Step-by-Step Tutorial: Under Eye Concealer

Late night? 

Butttttt.. you have no choice but to drag yourself out of bed because there's a 'really important meeting!' at work and then suddenly, while you're on your way, you notice your neighbour gasping at you and running away while screaming, "The zombie apocalypse is here!!"

"Mr Tan, wait, its just me!!"
image from marysue.com

Its okay. We've all been there. 

If you haven't had a good night's sleep, then fake it!

Sure, some make up is not going to change how your body is physically and mentally reacting to lack of sleep, and how you feel about that really annoying person in front of you who has suddenly seemingly mistaken the crazy morning peak period for a stroll in the park. 

You can't tell here, but she's making tiny fists with her toes.
image from http://girlsofwisdom.files.wordpress.com

But for most, that can easily be fixed by coffee or breakfast. And really, wouldn't you rather have your morning coffee looking fresh and awake, instead of this?

Oh, you poor, poor girl.
image from http://fashionista.com/

Weeeelll, look no further, concealer helps. And here are a few tips that may come in handy when applying yours.

When applying concealer to your under eye, there are certain things that are important to remember. Like:

• Always make sure that the eye area has been moisturised. Concealer and dry skin do not go together. A good (and non-greasy) eye-cream helps.
• Less is more. Applying way too much concealer at your eye area will eventually cause cray creasing and cakeyness once you set it with a powder. Try applying a small amount first, and then build up the amount (little-by-little, but only if necessary) until you're satisfied with the coverage. 
• "OH NO, Fraulein! I've over applied it!" - That's okay, get a clean eye shadow blending brush to blend any excess concealer away.
• You can use either your finger to apply your concealer (using your finger helps as the heat from your body helps 'warm' up the concealer, letting it adhere to your eye area easily.) or a brush. This is really a personal preference kinda thing. Personally, I use my fingers to apply my concealer. But if you decided to use a brush, just make sure its clean of any colour (eyeshadows, etc) and that its a blending shadow brush. I have a few flat concealer brushes, that I feel only work for application. You could always do that with your fingers though. And with make up, its really all about the blending.
• Last but not least, remember to set it with a powder. This prevents the concealer from fading, straying and creasing. I have pretty dark eye circles and I use a (medium to full coverage)  pressed powder to set it, so that it gives my eye-area little more coverage. Otherwise, you could always just set it with a (sheer coverage) loose or pressed powder.

Concealer 101

Start with a bare, moisturised eye.

Apply small amounts of concealer at your areas of concern. I've applied some to the inner corner of the eye as well, as it helps brighten the entire eye area.

Use either your finger or a brush to blend your concealer. Once you're happy with the coverage, make sure the outer parts of the concealer have been blended. Here, I'm using a crease brush. And remember, blend, blend, blend!

Set your concealer with a powder. Here, I used a medium to full coverage pressed powder. Along with the power coverage of the concealer, the pressed powder helps blend everything together, and brighten the eye area further. 

Ta-DAH! And that's all it takes to erase a bad night's sleep. Kinda. 

Also congratulations, you've made it through the day. Now go get some sleep!

Yours,

Fraulein Shahidah & Fraulein Hanna

Review: ZA Perfect Fit Concealer

Under-eye circles are a nightmare.

For most, they tend to make one look as if they have had a bad night's sleep and almost haggard (ish). For me however, I tend to look as if I've rolled right off the set of The Walking Dead AND haggard, which apparently, isn't a good look.

"Look ma, no legs!"

Perhaps that was a complete over exaggeration. But thankfully most of the time, all it takes is a good concealer to you know, conceal.

Like most beauty products, finding the right concealer isn't easy. What may be everyone else's holy grail product, may not necessarily work for you, and that can get pretty frustrating. 

For awhile, I was pretty happy with my MAC studio finish concealer, until one day, I noticed it drying my under-eye area. There were also crease lines involved. It wasn't pretty. 

I didn't understand it though. How could a product that's so well loved and has worked for so many other people fail me? Or have I failed it? *cue the world's smallest violin playing a really depressing song. Something from The Cure, perhaps? Morrissey even?*

"It's not me, its you."
Image from www.makeupandbeautyblog.com -

I'm sure we've all been there once. 

Products that work for most may not necessarily work on you, and that's fine, we all have different skin types and needs, and with a gazillion beauty products out there, you're bound to find something. 

Which brings us to our review/weapon of choice of the day:

Image from yinagoh.blogspot.com

ZA Perfect Fit Concealer

Like I am with most products, I was skeptical when I came across mostly positive reviews of this concealer on my ever-handy Makeup Alley app. But since I've been feeling meh with the results of most of my higher end cosmetic purchases, I decided to get this product from my nearest Watson's and give it a go. 

Firstly, I like that it comes in a tube, as I am a little particular when it comes to hygiene, and I like that I don't have to use my fingers like say, in a pot. Also, with a squeeze tube, you know that there's no product wastage, like say with a doe-foot applicator product. 

It has a nice creamy texture that I personally do not find drying on my under eyes.

The shades all seem to be neutral in terms of undertones and don't pull too much pink/beige/yellow in them, which makes them versatile and can blend well on some. However that same reason may not be good news to those of you with severe pimple or acne scars, as you might need shades more specific to your skin tones (and undertones) to conceal any imperfections. Personally, I like the neutral undertones in them, as the beige helps counteract any bluish tones from my dark eye circles. 

Image from sugarcoatedmuffin.blogspot.com

In any case, I purchased 03, and while it wasn't the right colour for my face (I needed something more yellow toned), it was the right choice for my under-eye area and it helped brighten them after application. The coverage and staying power for my face was just okay, it tends to fade a little after a couple of hours, but that might have to do with my skin (oily). It might differ from person to person, depending on your skin type. 

Overall, I kinda like this product and recommend it to those of you out there who are looking for pretty good under-eye concealers on a budget, I did however, find the lack of variety in shades disappointing. (Price $14.90 SGD)

Yours,

Fraulein Shahidah & Fraulein Hanna 

Pictures

Before

*After blended and set with powder

Review: Bourjois Rouge Edition in 04

So my latest make-up crutch is lipstick, apparently. 

I'd like to share with you a new lipstick I've discovered from Sasa, recently, that just might be the holiest of holy grail lipsticks that I've come across, since my discovery of Chanel's Rouge Allure Laque (in Santal.)

Typically, I'd get my lipsticks from MAC. (Santal was an exception. It was a lovely, and rather expensive birthday present.) The shades I've owned so far are the ever popular Hug Me, MACRed and Ravishing. These are all pretty great shades that I've stuck with for many years. However, I wouldn't consider myself a fan of the opacity and texture of some of their lipsticks. 

Hug Me (my personal favourite nude lipstick) tends to wear off rather quickly. And when you're in a 5-minute-make-up-look-before-I-have-to-leave-the-house moment, you wouldn't have time to draw your lips with a lip liner. And as far as go-to lipsticks go, I'd expect more wear from my lipsticks, especially when it comes at a not-so-cheap price tag.

Well folks, prepare for a lipstick revelation. I introduce to you, Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick:

Image from http://www.lovesoyl.com

There are many things I like about this product, and that includes how much coverage a single layer of this can give you. I also find it light & moisturising on the lips, and I love the variety of colours that are available as well. 

My shade is 04 or Rose Tweed. Its a nude lipstick that pulls a lot of pink. It reminded me so much of my beloved Santal (but only darker). I like this one so far, but I've also noticed that when it fades off, it did leave some pigmentation on my lips, almost looking as if I used a lip stain. This can be either a good or bad thing. Personally, I like the stained effect it gives me, (its considerably dark and almost berry looking, though the lipstick itself looks nothing like that.), however, it does alter the colour dramatically when I touch up. Other than that, I have no other problems with this lipstick, and as far as price goes, at its $25.00 (SGD) price tag, it's well worth it. 

Yours,

Fraulein Shahidah & Fraulein Hanna

Pictures & Swatches

Image from http://www.katiesbeautyblog.com

Rouge Edition in 04