Canmake Cream Cheek Blush

New review time! I'm sorry I don't blog as much as most people in the bloggersphere but lately I'm hardly finding time to do laundry, eat, or sleep. Most of the time, I'm giving up eating for sleeping and sleeping for working... it's a crazy life yo! Needless to say, my skin is suffering and paying for my lack of sleep and one facemask a week does not to the job =(

So moaning aside, this is a review of a really awesome blush from the Japanese brand, Canmake. You can check out there english website here and a link to the blush I'm reviewing today is here. I have 2 colours, number 3 (Strawberry Whip) and number 7 (Coral Orange). I'm using number 3 today.



This is the packaging. It's a beautiful little compact and lightweight plastic container which is sturdy enough to travel with me in my bag. It doesn't look too flimsy as if it would fall apart either.

The lid opens to reveal a very pigmented baby pink colour which, even though you can't see in the picture, has very fine speckles of glitter which I have found to look beautiful in the sunshine.



This is a swatch at the back of my hand, if anyone has any advice on how to get better swatches, send me a message!



The cream blush is lightweight and blends in beautifully with the skin to reveal a lovely cute bit of colour on my cheeks. It's very natural looking and can be used everyday on top of base or you can layer it nicely for that night out!

Since natural light is found rarely these days, the pictures I took of me wearing it are a little rubbish but I hope you can see something out of it! My next blog post (which will be sometime this weekend) will be about things I have come across on my adventures and also this sheet face mask that I used the other day....

Legere - White multi BB cream review

Hi everyone!

I hope people in the UK are enjoying the blissfully wonderful indian summer weather! I have tried to get out as much as I can during the weekend and am absolutely loving being able to walk out of the house not wearing thick tights!

Today's review is on Legere's White multi BB cream.



Again, they're very generous with their outside packaging and the actual BB cream tube is just rolling around inside. This comes in a 50g tube with just a simple twist cap, so far, it's doing the job as I can still keep it clean after every usage.



This formula contains Arbutin which is extracted from the bearberry plant inhibiting the formation on melanin. Melanin is the pigmented cells on the skin and thus more melanin = darker skin. It is a silicon-based formula, the first of it's kind that I have used and I have found that it's rather hard to smooth out on my skin as it's thick.






It applies quite dark compared to other BB creams that I use and once spread, has a very unpleasant white tinge which does seem to settle quickly once absorbed into the skin. This BB cream, like many, has sun protection, make up base, skin cover and foundation for 24hrs. It does not seem to have whitened my skin but my skin seems to lap up the sun and tan ridiculously easily. It does however provide a lovely natural looking cover for my face and quickly too so I've really nothing to complain about!



Please excuse the goofy looking face but this is so I could also show you guys the lovely eyeliner I got from Yasumi's blog sale, it's so easy to use and a great product! It lasts for an entire day without smudging and very easy to apply!



Look, you can see a reflection of my contacts!

My next post will be available soon and it will talk about The Lion King musical which I went to last weekend and also how much I love London *swoooon*

Etude House - BB Magic Cream

Well the title says it all, this is a review on Etude House's BB Magic Cream. Etude House is a korean make up brand (out of many!) and I've read some good reviews of their products and wanted to try this out



Next to Missha 20ml for size comparison. I was quite disappointed by the size of this product as the box makes me think that it would be quite a lot but at 35ml size, it's not much more than the Missha BB Cream.

I got this in Moisturizing which does not seem to have any SPF. It's more for dry skin whilst the other one in this series is called 'pure' and for more oily skin. I had a dilemma as I have combination skin but in England, my skin tends to be more dry than oily. The english on the packaging is as follows:


Sorry for the terrible quality of picture but the packaging makes it really hard on my little compact camera to get a good shot without some 'rainbow' effect getting in the way!



The application is a kind of pump but I find that one full pump is actually too much for my face. Also, if you don't use it often, I'm afraid that the hole might dry up and I'll have a hard time trying to clean this product. (You'll find the same with toothpaste if you've not used it for a while)



There is only one shade but apparently it blends into different skin tones. I was quite scared as although the product is quite dark, initial blending gives a white sheen but if you keep blending and waiting, the colour settles and you are left with this lovely even coverage. It blends into my skin tone, I've tanned a bit over the summer so I'm currently using Missha BB cream in no.23 but as I pale up, I change to no.13 so I'll be curious to see if this BB cream blends into my skin tone then.

The coverage is medium, it doesn't cover my heavy eyebag days but for every day use, it's perfect.





It has a strange medicinal/floral smell when you first apply it which quickly goes after application and blending.

Overall, this is a really lovely product, not oily on the skin, not too much sheen and it's really good for those office days or day where you want to look flawless without too much heaviness on your skin. I have very sensitive skin too and have had no breakouts since using this product.

I'm sorry I've had a bit of a hiatus but it's because uni has been crazy. My timetable does not even allow me to take pictures of some products in daylight but I think I'll need to write reviews during the weekend and stagger my postings during the week hehe, please bear with me!

How has your weekend been? Can you recommend any BB creams?

Skinfood- Green tea bubble cleansing foam

So I'm like the biggest sucker for anything Green tea. Even the colour green I find myself gravitating towards O_O This must be an asian thing right?

SO, when picking out something from the Skinfood cleansing range, I saw the words green tea and my bank balance did not matter anymore. I wanted something besides my normal scrub, something that would be less harsh on my skin and this is the product that I have:



The description that they provide is:



Skinfood is a korean brand who sell products from BB creams, to brushes, to skin and body care. They use natural ingredients and try to provide nutrition for the skin in as less a harsh way as possible.

The cleansing foam looks like this:



and one squirt is enough. I find that the smell is rather soapy and fragranced and couldn't really smell the green tea. After rinsing however, my skin felt hydrated, smooth and smelling so fresh. The residual smell is more of green tea than when you first pump it out, I'm just hoping that the goodness of the stuff gets eaten up by my skin *slurp slurp*

You can buy some Skinfood products on eBay and to look at their vast range of products, head on over to their website here.

Do you own any Skinfood products or love green tea as much as I do?

Taiwan make up haul

So my lovely lovely friend went to Taiwan this summer and I jumped at the opportunity to send her a mahooosive shopping list full of make up items that I just cannot get in this country.



I wanted to try some more BB creams for a while now but annoyed that the only place I could get it was online with some extortionate shipping costs. So this time I may have gone a little overboard and asked for 3!!



These babies I wanted to get because of reading Yasumi's posts and they looked awesome, cute, and great for on the go. Look out for swatches of these soon!


Face masks face masks face masks! Save me from the schizophrenic weather that I have to endure in the UK! Save me from being a camel all the time and drinking very little!



I will write reviews and swatch every single one of these products soon so don't go far!

ps. read about an Anna Sui haul at Vicki's blog

Carnival colour explosion!

So I mentioned that I was going to the carnival a few days ago and the carnival did not disappoint! Colour explosions to fill anyone's imagination of dancing, singing and generally enjoying life.

I love how after all the crap London has gone through with the riots, joy, fun, and happiness still come out on top fighting.

I definitely enjoyed my day, every street corner that we turned down lead to new adventures. I followed my nose and ended up guffling down jerk chicken, curried goat, festival, corn on the cob, and fresh young coconut juice.

It reminded me of the St Pauls carnival which I attended in Bristol, just on a much grander scale. The atmosphere was similar though, people being happy, dragging you to dance, commenting on how much they love your outfit, offerings of free food.

If you haven't been before, I would highly recommend that you go next year, and I can guarantee that it will bring a smile to your face :)

Benefit - Dr Feelgood

So today's review is on a product which I have been using for a while now. It's by the make up brand Benefit which is a pretty high end brand, have quirky names for their products and good packaging.
You must excuse the used look of these pictures, just say that this is a well loved product of mine :) The paper packaging opens up to a metal tin and included is an applicator sponge. The product itself has a gorgeous lemoney smell, the colour is of pale lemon but is invisible upon application. Application is smooth and gives skin a matte finish, though with some sheen I have found. It's hard to describe the consistency of it but given that the main ingredient is corn starch, just think of it as a soft moisturizing powder. You must be careful when using the sponge as sometimes if you have too much, it can flake off on your skin; however, this can easily be rubbed in with fingers.



Benefit describes this product as:


Because I have combination skin, I use Dr Feelgood on my T-zone and it is absolutely amazing for soaking up any oils without clogging up my pores (I use a little on the nose too). The wear is fairly long depending on how much you put on, for me, it's just a thin layer.

I like to wear it without any other face products but sometimes will put it on under BB cream as a primer. Like it says, it evens out fine lines which at my age, there is still some, but generally it will liven up your face for a natural fresh look!

Benefit Dr Feelgood costs £21.50 for a generous amount and you can buy this at the Benefit website, Benefit counters, or any large Boots stores.

Have you tried Dr. Feelgood or any other Benefit products? What are your favourites?

Upcoming posts will consist of a sleek palette, BB creams, cream blushes and adventures around London!

Notting Hill Carnival

Hurray, tis going to be a long weekend! This year, I'm off to the Notting Hill Carnival which is one of the biggest carnivals in Europe and held every August bank holiday. Normally, I'm not in the country but due to my evil term times, I'm moping in the dreary summer pining for the sun to come. I'm using Sunday as the deadline to finish the first draft of my dissertation which is about the oh so interesting topic of male factor infertility (yes, I had to interview infertile men.... just imagine!).

I'm going to be there on Monday (the 'adult' day, as I'm an 'adult' you see) in full 'costume'! I haven't been since I was teeny tiny, though that hasn't really changed.

Costume ideas I have thought of so far, I'm sure it will get more ridiculous on the day when I arrive at my friends to get ready:


Will you be at the Notting Hill Carnival this year? What are you looking forward to most?

(ppsssssttt: I also have a Twitter! :D http://twitter.com/fugged)

A bit about me?

• I like pretty things (handmade beautiful African beads. I also love guinea fowl)

• I buy too much make up yet wear very little and they all get put to the side. (It's pretty awful so I'm going to review as much as I can now!)

• I like to make things (I recently learnt how to crochet!)
  

• I love to eat, and that has been a slight downfall especially when it comes to weight management. (Laduree macaroons are just delish!)
  

• I religiously read other people's blogs and gasp at all the pretty things that they view and swatch.

• I like making new friends.


• I love to travel but find that I don't have enough time (Zimbabwe 2011)
  

The start

So where do I begin.... I've always been a fond blogger and blog reader, and after years on the stalk, my taste and *cough* obsession with guilty pleasures such as make up, skincare, and fashion have surfaced with a vengeance lashing at me and wanting a spotlight of its own.

I care not for karma, but more so that this blog will be full of life, excitement, and a place where I can indulge in and share my love of pretty things and strange hobbies. It shall also be a place for adventure sharing and friends.

I've had many inspirations and many late nights reading the likes of Worship Blues, Vanity Fashionista, Park&Cube, Vintage Shop, Fenua Beaute, and ofcourse my favourite blogger who started (though she may not know) the craze in me, Moonbeamstarlight. Some I secretly stalk, others I've chanced upon in my hours of searching the net for inspiration.

The inspiration for the name of the blog is from my love of the word resplendent, it describes my pleasures well and the la at the end? Well, many of my friends tend to put the 'word' la at the end of sentences and it gives the blog a more fun feel. I'd like to thank the internet for being so awesome and I hope that any dear readers that I have will be kind to me =)

~ Rin