Hey Everyone!

Everyone does monthly favourites, weekly favourites, but how about the stuff that you keep on going back to time and time again? These are my favourite products that I can’t live without. I haven’t been able to find good substitutes in Singapore for them and I feel like they’re the best products I don’t mind going to the store again and again for them! Let’s start shall we?

#1 Daiso Sponge Detergent:

Getting a good brush cleaner is absolutely essential to making sure you have perfect make-up every time. Clumpy foundation on a dirty brush leaves you with streaks. I don’t know about you, but I remember how hard it was getting foundation off my brush – it just wouldn’t melt off with your standard counter brush cleaners. Now introducing you the Daiso sponge detergent! It’s 2 dollars and it’s all you need. Seriously, all you need. Foundation just bows down to the stuff and melts right off leaving your brushes looking absolutely clean and new! It’s the only brush cleaner I use and will use. How can you beat 2 bucks right?

#2 Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler 

You might think there’s no difference in finding a great eyelash curler, but you need to try the Shu Uemura Eyelash curler. I’ve tried a many curlers, but nothing else curls your lashes at the same angle and at the same time. It’s a complete curl that’s really hard to find.

Back when I started make-up, I was in search of a good eyelash curler. I simply typed “the best eyelash curler” and it came up with forum upon forum with one answer – the Shu Umeura Eyelash Curler. It’s  a worthy investment at just thirty sum dollars. It’s one of those must-have vanity and makeup kit basics – like having a pair of jeans!

 #3 Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick – Finale

If you’re looking for a lipstick that does not budge or move throughout the day, then you need to get this. It literally dries on your lips and even when you drink water on a glass, it does not leave a lipstick mark at all! If you’re a vain pot, try kissing your hand and you’ll see that absolutely nothing transfers. It is amazing.

However a lot of people dismiss this lipstick for being clumpy or dry and it’s because you’ve layered the lipstick too much. So make sure you do two swipes back and forth or “coats” only and leave it to dry. Don’t purse your lips or move your lips too much in this period of time, but just like nail polish, when it’s dry, you can do whatever you want. It goes on super smooth but can feel drying later on. I guess it’s the price you pay for lip color that won’t budge. I usually wear this when I have a big event and I don’t want my make-up to move the whole day. It does the job.

 #4 Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Daily contouring is a must-do for me and it’s made really easy with the right bronzer. Some bronzers can be really orange or too glittery but I’ve found the perfect one and that is the Benefit Hoola Bronzer. It’s a matte bronzer that has a shadow to it so it is absolutely perfect for daily contouring. I love the texture of the powder too because it’s super smooth.

Just take some on your contouring brush and sweep onto the hollows of your cheek, temple and jaw line for a slimmer face. Take a small blending brush to contour your nose and run it along the sides of your nose. It’s the perfect shade of brown!

#5 M.A.C Technakohl Liner – Graphblack

I’ve sifted through the liners at your local Watsons and Guardian and I still can’t find a worthy liner for my waterline and tightline. There’s always something wrong with it and I find myself returning to the MAC Technakohl liner because it doesn’t move or slide as much as the other eyeliners I’ve tried.

Finding a good pencil liner is important to me because I’m always lining my tight line and water line so I have to make sure that it won’t make me look like Mr. Panda during the day. I love this liner because it’s the right hardness that can draw smooth lines, great black pigment and it’s automatic so I never have to sharpen it. It’s just easy.

#6 Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation

This is my all time favourite foundation. It’s hard to say that because I never knew I would make that statement someday but here it is. When I first laid eyes on the stick foundation, I was a bit skeptical. My classmates at make-up school were all for it but I didn’t know if it would be too thick. I tried it on though and it was love at first sight. The foundation melts into your skin making it look very natural.

And the coverage is so amazing. I just take a brush and then draw streaks of this on my face or you can go straight from the tube. Then, use a sponge to blend everything together. The foundation lasts a good amount of time and doesn’t look horrid in humid weather! So I love it for that reason. Plus it’s such good coverage and can double up as a concealer. I love that it is also super portable and I bring this wherever I go! I’m done with my second tube so I’m going on to my third. It’s a whopping $65 but worth it!

Hope you like this post and have a great weekend! Hop onto my online store to get styling and get giving: http://www.roseanne.sg and oops I forgot to mention my UDPP! Of course you would know by now watching my tutorials  it’s just about the only primer I use. I love it so much and it’s the best eye primer for sure!

Love,

Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

I get a lot of questions asking what should I get – natural or synthetic hair make-up brushes and the answer is, both. That’s because natural and synthetic hair is useful for different functions when it comes to applying make-up and both are essential to either your personal or professional make-up kit. Here’s the low down on both and what they’re great for.

1. Synthetic Hair Makeup Brushes

What is it? The bristles of the make-up brush is composed of hair that is synthetic and man-made. Often the hairs have a more smooth/slightly plastic feel to them. They are dyed to brown or a gradient brown and cream to white usually.

What can it do? Synthetic hair is great for cream and liquid products – including foundation, cream blush, gel liner and concealer. It is able to not absorb so much of the product and apply a smooth finish onto the skin without much streaking. The hairs tend to gravitate toward each other in applying the product instead of spread out so it can help apply liquid and cream well. For any cream and liquid product including lipsticks, use a synthetic brush. Synthetic hair can also be more precise and the brush can be cut sharper so eyeliner can be made very precise. You won’t get any fly aways with a synthetic brush.

Best synthetic brushes to get - Foundation brushes like the Sigma F80 is which is a synthetic kabuki, concealer brush, lip brush, eye liner brush

Avoid synthetic brushes that are used for – Powder, eye-shadow, blush and bronzer. Synthetic brushes do not pick up powder well.

2. Natural Hair Makeup Brushes 

What is it? The make-up brush is made of natural hair from an animal like a squirrel or goat. The hair is similar to our hair and is commonly soft and smooth and dyed black or white. Avoid getting straw feeling natural hair bristles that feel like they could poke you.

What can it do? Natural hair brushes are the best for powder products – powder blush, face powder, bronzer and eye-shadow included. When the hairs are applied with pressure, they have more texture than synthetic bristles and therefore pick up powder well and blending is made easier and more natural on the skin. You can’t blend as well with synthetic bristles because the bristles don’t move as freely as natural hair bristles do.

Best natural hair brushes to get - Eye-shadow brushes – MAC 217, blending brushes, paddle brushes. Also blush brushes like the MAC 116, contouring brushes and powder brushes.

Avoid natural hair brushes that are used for - Foundation, concealer, lips and eyeliner.

So there you have it! Hope you now know the difference :) Let me know if you have any blog requests below! Would love to hear them!

Love,

Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

We’ve all heard about the benefits of essential oils but usually our knowledge extends to what we can add to our lamp burner on a sunday night. Little do we know that there’s actually a difference between medicinal grade therapeutic oils and aromatherapy oils. Medicinal grade therapeutic oils like Absolute Essential go through an extensive and meticulous process so that it has medicinal uses and benefits. Aromatherapy oils (the stuff you put in your burner) usually does not go through this level of extraction and use cheaper, less integral ingredients that don’t really work.

Dr. Bob Hedgen, founder of New Zealand company Absolute Essential who has 20 years experience as a registered and practicing doctor with essential oils, talked us through how to use medicinal grade essential oils to help with almost any ailment – from baby problems to beauty and skincare. Her range of essential oils are all organic, certified and are made of uncompromised natural ingredients sourced globally.

So how do essential oils really work? Essential oils are absorbed through smell or skin contact to enter the blood stream. It is so effective because it enters the blood stream directly (instead of swallowing a pill – stomach –>intestines –> blood stream). In fact when you smell the essential oil, it goes straight to the brain and into the lungs while through the skin, it can enter the blood stream. There are so many ways to apply essential oils as long as you keep to your drops.

If you want to add it to your bath, you can drop 6 – 10 drops into milk first because water and oil do not mix. This can help relax you, raise your immunity and ease muscle aches. If you want to shower, use 3 – 5 drops on a wash cloth which is great for cellulite and if you have a headache, you can put 2-6 drops on a tissue and sniff during the day to help. In fact, oils travel so fast that Dr. Bob Hedgen suggests you apply it to your foot and you can smell and taste the essential oils in about 10 minutes as it travels up. For babies, this is a great way to treat them as they have sensitive skin.

There’s really a huge range of different herbs that can help you. However, Absolute Essential oils come in blends that use a number of different essential oils to benefit you. For example Head Ease helps to release painful tension and includes basil, lavender and marjoram french essential oils while Brain Powder helps you concentrate with basil, rosemary, bergamot and cardamon essential oils. It is also interesting to note that you can also train yourself with smell. For brain power, you would only apply it every time you need to study and then apply it during the test and you can see that you will be able to recall things even better.

So there we have it! If you have any questions let me know. Absolute Essential can be found at Supernature which is an organic superstore at 21 Orchard Boulevard £01-21/27 Park House, Singapore 248645 :)

Hope you liked this post! By the way my online store is now OFFICIALLY OPEN :) Check it out at www.roseanne.sg

Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

I don’t know about you but in the fast and busy pace of today, I’m always on the look-out for multi-taskers and as a make-up artist, it’s really important to find products that are multi-use so that we can save space in our kits, and save time. Here’s three products that you can use for multiple uses and are ever so handy on the go, travelling or if you’re just plain lazy. Tsk Tsk. Jokes.

1. Superhero Stick Foundations

Any foundation that you use can be “doubled up” to act as a concealer. What a concealer really is, is just product that has concentrated pigment, more concentrated than your foundation so that it can cover up more. So, if you apply your foundation and pat your foundation again on your blemish after, then you are actually concealing it. But, sometimes we need a little more coverage and that’s when stick foundations are fabulous products. Stick foundations should be warmed up first, scrape a little out and on the back of your hand use your finger to rub the product until it’s creamy. You can then apply the product as a foundation or you can use it as a concealer as well. Therefore, it’s a two in one! It’s great for travelling because you don’t need to pack two products, just need your handy stick foundation, and you’re good to go! I’ve been really liking the Bobbi Brown stick foundations because they’re creamy after warming up and blend nicely into the skin for a flawless finish.

2. The Almighty Lipstick

Lipsticks aren’t just for your lips, they can do a bunch of things. See lipsticks as cream products and you can just imagine what you can do with them. Use your finger to collect some on your fingertip, dab three dots on your cheek and blend with another clean finger for a quick blush on the go. I was doing make-up for darker skin tones the other day and to warm darker skin, you need a peach or red color corrector. Not having those on hand, I applied some red lipstick at the back of my hand and used a cream concealer to blend in with the red so that I got a nice warm peach and applied it to the face to even out the tones. It worked perfectly.

3. The Versatile Gel liner

Rumor has it that Bobbi Brown was the first to bring the gel liner to the market. She didn’t have any liner for a shoot one day and decided to grab her eyeliner brush to collect some mascara product to apply on the eyes. The product didn’t budge so she decided to put it in a pot (with a few extra ingredients of course) and call it the gel liner. Therefore, gel liners are really versatile. If you have a quick hand at smudging, simply take a bit of gel liner with your finger tip and smudge from the lid line upwards. Apply eye-shadow very quickly and you can be sure that your eye looks aren’t going anywhere. Sometimes when the model has already great curled lashes, and we can’t get the small roots of the hairs with a mascara wand, we can go ahead and apply a black gel liner to the roots as well!

So there you have it, three must have multi-use products to save time, space and a little extra mooh-lah.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know if you have any other multi-tasking product suggestions in the comments below!

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Love,

Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

I can’t believe it’s that time of year again! Bring out the christmas cookies, the tree from the attic and those dusty decorations. It’s time for the holidays! Who doesn’t love a good gift but even better getting the right gift for your loved one . Here are not only some gift giving solutions but a wish list of my own (not to say anyone is getting me anything :p) but who doesn’t love imagining what to get? Plus, I thought it would be fun to show you why and what I’m currently eyeing!

It was love at first sniff with the Philosophy Eternal Grace EDP. It reminded me of my first perfume I ever had which was from Zara. I don’t remember the name because it was that long ago, but it smells fresh, beautiful, light and flirty. It doesn’t have a floral smell but certainly not overwhelming. It also takes a while until the scent evaporates a little before smelling really good. I love it.

Make-Up school makes you want to buy everything. We have a guest make-up artist every day and they love telling us their favourite products. One that seems to be always popping up is this Make-Up Forever 12 Flash Color Cream Palette. It consists of 12 creams and apparently you can create any look with it by just mixing the creams together to get all the secondary colors you need. It would be great to add for the make-up kit as you always need multi-purpose products. Of course, who can forget the BarryM Dazzle Dusts. Pure pigment, but more affordable than getting it at MAC. I tried them at the drugstore and they are so pigmented (of course). You can do so many things with pigments like adding and mixing them  together into to clear nailpolish, mascara or lip gloss to achieve any shade.

One of my classmates brings the Bobbi Brown Organizer to school everyday and I’m always envious of how great for travel it is. Not only does it have a compartment for your brushes, it has mesh separate pockets in between, and everything zips up into a wonderful and compact bag. Brilliant for travelling. I’m always used to stuffing my brushes and make-up into different zip lock bags. It’s amazing how palettes can really save so much space in your make-up kit and with so many colors a make-up artist should provide for, you need compact palettes. One of the make-up artists who teaches at our school carries around the Bobbi Brown BBU Face palette. It retails for 185 pounds on the Bobbi Brown website and contains 11 shades of Corrector for extra dark circles, 14 shades of Creamy Concealer for average undereye darkness and and 20 shades of Foundation Stick. It’s a make-up artists dream (not to mention mine too). It’s so pricey though.

One of the hardest things to do for me is getting an accurate bold lip color on. It can be really hard. The liner has to be exact, you got to create the straight magazine looking lips and if you don’t have the right brush, it’s hard. I recently bought a Chanel lipstick for my sister and when we were at the store, the make-up artist used a slanted lip brush to apply her lipstick. It looked like you could do any lip with that brush but unfortunately the one he used wasn’t for sale. So I tried to look for dupes and the Shu Uemura lip brush in 7H is a good match. Not only is there a curved end for your cupids bow, you can make straight lines with the straight edge too.

Probably the most used eyeshadows at school are the M.A.C Shroom and M.A.C Charcoal Brown eyeshadows. They’re perfect for day looks. Shroom goes over the lid and charcoal brown goes in the outer corner. In fact, charcoal brown doubles up as a brow powder too. It’s like the universal perfect shade for basically all eye brows. Of course I’m currently on the look out for handy foundation palettes as well and I heard the Graftobian Warm Foundation Palettes are amazing. Because they’re cream, they can also double up as concealers. I like the number of shades that they have and it would be so handy to have in your kit. Last but not least, almost all photo shoots love that dewy look every now and then and when I tried the M.A.C Strobe Cream for it, I fell in love. It’s like a beautiful sheen on the face when you apply it as a primer before your foundation and it totally transforms the face to have such a pretty dewy glow. If you’re modelling jewellery, it comes in handy as well to just apply on the hands or arms for a beautiful sheen too.

But of course, enough of me, what about your gift ideas? I have to say that if your friend is a beginner at make-up, she will fall in love with the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette! I use this all the time (as you know in my tutorials) and it has fantastic shades and eye-shadows that she can use for daily wear. She can transform her day looks into night looks with the matte black too! I saw the Ciate Nails Advent Calendar online and I thought it was the COOLEST thing ever since I’m such a fan of advent calendars. I remember my Kindergarten teacher picking one of the class to open one date of the calendar and receive the surprise inside everyday of December until Christmas! Now Ciate (famous for the Caviar Nail Trend) has created the Ciate Nails Advent Calendar! How awesome right? Not only does each date until Christmas contain a nail polish, there are some nail polishes that are exclusive to the calendar itself. It would be such a great gift!

If your friend or family loves a good read, they’ll love the Bobbi Brown Make-Up Manual. I love this book, I loved it so much, my sister has one now. I love how it’s not like any other make-up book. This one really takes you into consideration, beautifully done, great models and teaches you so well. I love the all the pictures and the information and tips are invaluable. It doesn’t push Bobbi Brown products at all which I really like too.

The OCC lip tars are for your more party-ready loved ones. The OCC lip tars are great for ridiculously pigmented lips, stay on the whole night and are just beautiful one of a kind lip products. This OCC Lip Tars Pro Pick set is a great pick so that your friend can try a variety of shades. Any make-up artist would love it too!

I first saw the NARS Edie set here in the UK as NARS has launched an Andy Warhol collection and I love how versatile this set can be for day looks. Your friend would love this – first of all, great duo blush choice – Deep Throat (my favourite) and Amour, Edie Eyeshadow which doubles up as a highlight, eyeliner and neautral lip. What’s not to love? And, if your loved one is a fan of Monopoly like I am and a beauty holic, they’ll LOVE the Sephora Monopoly Game. How cool is this? I was so excited to see this at Sephora even though it’s not a new product because you’re basically mixing my favourite game with my favourite activity. Um, why yes I’d like to be the lipstick. And no, I wouldn’t mind going to jail for bad hair days at all.

So there we have it, my current holiday wish list and a few ideas to get for your loved ones! Get them soon, most of the online shops have Cyber Monday and Black Friday specials still going. I would get my Christmas gifts now if anything :)

Have fun shopping!

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Love,
Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I was requested by some lovely viewers to do this tag video. Basically, you’re supposed to put on you make-up without glancing even once at the mirror. Although it seemed like an almost impossible feat, I decided to go ahead and do it anyway! By the way, excuse my lazy dress sense today. It’s Saturday and I just wanted to chill and make a video and it was cold. Hehe.

I’ve done my own make-up everyday now for at least three years so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I managed to go through foundation in a breeze and only really expected trouble with the lips and eye-liner. But after the whole look was done, I was really quite impressed with myself (in the most modest way possible). Few scars from the battle, just a mark on my fore-head, uneven liner, uneven lips, uneven brows. Okay, maybe more than a few scars.

What I did notice was that I was much more precise with the right side of my face. The eye-liner was done better, the lips done “properly” and my eye-brows weren’t a blurry mess. I guess that means that maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m right-handed!

Hope you enjoyed this tag ;) and thank you to sheriberrix for requesting this video! If you have any video requests at all, let me know in the comments section below!

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Love,

Roseanne

Hey Everyone,

So there’s this tag going around especially in the UK about how much our faces our worth. Well, we all know that the answer is “priceless”, but basically what you do is add up the prices of all your daily makeup products. Man, I feel like I’m getting my weight checked. I’m probably looking at around a hundred buckaroos since I’m open to using a mix of drugstore and department store makeup. I’m horrible with my money. I’m not too much an avid fan of getting new clothes (I don’t like trying them on at the store ..too lazy) but when it comes to make-up and food, it’s like, where did it all go? Let’s do some number crunchin’ while I peek through my fingers.

What’s the Damage:

* These are rough estimates. I don’t even remember exactly to the dollar how much they were worth, but this would be an honest bet. :)

Face

1. Rachel K CC Cream ~ $35
2. Rachel K Mineral Pressed Powder ~ $39
3. Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation ~ $29
4. NYC Sunny Bronzer ~$10
5. Benefit Dandelion Blush ~$51

Eyes

6. UDPP ~$32
7. UD Naked 2 Palette ~$72
8. Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit ~$30
9.  Maybelline Volum’ Express Ultracomb ~$17
10. Rimmel Exaggerate Automatic Liner ~ $7.99

Lips

11. Bobbi Brown Lipstick in Sandwash Pink ~ $25

Total: $347.99

Oh man, can I hide in a hole? It’s quite interesting to know that even the smallest things really stack up and I knew I was in for it when I  added the Benefit blush. It’s even crazier when you take into account exchange rates and the different prices these products can have all over the globe. I would say it’s worth it though, I love all the products I use daily. I guess to just pause, reflect and be like “whoa”! ;)

How much is your face worth?

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Love,
Roseanne

Hey Everyone,

I wasn’t born lucky in the sensitive skin department. I’m horribly prone to break-outs from reasons like a simple change of weather to a bit more stress. That being said, I’ve been an expert in covering up pimples and zits so here are a few of my top tips. I thought it might not be great to show you blemishes on my face so I decided to just “talk” about it. :)

#1 The Best Concealer for covering Acne is…

The best concealer to use for acne spots or blemishes would have to be a balm or cream concealer with decent coverage. My favourite is the M.A.C studio finish concealer that comes in a pot because it is so easy to apply, pat and cover your blemish and the small pot makes it easy for on the go touch-ups which you will need to do for acne and blemishes. Suprisingly also, Mineral concealers when applied with a synthetic brush like the Everyday Minerals concealer works really well too. From personal experience, I would not recommend a liquid concealer because liquid concealers spread too thin to cover up a raised pimple properly and because the pimple produces oil during the day, it mixes even more with the liquidity of the concealer making it last just about 2 seconds. Save your liquid concealers for non-raised blemishes like redness and under-eye circles and leave the cream/balm concealers to help with your raised pimples.

#2 Pat, not spread

The main objective to applying concealer to a pimple or zit is that you want to take away the color because without the redness of the pimple, it blends right into the surrounding skin. The key to applying your concealer is to pat your concealer gently onto the blemish in quick patting motions and working around the pimple to take away the color. This ensures that the concealer is spread evenly and it covers without spreading the coverage around and eventually revealing what you want to cover in the first place. So pat gently but quickly and make sure you also cover the redness of the surrounding area.

#3 Please Set & Bring along Concealer

Despite getting an award for concealing your blemish when you walk out the door in the morning, concealer fades easily because your pimple or zit tends to produce more oil than the rest of your skin so you have to remember to set with a powder. A pressed powder is a great bet because you might need the extra coverage but be sure to make sure everything blends nicely so it doesn’t look cakey. Because the concealer is more prone to fading, also bring along your concealer in your makeup bag to touch up throughout the day especially if you have oily skin.

So there you have it! My top three tips to concealing acne, zits and pimples! I’m sure you have a set of your own tips. In fact, one of you told me that you should use the UDPP to apply first and then apply your concealer and you know what, it actually worked! It works even better when I’m applying a mineral powder concealer over the UDPP as well. What’s yours? Let me know in the comments below!

Here’s more on concealer for easy reading :)
- Review: ZA Concealer Perfection Concealer & Liquid Concealer Tips!
- Review: MAC Studio Finish Concealer (in a pot!)
- Tutorial: Concealing Dark Circles with the MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer

Love,

Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

Matching undertones, textures and complexions ought to be one of the most important things you need to know. If you want to match your skintone successfully or get the right shade of lipstick, you’ll have to be able to match your undertone, to avoid looking like a cakey mess, you’ll have to match textures and to keep yourself from piling up the make-up, you’ll have to match complexions. But if all this sounds pretty foreign to you, then fear not, this will sure to have you looking flawless and gorgeous in no time.

Matching Undertones:

If you’ve just started make-up, you’re probably wondering what an undertone is. It’s the base color that not only your skin has, but also every make-up product that has color, that’s right. You are either a “warm” undertone with a neutral or yellow base or a “cool” undertone with a pink or blue base. Similarly, make-up products have warm and cool tones. The objective is to match your skin undertone with the undertone of the make-up product. How do you know what undertone you are? Simply flip your arm over and observe your veins. Are they blue or green? If they are blue, you are a cool undertone. If they are green, you are a warm undertone. How do you know what undertone a make-up product is? If you do not match undertones for example you wear a cool based bb cream when you are a warm undertone, you will end up looking white and ashy. Also just forget those bubblegum pink lips. Not a good look. So to get a good look girl, you gotta match your undertones.

Matching Formulas:

You got to admit, there are so many different types of formulas out there. There’s cream foundations, liquid foundations and powder foundations. Similarly, there are so many cream concealers, liquid concealers and powder concealers. The trick to getting a flawless face here is that you must match formulas. For example, if you are using a liquid foundation, you cannot apply a powder concealer on top of it. You will end up looking like a cakey mess after a long day, or even before it even ends. You should instead use a liquid concealer after your liquid foundation. However, if you don’t have one, you can always apply the make-up product before your powder or convert your liquid foundation into a powder first and then apply a powder concealer. Bottom line is if you are going to pile a makeup product on top of another makeup product, they must match.

Matching Skin Types

I naturally have a combination/oily face (look forward to my Must-Know Beauty Tip on Skin Types soon!) and I remember back in first year uni when I wanted to be totally matte and I mean totally matte. I bought mattifying powders and I carried blotting sheets like no other. Thankfully, it’s like I live an opposite life now and I reckon that it’s really best to actually embrace our skin types and match them accordingly. If you’re a little oily, just live a little and stop packing on your powders so you look matte. To be honest, you never can really be matte if you have oily skin. I’m sorry, just bring a few blotters around and thank God for your skin because you have it. So therefore match your skin types with the make-up products you go for and embrace your glow!

So there we have it, matching undertones, formulas and skin types isn’t too hard but it’s key to achieving a flawless face!

Hope this helps!

Love,
Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

Little do we know, there’s a bunch of awesome tools online that can help us explore more about make-up besides catching up on your favorite blogs and youtube channels. Here’s a list of my favorite make-up related websites that not only can show you what make-up works best for you, but also how to get that shade you need even before walking into a store (and even in the comfort of your own home).

1. Makeupbee (http://www.makeupbee.com) 

Makeupbee is something a little new. It was first introduced to me by a good friend in it’s early stages but it has grown into a whole (and pretty awesome) makeup community. If you hate clicking multiple links just to look at really cool makeup looks created by people just like you and me, then you will love makeupbee. On makeupbee, you can create a profile, upload the looks that you’ve done yourself, put up the products you used in the look, and share it with the rest of the makeup bees in the community. You can comment and like other looks and if you like a certain look in particular you can see just what products they used.

It’s an amazing community that allows you to discover new makeup looks (not to mention great inspiration), enter competitions, browse products and more. I am in love with this site,  and I absolutely love scouting for new inspiration just by scrolling. Plus, everyone on there is like a super pro make-up artist, the looks are to-die-for!

2. Temptalia’s Foundation Matrix ( http://www.temptalia.com/foundation-matrix )

This is an absolutely useful tool for anyone who needs to find their shade in something. I get those questions all the time in YouTube comments. But let’s face it honey, I have never seen you in real life, there is no way I know what shade you are, not to mention even what you look like.

So, I end up always directing you to this baby. Temptalia’s Foundation Matrix is pure awesomeness. Once you know your foundation shade in M.A.C (which is easy because you just need to go to the counter and ask), you can easily find your tone – I’m a Medium – just hover over the selection and you can easily see what you are.

Then, you can go to the matrix and find out the brand and type of foundation to get a general idea of what shade you are.

It’s great for a general idea but make sure you check it at the store in case.

3. Makeupalley (http://www.makeupalley.com/)

I’m pretty sure everyone who is into make-up is familiar with Makeup Alley to find out what people are thinking about a particular product. It’s sort of like Urban Spoon for make-up.

You can look up a certain product and see a general rating and a bunch of reviews for that product and what people are thinking about it. It’s pretty useful if you have no idea if what you want is actually good or bad.

I always use this to find my foundation shade. Knowing your M.A.C shade is like knowing a universal language in make-up. Because people seem to always put what shade they are and what shade they are in M.A.C (as comparison), to find say my shade in a L’Oreal foundation, I just put it the name of the foundation, my M.A.C Shade (in this case NC30) into Google and find the make-up alley search results to scout out what I am in the L’Oreal foundation I want.

Like this:

and then search for your M.A.C shade:

So there you have it, W4 is your answer!

4. O.P.I Nail Studio (http://www.opi.com/nailstudio/NailStudio_SA.shtml)

Have you ever wondered if you could have a virtual nail wheel? That way you would know which nail polish colors look good and which colors are better left not whipping out over twenty bucks for. Well, the OPI Nail Studio online is pretty handy just for this reason. You get to scroll to pick your skin color and even your nail length and have a fun time clicking on different nail polish names or checking out the specific one you want to get. Pretty handy.

So there you have it! My top 4 online make-up websites & tools! Hope you enjoyed it :) I gotta go and study for my last few exams now :)

If you have any other websites up your sleeve, feel free to comment. Feel free to comment if you feel like commenting anyway. I’ll definitely read and reply!

Love,

Roseanne

Hey Everyone,

I think you can pretty much guess that hot pink and I go together like peanut butter and jelly. It’s my favorite color (no really?). It’s a color that’s so befitting of my personality – pretty loud, girly and strong. I love it. I’m always on the hunt for a great hot pink, and it’s the one color I always ask for when I’m getting my nails done at the salon. It’s pretty much an expression of me.

I bought this baby – O.P.I La Paz-Itively Hot – quite a while ago and it has been such a favourite that I had to share. Matte nails is a pretty old trend, it’s probably been stepped on all over by shatter nails and even nail wraps. But I have to say out of all the unique trends out there, this is probably the most “wearable”, at least for me. The best one? Is this one. This hot pink dries matte but it has a bit of depth to it because of the slight and subtle shimmer that gives your nails a matte glow which is so fun. I have You Don’t Know Jacques as well but because it doesn’t have the wild flair, it’s a kind of a boring shade especially because it dries matte. I love matte nail polishes (not that I only like them, I really like shiny cream as well) because they dry super fast and they are super pigmented in general.  I still would use two coats of this but I like it because it has a bit of a satin finish. One of best!

 What’s your favourite nail polish?

Love,

Roseanne

Hey Everyone,

Here’s a question that I get often and something that I remember being confused with back when I first started getting into BB Creams and that is this:

What is the Difference between a BB Cream and a Foundation?

Simple. There are many differences. A BB cream can be used as a make-up base or a very sheer foundation at best. It’s major selling point is that it is a make-up and skincare product, so it tends to have more skincare benefits than a liquid foundation does. It also provides less coverage.

Therefore, a bb cream and foundation differs most in these areas:

1. Coverage – BB creams provide less coverage than can a liquid foundation. It’s better for those don’t-feel-like-wearing make-up days or if you have flawless skin.

2. Skin-care benefits – BB creams are likely to provide more skin-care benefits, usually with the addition of specific ingredients to hydrate or repair your skin whereas a liquid foundation is just make-up.

3. Color Range – BB creams have very limited color ranges – usually 1 or 2 shades – that are in the fair color range – NC25 and below. Liquid foundations tend to have 5 to 10 shades available. You should also be careful of BB cream undertones which tend to be pink instead of yellow based that can make you look a little ashy.

4. Application – BB creams are best applied with your fingers. Simply dot a little bit of the product all over the face and pat the product into the skin with your fingers until you have a flawless face. Liquid foundations can be applied with stippling brushes, paddle brushes, kabukis or your own fingers. For more foundation applications methods, check this post out: 5 Awesome Ways to Apply Your Foundation

I hope you found this helpful!

For more posts on BB creams, check out the following posts:

1. L’Egere Multi White BB Cream Review
2. Back to Basics: All You Need to Know About BB Creams
3. Rachel K CC Cream Review 

Hope you found this helpful!

♡ YouTube Channel | Facebook Page| Online Store | Hellocotton | Bloglovin’ | Twitter | Instagram

xx Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

The world of beauty can be a little crazy. Sometimes, it goes beyond crazy rainbow lashes from Shu Uemura or sci-fi theater effects into current trends like these which I found quite interesting to share. I don’t suggest you wear these out because you’ll probably gain more than a few weird stares but if you’re like Lady Gaga, maybe you won’t mind at all.

1. Paperlife Eyelashes

This is taking fake lashes to the next level. I saw these babies at Sephora in Singapore and wondered when I could ever wear them. They might even be equivalent to those sneaky heels you bought this weekend that you know you can’t wear out because they’re too high, but because they looked hot on you at the store, you decided to buy them anyway. I’m not sure what to say about these lashes to be honest. All I can say is that it would be funny if it rained.

2. Lip Transfers/Tatoos

A few months ago, I had a Minx Manicure – basically a nail wrap – and had no idea that they have them for lips as well. Look at that. Forget your lipsticks, re-applying them throughout the day or smudges what so ever. You can wrap your lips and call it a day. I can’t believe this exists.

3. Snakeskin Manicure

My best friend loves snakeskin – on bags, wallets and even shoes. I on the other hand am creeped out by these slithering animals and would never wear a snakeskin manicure. One of the toughest decisions when getting your nails done is what color you want them to paint your nails with. Pink? Red? How bout snakeskin! Plus it costs about 62 pounds per nail ($123 per NAIL) – that’s my monthly gym membership on one nail. What they do is they take snakeskin that has been shed away from the snake (no harming animals) and they use a special gel to paste the skin onto your nails. It takes about two hours and lasts about two weeks. Lovely.

4. Pastel Hair

On the runway this Spring season is pastel hair, which I think is quite unique and cool although me wearing pastel hair out and about will be a very rare and probably non-existent occasion. Spread the paint on your hair and match your clothes with it. Hey, you might even be mistaken for a flower so don’t go to the parks where the honey bees might see you too often, ok?

5. SHATTER Nails & Fish Spas

I know these last two trends aren’t very new nor are they earth shatteringly special. But I do want to give my two cents about them. First of all, OPI shatter nails and the whole shatter nail trend is honestly weird to me. It’s fun and cool the way it breaks but I don’t honestly think the whole black shatter things on your nails looks attractive. Fish spas are weird too. Fish eating your dead skin doesn’t look very hygienic but I know they will be thanking the heavens if you dip your feet without having a pedicure in a while. What about fish waste, what if their fishy teeth are dirty. They’re animals! Those are two silly trends I’ll never understand.

So there you have it my Top 5 Beauty Trends that only Lady Gaga Might Love!

What do you think about them?

Love,
Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

We’ve all been there. At the end of a long day at uni, or work, we either have a bad case of the oilies or our blush or lipstick has now faded. Even better, a hot date is waiting for us tonight and there is just no way that we can beat the rush hour and head home first. Thus, there’s always a reason to bring along a few make-up items in a small pouch in case of any hot mess emergencies. I thought it would be fun to open up my little make-up emergency kit and show you my top tips and items to touching your make-up throughout the day!

It’s pretty packed in here, but seriously for good reason. The key is to find products that multi-task and don’t need additional tools.

Your touch-up routine should consist of as little brushes as possible just because brush hairs tend to trap a decent amount of dirt.

The Face Products:

Step 1:  Blot your Face: 

I usually would blot my face first. You can use blotting sheets, but really, I just use any old tissue to do the job. I used to use the M.A.C blot powder but after a while, I got lazy in the re-purchasing department and just decided to use oil blotters, and then tissues and then paper napkins and so forth. Of course, if you have dry skin, feel free to skip this step.

My Picks: Usually, paper towels

Step 2: Apply a Pot Concealer: 

Pot concealers or balm like concealers are the best for touch-up bags because you don’t need an additional concealer brush to help you out. Plus, it’s much faster to apply with your fingertips

My Picks: M.A.C Studio Finish Concealer or Maybelline Coverstick Concealer

Step 3: Use a Retractable Brush to apply your Pressed Powder: 

A retractable brush is awesome because it’s basically a brush with a cap. Applying the pressed powder with the sponge it provides is probably only good for the first one or two uses. After that, unless you’re up for washing your sponge all the time, it can be quite unhygienic. Use a retractable brush instead and sweep the powder all over.

My Picks:  Sigma Retractable Kabuki with Rachel K Pressed Powder

Step 4: Highlight: 

Having a highlighter handy is the best for days when you obviously didn’t have enough sleep. Apply this under your eyes and along the nose of your bridge for an instant perk me up!

My Picks:  YSL Touche Eclat

The Eye Products:

Step 5:  Apply your Eye-liner 

Always bring an eye-liner with you. Instant energizer and most likely to run or fade throughout the day. Makes a whole lot of difference to reapply your eye-liner during your touch-up routine.

My Picks: Sportsgirl Draw the Line Eye-liner, Covergirl Liquidline Blast, M.A.C Technakohl in Graphblack

Step 6: Eye-Lash Glue 

This is necessary only if you are wearing false lashes that day. If not, feel free to leave this item out.

My Picks: Ardell Lash Adhesive, Duo Eyelash Glue

The Cheeks:

For blush, either bring a blush with an in-house brush or use a cream blush. Remember the trick is to use less brushes so if you can do the job with your fingertips, even better. It saves space in your pouch and saves your make-up brushes from being squashed into that little pouch of yours. The Revlon Matte in Rose Rapture blush or the Canmake Cream Cheek Blush make great bets. I rarely need to ever re-apply a bronzer but if you need to, go ahead. The Revlon Beyond Natural Blush and Bronzer is a great duo that’s beautiful, natural and convenient and would make a great addition to any make-up bag.

The Lips: 

As for the lips, just add your lipstick that you’re wearing that day. I’m usually sporting the Chanel Rougue Allure in Darling which is the best everyday lipstick. It should win the award for being super smooth, light and pigmented.

And there we have it! I usually blot, apply concealer, dust with a bit of powder, add a bit of blush, re-touch my eye-liner and go over with my lipstick again! Of course i’m not one of those vain pots who spends more time in the ladies room than doing some actual shopping but if I have been out for a while and I’m meeting someone special, I do re-touch to make sure I look spiffy.

How do you re-touch your make-up?

Additional Notes: By the way – I’ve added commentluv so if you’re a blogger, you can attach your latest post to your comment to gain more exposure! I hope it helps.

Also special shout out to Virginie who’s a lovely reader of roseannetangrs from France (www.ravalement-de-facade.net) who is in the running for being nominated for Elle Magazine’s beauty blogger. Help vote for her by clicking here. Click “voter” under her blog! Best of Luck Virginie!

If you thought this post was pure awesomeness, remember to hit the fb like button, retweet it or fb share it and tell your friends!

Love,
Roseanne

Hey Everyone,

I’m sure we all remember our first night out with the girls. You’re a little nervous because you don’t know what a club will be like, you’re not sure if your dress is a little too revealing but I think most of all, you’re worried about your make-up. To be totally club – proof, your make-up has to survive a few hours of dancing in a crowded room with loud music and lots of people. It’s not going to be easy. So, here’s my top three foundations to wear and a few tips to keeping flawless for a good night out. I’m not a serial clubber but I do go out with my girls every now and then. By the way,  that’s me and my beautiful food blogger friend, Adrienne, visit her yummylicious food blog at: http://www.adriennely.com/ It’s super useful if you’re wondering what to eat in Melbourne!

Top 3 Foundations:

1. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse

I absolutely love this foundation because it makes you flawless, it takes your pores away and it is my go to foundation for a good night out. Plus, it’s easy to spread on if you’re going to press the foundation into the skin and is great for photographs because of its high coverage and ability to give you that beautiful complexion. It’s just easy to wear and it brings results. It however is not totally long lasting so if you think you’re going to Zouk Out in this, you might want to check out the other foundation suggestions. I would say wear this for any event you have to look good in photos with.
Check out my full review here: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=16376613

2. Australis Fresh & Flawless Liquid Foundation

I can’t say enough about this, and you can probably tell. At $12.95, it actually wears great for a night out dancing. It’s long lasting and stays light and flawless throughout the day and night. The only key thing is to blend fast. It dries to a semi-matte finish quicker than most foundations so if you are to wear it, use a paddle brush and in quick strokes apply your foundation. Overall, a great one for a long lasting and natural finish.

Check out my YouTube review here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Wx4jJUukw

3. Revlon ColorStay Foundation for Combination/Oily Skin

I love this for nights out. It wins the award hands down for the foundation I have to blot least with because it’s so good with oil control! It is flawless and lasts the longest out of the other two foundations I’m recommending. So if you know it is going to be a long night, this is a pretty good pick. I swear on looking flawless still at 2am in the morning. The only downside to this I would say is that you can feel this foundation, meaning it’s a bit heavy. Just think an industrial strength foundation won’t come light and easy. The foundation has beautiful coverage as well.

Check out a full review here: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=11023445

Make-Up Tips for Nights Out:

1. Re-Do Your Make-up for the Night & Set with Powder

Even if you have your make-up on during the day, take it off and re-do it for the night. This will ensure that the make-up looks fresh for photos and will last longer. I get a lot of questions asking why the foundation doesn’t last and more often than not, I find out that you haven’t set with a powder. It is super important that you set your liquid foundation with a powder, even more than wearing a primer, because your liquid foundation will fo sho slip and slide if you don’t set your foundation with a powder. I love the Maybelline Dream Matte Powder for this purpose, must do!

2. Wear False Lashes or Contacts – Just have fun!

It’s night time, ditch those neutral looks and have a little fun. Go crazy smokey with some colorful contacts (I love wearing grey and my favorite are from Freshkon) and then pair it up with some hot looking false lashes. People don’t judge you when you’re out, just look hot and remember to have a little fun.

3. Bring touch-ups in your purse

It’s always important to bring a few back-ups just in case along with your I.D and money in your purse. I always drop a pencil liner, the lipstick I’m wearing that night, concealer and if I’m wearing falsies, eye-lash glue and contact lens eye-drops in case my eyes get a little dry. It’s cool to also bring one of those small tester vials of perfume, that might come in handy too!

So there you have it! My top three drugstore foundations and make-up tips for a good night out.

What are your tips?

Have fun and club safe!

Love,

Roseanne

Hey Everyone,

My hair has a life of its own. When I’m sad or feeling tired, my hair seems to flop down and appear flat but when I’m awake and energetic, it instantly volumizes itself. Weird. But the point of this post is here. I am much flattered to say that the number one question I receive on the blog and on YouTube is what I do with my hair. It’s often a question I appreciate but one that I kindly ignore because well, there’s not much to say. I’m really doing this post because I need to document that I did answer this quesition and why not to do it over the blog (and maybe make a video out of it). Despite really not doing much at all, I do use a particular shampoo and conditioner and I do see myself doing a few things everyday that may contribute to the appearance of my hair. Mostly though, when the hairdresser says, “Wow, you have so much hair”, I really blame it on genetics. Here we go!

Products

Shampoo & Conditioner

There are two brands of shampoo and conditioner that I like. In Singapore, I’m in love with Sunsilk because it just works with my hair. It makes it soft, smooth and shiny. I’m in love with the orange and yellow formulas. I really don’t remember what they are called but I find myself zooming in for those colors when I need to stock up on shampoo and conditioner. The other shampoo and conditioner I like to use is Tresemme Moisture Rich and it’s my standard shampoo and conditioner when I’m in Australia.

I do stay away from certain brands of shampoo and conditioner because I know that they don’t do anything from me. These include Pantene ProV Shampoo and Herbal Essences. I wished Herbal Essences worked for me because it smells so good, right? It smells heavenly.

Practices

Tying My Hair In a Bun

I have long hair and it’s just easier to manage when I tie my hair in a bun. Whenever I need to get serious, I tie my hair. Haha, maybe it’s my thing. I don’t know if it contributes to volume but whenever I let my hair down after tying it in a bun, it looks hot. It’s volumized. It’s great.

Sleeping with my Hair Wet

I know you’re not supposed to do this. My parents run after me if I go straight to sleep and I don’t dry my hair first but I do it all the time. You’re supposed to get a headache if you do this but I haven’t gotten a headache from it before. I think the reason why I don’t do it is because I don’t like hairdrying my hair, it makes it flat and dry so I tend to let it dry naturally. Most of all, when I’m sleepy, I sleep.

Hairdrying, Not Really

As mentioned before, I don’t like hairdrying my hair. I don’t like brushing it either. That, or it doesn’t like me doing any of that to it. I think it likes to float its own boat and even if I don’t brush it, it still looks normal and I’m a fan of volume so I’m kinda afraid that hairdrying and brushing will flatten it out, which it does. I’m not going to totally say that I don’t hairdry or brush but if I had the choice (not rushed for time, no knots), I wouldn’t touch it.

I’ve had hairdyes done – sometimes my hair is industrial strength – and it doesn’t color. I’ve had it permed, curled, all sorts. I know how pointless this post is kind of, it’s more of an answer to a frequently asked question :) I don’t use any external products like creams, serums or masks. Nothing. Just shampoo, condition and let it dry naturally.

What do you do with your hair?

Love,

Roseanne