The day of dread

Face paste experiment:

days III, IV, & V

 

See, I’m actually going through with this. More pictures of my face .. yay (run, hide !) ! If you’re not interested in this, you can get distracted watching this instead:

Ignore the cheesy lyrics & dinosaur PJs and listen to sound of my beautiful, new baby ukulele (yes they can get smaller !) that I got at the ukulele picnic in Hawa-ii. I just love its sound and smell !

 

Day 3. of experiment

No. 3: L’egere Double White O2 Essence-In foundation
Shade: 1-shade-fits-all(-really-fair-skintones)
Type: Cream
Price: $28.88USD from Imomoko
What it claims: L’egere Double White O2 Essence -in Foundation is an ultra-luminous, velvety smooth foundation with skin care ingredients for lightening benefit & for protecting skin from the damage of UV rays. The compact blends two types of technology together: the fresh essence is formulated in a beige layer to create a luminous and translucent look. L’egere Double White O2 Essence-in foundation also contains Lavandula Angustifolia (organic plant certified by ECOCERT) and 57% of skin care ingredients are good for moisturizing the skin.

Results: I really should have stuck with my gut and stopped buying these 1-shade-fits-all type of products. They just make me look so pasty and pale, although some people might like this sort of “effect”. Major contouring job required to make your face look less 1-D with these kinds of products. Also, I just find it waaay too good to be true, that BB creams & such (which this basically is, except in compact form) can have all those benefits — whitening, moisturising, concealer, foundation etc. Even though they’ve been around for years and only started to get popular maybe 2-3 years ago, it’s still too premature to see any long-lasting results, especially as most people change up their skincare too so it’s difficult to isolate one product and say that it was thanks to this product which made my skin tone clearer and fairer etc etc. I would seriously be careful relying on ONE product to do all these things for you.

Now onto the positives:

- Umm.. ? It’s seriously hard to come up with one. It would probably be okay for those with normal skin types in colder conditions but if you try this in summer, expect your face to melt.

Negatives:

- Looks matte at the beginning of the day but by the end of the day, my face was very shiny as oil-control was very very poor. See the above right hand photo. My  t-zone and nose are as shiny as patent leather ! I even topped it off with pressed powder but to no avail.
- Unflattering/unnatural finish ! I’d recommend applying with a damp sponge rather than with the puff it comes with otherwise you’ll walk out looking like the undead. A less is more is less thing probably.
- Crappy, tacky plastic packaging ! At least it had a mirror but I suspect if you chucked this in your bag, it would come out cracked and broken (at least it would with mine).

I think this would probably be better for dry to normal skin types given that this is a cream foundation and tends to be quite moisturising. I probably won’t be trying any of these kinds of “foundations” for awhile.

 

Day 4. of experiment

No. 4: Shu Uemura Nobara Cream Cover Stick
Shade: 564 (medium light sand with neutral undertones)
Type: Cream
Price: $70/11g at David Jones, cheaper online.
What it claims:  The new stick version of shu uemura’s cult favorite, Nobara Cream Foundation, is formulated to give the instant high coverage of a concealer with the smooth glide of a foundation.

Results: I quite love this cream foundation. It’s not as cakey as I would have imagined a cream foundation to be, especially when I saw that it came in a stick since you’d have to swipe it on your face ! Apparently cream types are best suited towards people with dry to normal skin however it works well on my combination oily skin too so I think it has got something to do with their formula. I can also see myself using this as a concealer because the coverage is good.

I like it because:

- Looks very natural on skin, and doesn’t feel heavy. This is most commonly applied using a damp sponge !
– Good colour match for fair-medium Asian skin (yellow undertones)
– By the end of the day most of face was still matte ! I had dinner that night and couldn’t be bothered reapplying and it lasted all those extra hours after work.
– I actually think it looks better as the day goes on ! I guess it kind of integrates into your skin and becomes like second skin.

Negatives:

- Pricey !
– If you don’t have fair-medium toned skin, you won’t be able to find any shades ! :-/
- Fragile, plastic packaging (unsuitable for my rough handling)

Day 5. of experiment

No. 5: Laneige snow crystal dual foundation SPF22+
Shade: #21 (natural beige)
Type: Liquid
Price: $52/30ml online retailers such as Yes Style
What it claims: A luxuriously light concealer and foundation conveniently enclosed in a single jar. Glides on like water for a flawless, porcelain complexion.

Results: I think this was given to me by my mum and one of the first foundations Laneige products I ever tried. I distinctly remember disliking the smell back then and used it very infrequently.

Positives:

- Feels light on the skin
- Smooth texture
- If you only need sheer coverage, this isn’t bad
- Interesting packaging which I unfortunately managed to break (I’m not really sure if this is a positive ..) — pump to dispense foundation and then the top part is the concealer.

Negatives:

- Overwhelming floral scent ! Some people might like it but I quite detest it !
- Not buildable ! If you need heavier coverage, stay away.
- Transfers a bit e.g. if you take your top off you might find that the inside of your shirt has a few smudges.

Overall it’s not a terrible foundation but it’s not fantastic either and it’s quite expensive for a mediocre product. If you love the smell of florals you might like it too, but if you don’t (like me), you might have to sniff some coffee later.

More in a bit ;-)

Story behind the title —

First day back at uni. NOOOO ! I’ve been here too long now and I don’t recognise anyone anymore. It’s a bit scary actually. Looking back, I haven’t really had the typical uni-life experience. I’ve never attended any balls/formals, gotten really smashed on the lemon-scented lawns (I think this is a sarcastic name considering how many people have puked on it), attended any club meetings (although I did sign up for quite a few in first year !), or doned/owned a university jumper — or anything that would give away that I go to Monash ! Haha.. I think my parents think that there’s something wrong with me, their hermit of a daughter. In fact, every time I tell people this (not often), I get weird, surprised faces, like the new guy at work who thinks I am “naive”  because I’ve never been to any of the asian clubs in the city. I must be sending off misleading signals that I am an enthusiastic, party-going token university student haha. Well I guess there are just some things you should never tell anyone, like if you don’t like chocolate or puppy dogs. People will know there’s something slight off with you ! :-P