✧ Mini haul and review: EX1 Cosmetics and Essence Cosmetics ✧

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I'm back with another blogpost today! I recently purchased some EX1 Cosmetics products from a local Instagram seller, Beauty Schmeauty, which was previously known as Shoppers Droppers. I also got some Ardell lash products and rosehip oil from them previously and had written a blogpost about it. You can check that out here. I've always wanted to get myself the Invisiwear foundation after watching Jaclyn Hill talk about it in one of her many videos. So this time around, I bought exactly that and a blusher. 

I also popped by Paloma at The Mall the other day to get myself the Pure Nude highlighter from Essence Cosmetics (all thanks to the beautiful Kathleen Lights!). Well, I only intended to get only the highlighter but naturally, I ended up getting two more products which were Essence's matt matt matt long-lasting lipglosses.

Here are some pictures I took today!

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↯ What I got ↯

↬ EX1 Cosmetics Invisiwear foundation in shade 3 - BND28

↬ EX1 Cosmetics blusher in Natural Flush - BND20

I have Paloma's member card so there was 15% off for all three products!

↬ Essence Cosmetics Pure Nude highlighter - BND4.90 (BND4.20 after 15% off)

↬ Essence Cosmetics matt matt matt long-lasting lipgloss (shades Beauty - Approved & Simply Be An Icon) - BND3.90 each (BND 3.30 each after 15% off)

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↖ Essence Cosmetics Pure Nude highlighter & EX1 blusher ↗

↬ Essence Cosmetics Pure Nude highlighter - a slight peach, champagne shimmery highlighter.

↬ EX1 Cosmetics blusher in Natural Flush - a peachy, pink shade.

Both products are pigmented and a little goes a long way. Both are also buildable.

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↖ Essence Cosmetics matt matt matt long-lasting lipgloss ↗

Top to bottom:

↬ 02 Beauty - Approved - a pinkish nude shade.

↬ 05 Simply Be An Icon - a red shade, with blue undertones.

↭ Scent

Caramel. 'Nuffsaid.

↭ Formula/Consistency

These have a creamy, mousse-y texture. Because of that, they highly remind me of NYX's soft matte lip creams (check out  my previous blogs on these here for part 1 and here for part 2).

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I went out the other day and decided to use the products above to try them out.

Face/Base

↬ EX1 Cosmetics Invisiwear foundation in shade 3

↬ Urban Decay Naked concealer

↬ Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder

Contour

↬ L.A. Girl beauty brick in Spice

Blush
↬ EX1 Cosmetics Natural Flush blusher

Highlight

↬ Essence Cosmetics Pure Nude highlighter

Brows
↬ Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz in Ebony

Lashes
↬ Shu Eumura eyelash curler

↬ Maybelline Miss Manga and Lash Sensational mascaras

Lip

↬ Essence Cosmetics matt matt matt long-lasting lipgloss (shades Beauty - Approved & Simply Be An Icon)

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 ☃ A little round up.. ☃

I was really impressed with how long-wearing the foundation and blusher were. The foundation did not pack on cakey, it looked dewy and felt really lighweight. I really liked how the blusher applied and looked natural together with the foundation as well.

The highlighter applied really easily too and is definitely buildable for a stronger payoff. Both lip products smell just like caramel, I swear! They apply nicely on the lips but I feel that they do not dry completely matte, more like semi-matte. They are not totally transfer proof and might require one or two touch-ups, depending on whether any food or drink was consumed. I had myself some matcha choux and chocolate milkshake and had to reapply a tad to the center of my lips. But with how affordable these lip products are, there is nothing much to complain because they are really good for the price range!

I hope this blogpost has helped you in a way or two! Please leave any questions or comments down below if you have any.

An advanced HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to errbadeh!

Gladyator signin' out.

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✧ Review: Huda Beauty Liquid Matte ✧

If you're an avid user of lip products, or specifically liquid lipsticks, I am sure you would have heard of Huda Beauty's form of liquid lipsticks, called liquid matte. These sold out like hot cakes the minute they are displayed online and in-stores, and most probably still selling out as I am typing this now.

When I was on my two-week long holiday at the U.K., I made it a plan to go down to Harrods and get myself some of Huda's liquid mattes. The first time around, I only bought Gossip Gurl and Trophy Wife. I tried them on the next few days while travelling and decided to go to Harrods once again before I left the U.K., and got myself Trendsetter and Icon. I had to queue for about fifteen minutes to half an hour because there were so many people lining up, too. My cousin was recently on her trip to the U.K. too so I asked her to help me get two more shades: Spice Girl and Bombshell. These liquid mattes cost £18 each, approximately BND32.

You can buy them on Cult Beauty for £15 (even cheaper!) too, and Cult Beauty ships to Brunei at a rate of £6.95 and for free for purchases above £50.

↭ Scent

These liquid mattes have a vanilla scent to them. The smell could be a little empowering upon application but it fades after awhile and does not linger for long.

↭ Formula/Consistency

They are thin, light-weight and a tad runny. However, they are very pigmented. I find it amazing how the formula is so light-weight but is pigmented at the same time. That was the reason why I decided to get more shades.

Since the formula is a tad runny, it'll be a little wet upon application. They dry down completely matte after awhile. For me, it took about ten to fifteen seconds (yes I counted lmao).

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↯ Pictures! ↯

Top to Bottom:

↬ Bombshell - a slight pinkish nude shade

↬ Trendsetter - a brown, nude shade.

↬ Icon - a dark reddish peach shade.

↬ Gossip Gurl - a medium, Barbie pink shade.

↬ Trophy Wife - a rosy, purplish plum shade.

↬ Spice Girl - a brown, mauve shade.

↖ Bombshell ↗

↖ Trendsetter ↗

↖ Gossip Gurl ↗

↖ Icon ↗

↖ Trophy Wife ↗

↖ Spice Girl ↗

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 ☃ A little round up.. ☃

If you're looking for a high quality liquid lipstick, I highly recommend Huda Beauty's liquid matte. A lot of local Instagram sellers carry these at a slightly jacked up price. Or you can always order online from Cult Beauty, as aforementioned.

I hope this blogpost is useful! Thanks so much for reading and please feel free to leave a comment or question down below if you have any! :D

Gladyator signin' out.

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✧ Makeup look: Juvia's Place Nubian 2 eyeshadow palette ✧

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Last week I reviewed The (beautiful) Nubian 2 eyeshadow palette from Juvia's Place.

Please do check it out by clicking here for pictures and swatches! I was off to a family function that night when I reviewed it, so I decided to use the palette and see how they actually apply on the eyes. I then had a wedding dinner to attend a few days after that. So for the first look, I chose eyeshadow shades that were more suitable for daily wear and for the second look, I went for a bolder look to see how bolder colors hold up.

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↯ First look ↯

Face/Base

↬ Charlotte Tilbury Magic foundation

↬ Urban Decay Naked concealer

↬ Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish powder

Contour & Blush

↬ L.A. Girl beauty brick in Spice

Highlight

↬ theBalm Mary-Lou-Manizer

Lip

↬ Huda Beauty liquid matte in Trophy Wife

Brows

↬ Etude House Drawing Eye Brow #1

Eye (The Nubian 2 eyeshadow palette)

↬ Madagascar on upper, outer crease

↬ Yaa on centre of lid

↬ Kenya + Madagascar on outer corner

↬ Yaa on inner lower lash line and Kenya on outer lower lash line

Lashes and lash line

↬ Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara

↬ Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 glide-on eye pencil

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↯ Second look ↯

Face/Base

↬ Urban Decay All Nighter liquid foundation

↬ Urban Decay Naked concealer

↬ Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish powder

Contour & Blush

↬ L.A. Girl beauty brick in Spice

Highlight

↬ Anastasia Beverly Hills That Glow glow (Sunburst + Bubbly)

Lip

↬ Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick in Veronica and Allison atop

Brows

↬ Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Ebony

Eye (The Nubian 2 eyeshadow palette)

↬ Kenya + Madagascar on upper, outer crease

↬ Cleopatra on centre of lid

↬ Leyla + Kenya on outer corner

↬ Leyla on inner lower lash line and Nairobi on outer lower lash line

Lashes and lash line

↬ Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara

↬ Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 glide-on eye pencil

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I had fun creating the second look, because apart from the obvious blue on the centre of the lids, I added purple and gold too, which really complemented the blue by adding a pop of color. All in all, I really liked how both looks turned out! Having used this Nubian 2 palette legit made me want to get Nubian 1, which I definitely will sooner or later. The hunt for local sellers carrying that starts right about now 😁.

I hope you enjoyed reading and that this blogpost has helped you in a way or two! Please leave a comment down below if you have any thoughts or questions! Have a great week ahead of you 😄.

Gladyator signin' out.

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✧ Review: Juvia's Place Nubian 2 eyeshadow palette ✧

Let me start this blogpost by saying a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017! May this year bring you greater memories, joy and filled-up storages of makeup 😁. 2016 flew by so quickly that I actually can't believe that the first week of January 2017 is almost over! I can't wait for Chinese New Year, all the food it brings and the festivities.

I've been seeing a lot of hype on Juvia's Place's eyeshadow palettes, especially having watched Stephanie Nicole's video on it. But unfortunately, JP's official website does not ship to Brunei and I have been looking out for local Instagram sellers that carry this brand. A friend purchased JP's Nubian (green) palette and was saying how good the palette is! So I then contacted the seller that carries JP, the seller is GG.bwn (click here for her IG page!). I got The Nubian 2 (yellow) palette for BND55. She delivered it to my house the next day after I placed my order, and she was also kind enough to send me an Ofra Cosmetics long-lasting liquid lipstick to try! Thank you GG.bwn!

I took some pictures and made some swatches today. Enjoy the pictures!

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↯ Juvia's Place The Nubian 2 eyeshadow palette! ↯

▶︎ Top to bottom ◀︎

↬ Morocco - a burnt orange shade in a matte finish.
↬ Madagascar - a medium sandy shade in a matte finish.

↬ Sheba - a light-toned bronzy shade in a metallic finish.

↬ Yaa - a copper shade in a metallic finish.
↬ Jezebel - a pinkish, purple shade in a matte finish.

↬ Zuri - an off-white shade in a metallic finish (this will look beautiful as a highlight!).

↬ Cleopatra - a BEAUTIFUL medium-toned blue shade in a metallic finish. 
↬ Nefertiti - a yellowy, orange shade in a metallic finish.
↬ Nairobi - a medium-toned yellowy gold shade in a metallic finish.

↬ Leyla - a deep eggplant shade with slight sparkle and shimmer.
↬ Kenya - a purplish grey shade in a matte finish.

↬ Egypt - a BEAUTIFUL forest green shade in a metallic finish.

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↯ Ofra Cosmetics long-lasting liquid lipstick in the shade Mocha ↯

▶︎ Me wearing Mocha ◀︎

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 ☃ A little round up.. ☃

First off, the payoff of the eyeshadows for The Nubian 2 is amazing. I only finger-swatched once and it was without any eye primer! Not only that, the eyeshadow pans are quite big. All in all, I am impressed with the quality of this eyeshadow palette! I now need to get my hands on The Nubian palette..

As for the liquid lipstick from Ofra Cosmetics, it has one of the best formula for liquid lipsticks that I have tried. It's lightweight, pigmented and glides on smoothly and effortlessly. And most importantly, it is not drying on the lips.

I hope this blogpost has helped you in a way or two. Thank you so much for reading!

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