Review: Cellnique (Skin Purifying DayTime Protection 20) vs B'Liv (B'Liv Got Me Covered SPF 35)

July was a horrific month in terms of travel - travelling for work, that is. I rarely travel, much less for work, but duty calls...

Now, this may be shocking to my Malaysian readers, but I am one of the few who lives in a house WITHOUT a single unit of air-conditioning. Heat-wave, be damned, out comes an extra fan. Thus, 2 straight weeks of spending nights in air-conditioned hotel rooms pretty much wreaked havoc on my skin.

I broke out left, right and centre, literally. I wasn't sure if it was solely due to the almost-24 hour exposure to dry air-conditioned air, or my foundation of that time, NARS Sheer Glow. Either way, I needed help, and I needed it fast.

So, skin needs to breath and recover, but hell if I'm going to show up at work bare-faced. Much as I love my Nude Cosmetics BB Cream, it's not cut-out for my "work face". An online acquaintance who seems to be sensitive to every man-made substance on earth, told me about B'Liv's Got Me Covered ("BGMC"), and since her skin could tolerate it, my curiosity was peaked. Checked out the ingredients, seems OK, and it contains salicylic acid! YAY! BUT (there's always a "but" with me, eh :P), it only comes in ONE shade, and it got me thinking, "Eeewww, another ONE shade fits ALL thingee again" ~_~

Since I was at it and knowing that B'Liv is an offshoot of Cellnique, I went nosing around Cellnique's website, and voila! Cellnique has its own "version" Skin Purifying DayTime Protection 20 ("CSPDP")- a MORE potent version since it also contains benzoyl peroxide (the basis of my adult-acne skin care routine). Sadly, another ONE shade product :(

Sigma Brushes: A Different Perspective

PREAMBLE

Allow me to begin this review by disclosing that these Sigma brushes, the Face & Eye Kit (USD54), were sent to me for review purposes *Hello FTC*. However, prior to this, I have purchased with my own money 4 other brushes from them since they first launched last year with a lot of fanfare. So, me jumping on the "Review for Free brushes"? Hell, no. In fact, of the 4 I purchased, I sold 2 in my Blog Sale, so I'm going to get down and dirty with this review...Like I always do :P

OVERALL IMPRESSION

1) MAC Dupes?

Most YouTube Gurus and Beauty Bloggers have reviewed Sigma brushes by comparing them with their MAC "equivalents". Of the 7 brushes I'll be reviewing, 4 I own MAC versions of. And MAC dupes THEY ARE NOT. And anybody who says THEY ARE IDENTICAL TO MAC are either lying or somehow got different brushes than I did.

2) Consider The Price Point...

In the first place, USD54 for 6 full-sized brushes and a travel-size brush, shoud you EVEN be comparing them to MAC in the first place? Come on, be realistic. For that price, you're probably able to purchase 1 MAC face brush, or barely 2 MAC eye brushes? And now that they've revamped their naming convention, just detach them from MAC, ok?

3) So...All In All...

Be Fair to MAC; Be Fair to Sigma. You get what you pay for. For their prices, Sigma offers quality, solid, well-constructed brushes. They're not el-cheapo brushes which would break if you so much as sneeze at them! Just don't expect MAC per se.

Note: My Sigma brushes are engraved with "Made in PRC" at the handles' tips. MAC's full-sized brushes are hand-made and engraved with "Japan", whilst their special edition brushes are usually machine-made in PRC .

ON WITH THE REVIEW

I will be reviewing 7 brushes from the Face & Eye Kit, retailing for USD54. It contains 6 full-sized brushes and a travel-size brush.

Large Powder - F30

Duo Fibre - F50

Buffer - F45

Eye Shading - E55

Pencil - E30

Tapered Blending - E40

Blending - E25

Hoodie Dresses: My Current Obsession

Just a mini MINI haul from ASOS  (Item names below are Click-able!) ^_^

I HEART hoodies...

I LOVE hoodies...

I ADORE hoodies...

I LIVE in hoodies!

And what could be better than a hoodie!?!?

HOODIE DRESSES!

ASOS Hoodie Lounge Dress

Nike Cotton Half Zip Hoodie Dress

Woohoohoo! Who says you can't get the best of both worlds:

A Dress (albeit casual) & A Hoodie? HA!

The Nike is a little too warm for Malaysia (the lining within), but then, we females are known to suffer for fashion, no? ;) The black and purple combo is to DIE for!

Note: Photo quality has been deliberately set to low for obvious reasons :P

Overview: Fall 2010 Makeup / Cosmetics Collections

All images are CLICK-able!


Now, if this is not Cosmetic Porn, I don't know WHAT IS! ^_^

What are your lemmings?



Addiction Anna Sui