsticks form different online shops : Ecco-verde for Terre Battue, econaturalproduct (Ebay) for Saumon and Rose Brun Nacre and bugster0178 (Ebay) for Nude. They are all under £7, which is pretty affordable. On whether I'd buy more shades, the answer is No. I am not attracted to the other colours and as you've seen, these shades are not vastly different from each other. I was slightly interested in Aubergine, but I feel that I can get it by mixing Brun Rose Nacre with other deeper shades in my collection. Wild Organic Beauty mentioned that the colors of Avril lipsticks are "old fashioned" and I can see why she made this statement. These colours are typical classics in any line (I disagree with using "old fashion") and slightly tweak the opacity and depth of each color group. The colours that I already own are sufficient for me.

On eco-lipsticks, in general: I am interested in other brands, such as Benecos and Lavera, maybe Lily Lolo as well. But I won't purchase them any time soon. I don't need more lipsticks, I really don't. (Also I'm broke. Duh.)

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Ingredients (from Ecco-verde): Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Mica, Olus Oil, Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides), Jojoba Esters, Copernicia Cerifera Cera (Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax), Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Hydrated Silica, Trihydroxystearin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Parfum (Fragrance), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Glyceryl Caprylate, Tocopherol, Candelilla Cera (Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Ci 77492 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Glycine Soja Oil, Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Flower Extract.