i was planning doing something festive because it's christmas eve! but it was so hot today. besides i was just going out to stock up food and wasn't going anywhere special.
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i heard some great things about detrivore cosmetics embalming tubes and had to try it. the online store had a 40% off sale back in october. i bought a few eyeshadows and included this lip balm with my purchase.
what are embalming tubes?
Embalming Tubes are soft scented lip balms made with a simple blend of oils and waxes. I have an allergy to many of the ingredients commonly used in indie lip balms, so I wanted to use as few ingredients as possible. They contain beeswax, avocado oil, coconut oil, vitamin e oil, jojoba oil, candellia wax, and flavor.
i have a love-hate relationship with this lip balm.
the love aspect, it's very emoillient. it's heavenly for my dry chapped lips. if you don't have very dry lips, you may find it slightly on the heavy side.
the hate aspect, the flavor.
at the moment, there are only 2 flavors available. one is creme de methe, which is a blend of vanilla, spearmint and peppermint. i've already had lip balms in minty flavors. the other is french vanilla. i've never tried french vanilla flavor and wanted to know what it's like.
perhaps the word hate is too strong. flavor is a personal thing. i just don't like it that much. because my chapped lips love it, i'm slowly not letting the scent bothering me.
detrivore recently announced on its facebook page that there are new flavors coming out soon. i'm looking forward to it. (update: 25/12/12 new flavors are now available!)
detrivore emablming tubes is available at the website for usd$3.
if you're a beauty blogger / vlogger, you're no strangers to real techniques makeup brushes. it's created and designed by samatha chapman of pixiwoo, one of my favorite youtube gurus.
i've been wanting to get these brushes when they were released more than a year ago. they were either available on sites that do not ship internationally or with shipping fees that does not justify the purchase. when they were finally available in australia, i couldn't make myself paying for the outrageous markups.
i was really excited when i found out the these brushes are available on iherb.com at 'slightly' discounted price that offers free international shipping. what's even more exciting? i got a code that takes $10 off first purchase! i had to take this deal!
i have a code to share with you - you can find it from the sidebar or keep reading!
instead of reviewing what i ordered, i'll jump into what quickly become my favorite.
the 2 brushes that are added to my frequently used brushes list.
the buffing brush (part of the core collection) and the stippling brush.
the hair are firm and dense, and are soft and gentle on the skin.
i was intitially disappointed with the size of the brushes. they seem... rather small for face brush.
comparision of size of stippling brush and sigma's duo fibre brush. but notice how much denser is real techniques' stippling brush.
but after using them, size doesn't matter!
what are the difference between these 2 brushes? besides they look different...
theorectically, the buffing brushes gives more coverage and the stippling brush gives a lighter coverage. sam did a video explaining the differences.
to be honest, usage-wise, i can't tell the difference. i've tried it on the same foundation. both gives even and flawless application without leaving streaks like typical foundation brushes do. i even did 1/2 face with 1 brush and the other 1/2 with the others. both seems to have the same coverage. maybe it's to do with different foundation types and the coverages they give?
i'm not too fuss about coverage.
as a result, i simply use them as foundation brush and use them alternatively. when 1 is dirty i use the other. then wash them when they're both dirty. rinse and repeat.
they are easy to clean and are dried overnight. i've been using them for a few weeks and haven't experienced shredding. i was quite surprise how fast they dry, because it usually takes longer for synthetic brushes to dry, especially that the hair are quite dense.
they're great for all types of foundations, except that the stippling brush isn't that great with powder foundations, pressed or loose.
with traditional foundation brushes, i tend to use more product than using my fingers. but with these brushes, i use less product. for liquid foundation, a smaller than 5c peice is enough to cover the whole face including the neck!
these brushes do not just function as foundation brush. they are great for applying blushes and highlighters.
one word. love!
the stippling brush is sold individually at usd$10 (aud$22.95). the buffing brush is part of the core collection rrp usd$18 (aud$45).
use code KLC139 to get $10 off your purchase of $40 or more or $5 off on smaller order at iherb.com.
note that the site currently offers free international shipping for orders more than $40. the promotion will end on 31/12/12.
this post contains affiliate links. by using iherb.com's discount code, i will earn reward points from your purchase.
this is a look i did last friday.
eccentric cosmetics eyeshadow in biological manipulation. i chose to wear this color today to match my olive green top. the color is described as 'metallic coppery rose shift to metallic golden sheen over a olive green base'. the color looks quite boring from the baggie but trust me, it's gorgeous!
the eyeshadow is quite pigmented. i had to pick up the tiniest amount to keep the look not so dramatic and wearable. i love the result. kinda gold, kinda green depends on the angle and the light.
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it's been a while i've done a look with 5 items. since i had only 10 minutes to get ready, i decided to do a really simple look and ended up using these 5 items.
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