Tips!

Must Know Beauty Tip: Quick Guide to Colour Correcting!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Make-Up School | Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone!

I’m sure we all know how to conceal, but what about colour correcting? No, I’m no talking about slapping on another foundation or concealer to “colour correct” our skin, but using actual cream colours to do the job. Using green and purple concealers might only make sense if you’re helping do Barney the Dinosaur’s make-up, but it can really actually help you achieve an even flawless base under your make-up. This is colour correcting.

Today I’m using my favourite which is the Make Up For Ever Camo Cream Palette. I always use this palette when I need to colour correct my clients or models and I love the texture. It is a dream. There are two main things you need to know about colour correcting – being what colour corrects what, and how to correctly apply the cream (because it’s not how you usually do it).

Dark oranges - are great for dark skin tones because it is able to warm up the skin so that foundation doesn’t look pale and ashy. Often, more african skin tones can have gray or ashy “pigmentation spots” and more commonly, the middle of the face doesn’t match the tone of the border of the face. This dark orange helps to correct the mismatched spots. For midnight dark skin, you can even use your red lipstick to do the job as I’ve done before!

Purple/Lilac – used to correct sallowness of the skin or yellowness and significantly brighten your complexion. Did you know that this colour theory is all according to the colour wheel. Therefore, since purple is used to correct yellow, yellow corrects purple or blue/black spots. For example, if you have really dark under eye circles, you can use a pale yellow colour corrector to correct your under-eye first before applying your concealer. You’ll find that it goes away even better.

Green – the most common colour corrector. It’s used to correct redness, eczema, pink blemishes and zits. Applying the green colour correct before, will help you hide the redness that usually shows up through your concealer. It’s great to hide those hard to hide red areas too.

The rest of the palette features concealers that you can mix together to hide your flaws, they aren’t really colour correctors. I would say this palette is missing a pale yellow because that’s pretty much all that’s left! As you would know, a pale yellow helps to correct the dark under eye circles and helps to neutralize it.

In applying your colour corrector, the keyword again is neutralize. You’re supposed to neutralize the colour, not conceal it. Therefore, as you can see in the picture, the first swatch is wrong. Applying a green layer is not going to help you and will make you look like shrek. Instead, lightly pat the corrector onto the affected area. See how light that is? That’s exactly the amount (or less) that you need to neutralize whatever you’re trying to hide!

Hope this helps and have a wonderful weekend!

Roseanne

Which is Better? Natural OR Synthetic Hair Make-up Brushes!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Basics for Beginners | Tips! | Tutorial

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

My Must-Read ALL TIME Skincare Tips for Acne/Blemish Prone Skin

Posted by roseannetangrs in Skincare | Top 5!

Hey Everyone,

I know it doesn’t look like it but I’ve actually been battling acne for a long time. My skin has attitude and breaks out in different periods of time for what seems like no absolute reason. It can have periods of peace and then have periods of war and you can see the war coming with small tiny bumps spread across my face. Thankfully, it has prepared me for battle so here I am sharing some tips to help keep your skin clearer including what works for me and what doesn’t.

1. Spot Treatment – Proactiv Repairing Lotion

My all time favourite acne treatment that doesn’t leave me scars is the Proactiv Repairing Lotion. It works because it contains benzoyl peroxide that eliminates the bacteria on your skin that causes acne. I used the Proactiv range before and just like any skincare range, it works for a while and then doesn’t. However, I’ve stuck to the repairing lotion for a long time and its the one thing that has helped clear acne without leaving scars, smaller overnight and even stops growing acne from coming out. What a miracle worker. I’m probably on my 4th bottle.

2. The Cleanse Twice Rule & Remove Makeup Properly!

Guess what, many of us don’t remove our make-up properly! It’s sad but true and it was true for me. I thought cleansing my skin with a cleanser looked like it removed all my makeup but it actually isn’t sufficient. Take everything off and make sure its off. I use Bioderma, my all time favourite sensitive skin makeup remover with a non oily forumla. It removes all traces of make-up and has helped my skin improve because I use it with a cotton pad until I see no more traces of make-up. Then, I start off with cleanse number 1 which is Cetaphil because it has a gentle, non-soap formula. I then take my bath and when I’m about to sleep, I cleanse again with my “treatment” cleanser – whether it be brightening, whitening or whatever. That way I cleanse fully. It really helps to make your skin a whole ton better.

3. Finding a Skincare Routine that works for you

A lot of the brands out there claim that you NEED a serum, need a toner, need this and that in your skincare routine. Most of the time, some of the products aren’t suitable for your skin and it’s just a marketing gimmic. You seriously need to find a skincare routine that works for you. That means if you have to skip toner because it breaks you out, just skip it. If you think you shouldn’t use all the products from a brand range, and mix it up a bit, do it! Find the routine that works for you and it will be the best for you. To clear off my whole load of acne I had across my cheeks, I basically fired it all with the Proactiv Reparing lotion, like loads of it. Of course that’s not recommended by anyones dermatologist but even though it was red and irritated it eliminated my acne in about 2 weeks. Record breaking time.

4. You’re a Work in Progress

Treating acne requires a patient soul. Acne never goes down in a day or two days even. Treat it everyday and be careful with it and it will go down. Sometimes it can be due to your hormones and your diet as well. So eat more vegetables and drink more water to help with that. Hormones – can’t do much I guess. Be patient!

5. Exfoliation & Going Oil-Free

Within your skincare routine, you can help with the process as well like exfoliating less. This really aggravates the acne. You should go oil free with all your products as well and when treating your acne, reduce moisturiser to specific times. When applying your acne medication, do not apply it over your moisturizer. Think about it, you’re trying to dry out the pimple with your medication and then you’re trying to hydrate it at the same time. Don’t confuse it. Apply moisturizer around the zits if you need to or after your medication session is over. If you have “treatment” and “moisturiser/repair” sessions like wake up 9am to 11 am treat acne, 2 pm to 3pm moisturise because that way they don’t mix.

Please also remember to clean your mouth after you eat!

Here are my all time favourite acne skincare products that work:
- Proactiv Repairing Lotion (Can be found at Watsons)
- Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
- Cellilux Glacial Clay mask
- Bioderma for Sensitive Skin (can be found at http://elizabeauty.com/get-your-very-own-bioderma for cheaper)

Hope you liked this article :)

Roseanne

How to Use Pure Essential Oils for Health & Beauty!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips!

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

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Top Lessons from Make-Up School & Portfolio Photo-shoots!

Posted by roseannetangrs in About Me | Lifestyle | Make-Up School | Top 5!

Hey Everyone,

I can’t believe it’s over in two weeks. I still remember packing my bags (albeit very last minute), hopping on a plane and getting on the tube to my very first day of school. And now, it’s already week 7! Finally attending make-up school was a big dream of mine. Even though to be honest most of my friends and family questioned what more I could learn there, I learned an immense amount. It wasn’t so much about theory, but the experience of applying make-up on people day in day out and being professional about it is what helped! In fact, applying make-up on someone else is totally different than applying make-up on yourself, plus you learn the real professional way of doing things and you get told off by someone who’s been doing it for 20 years. Here are my top lessons, tips and tricks (whatever you want to call them) from school that I never knew how to do before. Plus, I’ve sprinkled images of some of my work throughout the post as well!

1. Curling Someone Else’s Lashes

Whenever I had to curl somebody’s lashes before, I always willingly handed them the eyelash curler. Now, with more practice of course, I’m able to do it myself. If you want to do it on someone else, simply tell them to “half-open” their eyes. Then, tuck the eye-lash curler underneath and semi close down and ask “Does it feel okay?”. With a “yes”, then you can proceed to clamp down on the lashes. Wait a 10 – 30 seconds and release for curled lashes. Also, remember that when applying mascara, you always need to apply your mascara on a disposable mascara wand and not apply straight from the tube! Mascara is notorious for little germs.

( Black & White x Tint – Model: Amelia | Photographer: Sandro Hyams| Make-Up: Roseanne Tang)

2. Lipliner is now a must-have

I never understood lip liner before coming here. If I outline the lips, it looks too theatrical. If I fill it in with lip liner, what’s the point, I’m applying lipstick anyway. I just couldn’t be bothered. But seriously with every look I’ve done over the past months, I’ve had to use a lipliner. It’s a must-have to make those really sharp and intense lip looks and it has been difficult but after doing it so many times, I finally got the hang of it. The trick to lip liner isn’t to press hard and draw it out like an eyeliner, but to very lightly trace the line of your lips – the lightest, slightest line will appear and that’s the line you want because you don’t want to go to heavy. You can also ask your model to stretch the bottom lip by half smiling so it’s easier for you to draw. Then, fill in the lips completely by using the side of the pencil to shade in the lips. We almost never leave the lip not filled up after applying liner.

( Classic Glamour - Model: Emma | Photographer: Shooting Beauty| Make-Up: Roseanne Tang)

3. Moisturise Please

I remember applying foundation beforehand on dry skin. It would cake up and look like a complete mess. Little did I know how important skin prep is before make-up application and we’re not just talking primers. My cleanser of choice is a cream cleanser. I cleanse even if there’s no make-up with a special massage technique and grabbing moistened cotton disks to wipe away the cleanser after. I then tone and remember to pat away the toner after I sweep the face with a folded up tissue so the skin doesn’t feel tight. Then of course moisturiser. I have two moisturisers in my kit, a lotion for people who don’t need moisturiser and a more heavy duty one – both E45. Even if they don’t need it, I will still moisturise before the make-up so that it’s a smoother application. For nasty dry spots, you need the heavy duty one. I say moisturise until you feel the skin is soft and supple to the touch. If that’s good, then you’re ready for make-up. I’ve been wanting to get the Rosebud Salve as well. Apply it to the flaky bits, do the eyes first, and the flaky bits will drop off naturally. Then apply the foundation.

( Beauty Shot – Model: Stephanie | Photographer: Shooting Beauty| Make-Up: Roseanne Tang)

I think everyone can do make-up self taught for sure. I know I did for three years, but I guess you’ll never really learn about the small things until you’ve done a few months at a school. What’s hygienic, what’s not, how to prepare your kit and table, how to direct your model so that applying make-up is easier and safer for both of you.

But, I guess the most major lesson I’ve learnt is that man, I really love putting make-up on people. After doing a shoot a few weeks ago for six hours straight on like 20 models, I realised I didn’t feel tired and I think I very well enjoyed myself too much. I only hope I can get a move on a decent make-up artist career back in Singapore. You want your make-up done, holla!

We’re now learning to do HAIR – something that I have absolutely no experience in but I’m getting the hang of it already. I can’t wait to do all the updos, curls and plaits!

xx Roseanne

3 Must Have Multi-Tasking Products to Save Time & Space

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips! | Top 5!

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!

Show some lovin’ and like my upcoming Online Store’s Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/roseanne.sg

Love,

Roseanne

My Holiday Make-Up Wishlist & Christmas Gift Ideas!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips!

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!

Show some lovin’ and like my upcoming Online Store’s Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/roseanne.sg

Love,
Roseanne

How to Build your Make-Up Artist Kit – 4 Must Know Tips!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Make-Up School | Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone,

Everyone knows that one of the costs to being is make-up artist is how ridiculously expensive make-up can be. I find myself buying make-up shades that aren’t for myself, cool blushes and lipsticks and crazy colours – plus the odd accessory like sponges, disposable mascara wands, Q-Tips and skincare for toning, cleansing and extra moisturising. In fact, building your make-up kit can be tough. But, here are a few tips from make-up school that may make it easier on your wallet!

1. Mix and Match

They say that if a foundation is in the same line and is composed of the same texture, you can mix shades to get your accurate one. That means probably buying just a light, medium and dark foundation is enough and for all the shades in between, you can mix them together to get the right one. I find this great for liquid foundations so you’re carrying three in your kit instead of ten. Get multi-taskers as well like foundation sticks that can double up as concealers as well depending on how you apply it.

2. Power in Neutrals

I was flipping through Vogue the other day and I noticed that probably 90% of the looks are all neutral colors. Talking to the make-up artists who have been doing makeup for 20 years at school – they tell me that they barely get to use color if at all despite their avid wish to do so. Bridal looks also make up the bread and butter of a make-up artists salary but most bridal looks are now classic, timeless and of course neutral. Unless you’re talking about a wonderful Indian or Arab wedding that may call for otherwise. That means, get the colors you want, but only what is necessary and build your neutral shades.

3. The “As you go” method

It’s hard sitting in class every day and the make-up artist telling you what their must-have foundation is or must-have make-up brush is without wanting to get it! It’s as if you have to fork out a load of mooh-lah in an instant to get your kit all up and running. But, I’ve realised that I’m going to get what is necessary first and then build as I go. So, if I know I have a model tomorrow who wants ridiculous glitter and pigments, I’ll get that, but not now.

4. Don’t forget the High Street when you start

A word for drugstore products here in the UK is the term “High Street” – you’re looking at brands like Sleek, Barry M, Max Factor, L’Oreal or Maybelline. These cosmetics actually own some of the major big ones. In fact, the high street brand Bourjois is said to OWN Chanel cosmetics. I’ve tried and reviewed hundreds of products – from high end like Chanel, YSL, NARS, MAC etc, you name it and lots of drugstore products and each brand is like a music album – you really like some songs and the others not so much. Especially when you first start out, using eye-shadows from Sleek (which is AMAZING) instead of NARS or Chanel is alright. When you start building an income, you can then fork out more for the stuff you want! Right now, I’m thinking of getting more high-end foundations, concealers, primers and powders but not minding great quality colors for eye-shadows, liners, and primers.

What’s on my wish list? I need a range of foundations suitable for all skin types that I can mix and match and produce shades with. Including powders and concealers. I’ve been using the MAC studio fix fluid at school and I love how flawless it looks in photographs, but I don’t know how it will fare in hot and humid Singapore. So if you have any suggestions let me know!

Hope you found this useful! Have a great weekend!

Show some lovin’ and like my upcoming Online Store’s Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/roseanne.sg

Love,

Roseanne

Quick Tip: Finding your most Flattering Lip Color

Posted by roseannetangrs in Lips | Tips!

Hey Everyone!

It’s silly, but it’s true. Sometimes with all the lip colours out there, we just don’t know which one to whip on. Do we go pale like Kim Kardashian or pink like Nicki Minaj?

Well, here’s the answer. Simply go 1 or 2 shades darker than your natural lip color to find your most flattering, natural shade. Simply smack your lips together tightly and see the color your lips produce when you let go. That, my love, would be your go to daily lip color. If you want your lipstick to last longer, grab a lip liner and fill in your lips first before applying your lipstick.

Of course you might argue that you’re in love with your nude lips or vintage red lips but it’s really I guess up to you whether you want to take the theory. If you’re experimental with lip colours, just make sure your undertone is right. Warm undertones vs. cool undertones must be taken into consideration with lipsticks being cool or warm.

In my opinion, going too nude, especially if you have dark to medium skin, isn’t flattering, but we all have our own opinions don’t we? Nonetheless, the “theory” says that fair skins look best in fair apricot shades, light pinks or corals. Medium skin tones look best in lips that are slightly darker like berries, muaves, roses. Dark skin tones look best in plums, wines, vivid pinks (if you’re experimental) and brick reds.

Show some lovin’ and like my upcoming Online Store’s Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/roseanne.sg

Hope this was useful!

Love,
Roseanne

What Happens When I Don’t Use a Mirror – No Mirror Makeup Tag!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Let's Discuss! | Tips!

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!

Show some lovin’ and like my upcoming Online Store’s Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/roseanne.sg

Love,

Roseanne

Top 5 Make-Up Artist Tips for Darker Skin tones

Posted by roseannetangrs in Make-Up School | Tips!

Hey Everyone!

As a beauty blogger or I guess any girl, it’s hard not to stick to things you already know – like your skin type, skin tone and the shades you think work best for you. Today, I’m breaking free of those chains (cliche, much?) and giving you some make-up artist approved tips to doing make-up for darker skin tones, including your own if you have those blessed full lips, cheekbones and ability to go crazy with color without looking too OTT.

1. Hello Color-Correcting

People with darker skin often have different skin-tones on different areas of the face. For example, the forehead and perimeter of the face my appear slightly darker than the rest of the face and pigmentation may likely occur around the mouth. Of course this does not apply to everyone, but make sure you notice these things before foundation so that you can achieve a more flawless finish. Furthermore, darker skin tones have a vulnerability to looking ashy and gray. Thus, it’s imperative that you warm the skin if the overcast has a bit of a cool undertone to avoid looking ashy. Dark Yellow and Orange color correctors and if very dark skin, red color correctors when blended very lightly onto the skin before foundation can warm the overall appearance and take the greyish tones away which may occur. Another tip is to use and mix various foundations together to achieve the right shade and then vary according to what area you do. Or for something just everyday, opt for a higher coverage if you do have pigmentation issues.

2. Don’t Contour, Highlight!

That’s right. You might think wow, I love the contoured cheekbones of a darker skin lady but that can be better achieved with a cream highlighter (like a good NARS multiple) and making prominent features already in the light such as the cheeks, the nose bridge to narrow the nose, the forehead, chin, cupids bow and cheek bones. Blend out evenly and make it as if the light did the job for you.

3. Powders Your Shade

They say that a translucent powder suits all skin-tones, but it really doesn’t. For powders, please use a powder that is the same shade as your skin-tone and foundation. Keep the natural glow going and don’t add too much powder to mattify the face completely, that would be a shame!

4. Skip the Nicki Minaj Lipsticks Please

If you want your make-up to look natural and enhance your beauty, don’t use pale lip colors. Actually, I’m against them totally, even if you have medium or fair skin. I always think nude lips make you look like a zombie bride. The most flattering lip colors for darker skin tones are wines, plums, bricks, dark red, brick red or if you’re feeling extra bold, a vivid fuchsia or pink. But nothing blue, cool or pale. If you tend to find that your lips are different tone – for example darker on your top lip than bottom, a good lip concealer or just the foundation that’s left on your foundation brush over the lips before your apply your lipstick should even things out.

5. Blush in Vivid Pinks, Wines, Deep Reds or Orange Reds

And what about those beautiful blushing cheeks? Stay with the peaches, oranges, reds, or wine colors too and stay away from the cool pinks. You do not want to look like a hoochiemama. Blush should always be build-able. Make sure you take a blush brush and lightly sweep the color on your cheeks from the middle of your cheek (aligned with the middle of your eye) towards the top of your ear. Then, sweep until you attain the desired pigment.

I hope you liked these tips! These are just guidelines though, have fun playing around with what works for you. I would say, just stay warm not cool! Amp up the eye-shadow if you want to!

Show some lovin’ and like my upcoming Online Store’s Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/roseanne.sg

Love,
Roseanne

Quick Tip: How to Clean Eye-Shadow Fall Out

Posted by roseannetangrs in Make-Up School | Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone,

We’ve all been there. We’ve just finished an amazing smokey eye but the eye-shadow has gotten all over our cheeks and underneath. If we touch to remove it, it smears making it even worse. Here’s an really simple solution to clearing up the mess in no time:

Really all you have to do is get a Q-tip or fold a cotton pad into a tip and apply some foundation on the back of your hand. Using your Q-tip, grab some of the foundation, smear it until just a bit is on the Q-tip and wipe and swipe away the eye-shadow. Not only does it remove the eye-shadow, it also doesn’t remove the foundation which is great! Make sure that you spread the foundation out on your hand first, you don’t want to add too much and if you do, just pat it out with your finger. For huge fall out, grab a foundation brush that you used and painted downwards in quick short strokes!

Love,
Roseanne

Bride to Be? Top Bridal Make-Up Tips!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Make-Up School

Hey Everyone!

Although when it comes to our wedding we’d much prefer to be pampered, it’s always good to know a few bridal make-up tips when it comes to your big day. Or, if you’re an aspiring make-up artist, it’s handy to keep these in mind. Here are some bridal make-up tips I learned about last week!

#1 Bridal Make-Up is Timeless and Long-Lasting

If anything, bridal make-up should be timeless and long-lasting. Timeless in that it’s a classic look that will look good even when your grandchildren are looking at your wedding albums. This obviously does not count for the unconventional wedding and if that is so, listen to your client on what look she would like to achieve and calmly advise her if it’s something that’s going to be very unflattering. Your make-up must also survive the ceremony, wedding dinner, registration and all that greeting so therefore there should be proper precautions to make sure it’s long-lasting.

#2 Use a Primer & Water-Proof Mascara

On that note, use a primer. Primers work to create an even base for the make-up to be applied easier and also help the make-up bind to the face. It’s like adding a “gluey” substance to your face so that the make-up will “stick” better. Most primers aren’t gluey at all but should feel super smooth on the face after application and most are made with silicone. A primer will be great for a bride. Water-proof mascara is also a must to prevent any smudging and of course those kodak moments. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if I cried during my own wedding one day.

#3 Concealer to Set Please

Always conceal. No one’s face is perfect and you want to make sure the bride looks absolutely flawless. A tip is to mix a color corrector (green to hide redness, yellow to brighten) in with your concealer and apply it on the face. It multitasks to not only completely cover but to color correct too. You can also use illuminators to hide under-eye circles after concealing. Just remember, light diffusing products are the only “cream” products that can go over a powdered face.

#4 Natural & Neutral

The most common eye-shadow looks are matte, natural and neutral. This eye look is also paired with a pretty pink or a dusty rose for lips and blush. Go easy on lips and blush though, they should look natural as well. You also want to keep in mind to stick to a semi-matte finish. It’s not completely greasy but has a nice glow that’s the natural glow of your skin. You can also use a highlighter to achieve this as well.

#5 Lip Liner & Skip the Gloss

Everyone knows to do that perfect red-lip, you need a lip liner. But commonly, we don’t use lip liners really to just line the lips. We often fill in the rest of the lips with the lip liner as well. You think it would defeat the purpose as we are applying a lipstick on anyways but it makes the lipstick last much longer. The best shade to go with is a natural one, probably one shade darker than the actual lip shade would suffice. Be careful of not going to nude or deviating too far from the client’s original lip color. Skip the gloss, you don’t want your veil to be caught on your lips when its time to kiss the groom!

Hope you liked these tips!

Love,
Roseanne

21 Comments best makeup school, best makeup school in london, learn makeup, London School of Beauty & makeup, london school of beauty and makeup reviews, makeup school

My First Week at Make-Up School & Top Tips

Posted by roseannetangrs in Make-Up School

Hey Everyone,

I’ve been having an amazing time at make-up school so far. I absolutely love it and have been learning a lot too. I thought it would be fun to regularly keep you updated on all the great tricks I’m learning from professionals.

Here at the school, the teachers have been doing it for at about 20 years. In fact, coming here revealed to me a whole new side of make-up, the make-up artistry bit isn’t as easy as just applying make-up – it’s really your own business and everyone kinda specialises in something whether it’s bridal to SFX to fashion or film. We work with mainstream brands like Bobbi Brown, M.A.C, MUFE to more speciality like Kryolan, Graftoban and Screen Face to drugstore like L’Oreal, MUA and Maybelline. Overall, The London School of Beauty & Make-Up being Europe’s Largest is a very, very up to date and industry standard school!

It was surprising to learn that the whole class was really varied. There were people from Milan to Germany to even Columbia and myself being from Singapore. I didn’t really know what to expect out of the school as I’ve been self-taught for about three years. I was really eager to learn because putting make-up on someone else is really different than putting it on yourself and I haven’t been very good in dramatic and super colorful makeup.

To my suprise, there’s actually a lot of admin work to do. We are going to do 2 photoshoots, 2 examinations already after week 2, business proposal and more. I also realised what a different world make-up artists are exposed to. Our teacher is very professional and I love the way she stands when she does someone’s makeup, it’s very straight and she doesn’t have to go in close to the client at all. Her posture reminds me of a ballet teacher. The examination is carried out by IMA, not affiliated with the school and is an external body that gives you an IMA diploma if you pass. IMA meaning International Makeup Artistry.

Every time we do a make-up look, we have to fill in an IMA template face chart. This face chart includes all the products that you used, where and will allow a stranger to re-create the look just from the face chart. I also learned about what “aftercare” (how the client can maintain the make-up) and “homecare” (what the client should do at home – CTM (cleanse, tonse and moisturise). Also about contraindications (anything that prevents you from putting make-up on the client) and contra-actions (anything that happens during the make-up application that prevents you from going further or something that just happens). The client should sign the face chart and so does your teacher to approve it.

Top Tips from Make-Up School!

Here are some of my top tips from the first week of school! There will be 8 in total (still a long way to go right? :D). And I thought it would be fun to go more in depth with some of the tips throughout the week! :) In the first week, we managed to learn about bases, day time looks, bridal looks and looks for darker skin. Let me know if you have any preferences or anything that you’d like me to ask my make-up teachers!

#1 Cleansing the Professional Way

There is a special way to massage the cleanser into the skin. You must first disperse it on the forehead and cheeks. Then cup from chin to chin and slowly massage into cheeks from the chin to the ears. Then move up to the nose, upper lip and forehead to the temple. Then she used wet cotton pads to wipe away the existing makeup and cleanser. You must do this until all traces of makeup disappear. If the client has eye-makeup on, you cut cotton pads into two, wet them and split a half moon into half so that it becomes thinner and put them underneath the eye. Then, ask the client to close their eyes and use a Q-tip dipped in grapeseed oil to rub down on the lashes and remove any mascara. Grab a cotton pad and apply grapeseed oil onto it and leave it on the eye for about 15 seconds and then wipe away any product. Use a Q-tip dipped in grapeseed oil to remove any makeup that is left and don’t forget the lower lashes too. Then, tone and moisturise the face. I really liked the massage technique. I’m sure my future clients will appreciate that.

#2 Color Correcting & The Color Wheel

For color correcting, we had a little introduction to the color wheel. To neutralize and cool down certain tones, we need to take the opposite color on the color wheel to the one we are analyzing. For example, green correctors can be used for red spots or blemishes while dark under eye circles can be corrected by yellow correctors. Sallow skin may be brightened with a bit of lilac. It’s always good to remember that with correctors, you aren’t looking to conceal, but rather just correct. I found them quite hard to do since the correctors are quite stiff to blend and if you put a little too much, it can be hard to blend it out and make it transparent. I have to work on that.

#3 Concealing Dark Circles

To conceal a dark circle, first pat the concealer into the inner corner of the eye and then pat on the to the outer corner and blend underneath the eye. Sometimes your own nose bridge is the cause of your dark circles as it casts a shadow on the rest of your face. To make sure, conceal your inner corners and outer corners first underneath your eye and slowly proceed with the remainder underneath!

That’s all I’m going to say for now, keep updated throughout the week on these topics ;)

#4 Bridal Make-Up Tips

#5 How to properly clean up Eyeshadow Fall – Out

#6 Foundation for darker skins

#7 Finding the Most Flattering Shade of Lips

#8 How to Build Your Kit as a Make-Up Artist

Overall, it was a great first week and I learned many tips and tricks. Make-up artistry is a tough industry to get into too. You really need your own unique selling point and to build your make-up kit. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the course and practicing on different faces. The experience is great!

Love,
Roseanne

How Much is Your Face Worth?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips!

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?

Love,
Roseanne

How To: Caviar Nails! (MUA Constellation in Libra!)

Posted by roseannetangrs in Get the Look | Tips! | Top 5! | Tutorial

Hey Everyone!

The first time I spotted Caviar nails, it instantly reminded me of yummy vanilla cupcakes and sprinkles. Of course, I thought it was a bit odd and then it grew on me. It’s an adorable nail trend and after seeing Fl eur De Force’s blog post on the MUA (Make Up Academy) Nail Constellations, I had to go out and get myself some from Superdrug, the local health/beauty pharmacy in London. It’s much like Watsons in Singapore or Priceline in Australia. I obviously couldn’t wait to sprinkle magic on my fingernails so here’s my first try at it! I think the MUA Nail Constellations are great, they’re the cheaper version of the known Ciate nails and only cost me about £3!

What You’ll Need for Caviar Nails:

The caviar nail trend is super easy. All you’ll need are the caviar nail pearls, a complementary nail colour and a tray to collect the beads when you sprinkle them on your fingernail.

The MUA Nail Constellation are the drugstore (or “high street” in the UK) version of the Ciate nails which are more expensive and they work great. I picked the one in Libra which is the black with blue and silver sparkles inspired by the completely black caviar nails which are so classic! I actually wanted to take out the blue and silver sparkles separately but realised that it actually looks better with them!

I also picked up the BarryM nail paint in black to match. I thought that the black background would go seamlessly with the caviar beads and of course seeing a BarryM display made me excited. I had to pick something. I was also looking at the BarryM Magnetic Nail polish which I want to also get and review too!

You’ll also need a tray to pick up all the beads when you sprinkle them for easy keeping afterwards. I would suggest something with high walls because they are just a little bit bigger than pieces of sand and they really fly and scatter everywhere. I just used a name-card box.

How to Do Caviar Nails:

Caviar nails is actually a really simple nail trend. As the directions say. Paint your nails, sprinkle the caviar pearls onto the wet nail polish on the tray, press lightly down and wait to dry for 15-20 minutes. Then, pour the beads back by inverting the funnel back into the bottle.

As you can see, you have to do it over the tray so that it collects the caviar pearls. I decided to do an accent nail since I think it would be too much if I did the whole two hands. It’s my first time doing an accent nail and I like it!

Here’s the finished product. I think it’s super cute and I should have gotten more of the MUA Constellations. I’m looking to get the cream and blue and pink for a cute day look!

Overall, I’m very pleased with the MUA Constellations! They are so easy to use and I’m looking to get different colours as well :)

Hope you liked this post!
Love, Roseanne

How to Conceal Pimples, Zits, Acne & Blemish Prone Skin

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips! | Top 5! | Tutorial

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

Must Know Beauty Tip: Matching Undertones, Formulas & Skin Types

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips!

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

Powder, Liquid or Cream Foundation – What’s the Difference?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone!

(image credits to Google Images)

With so many varieties of foundation, it’s hard not to scratch your head at the shelves when you’re looking for one that’s suitable for your skin. So here’s a guide to the different types of foundation – their consistencies, the best way to apply them, and also what skin type they’re most suited for. Hopefully, these tips will clear the air.

1. Liquid Foundation

Description: Liquid foundation is probably the most common type of foundation out there. It usually comes in screw top or pump bottles and are usually in the consistency of sauce or syrup, not to say that they are suitable for consumption, ever. Most liquid foundations also can vary in consistency, whether thicker and lighter, which can give hints as to their coverage, how long they will last and how good it will feel on the skin. To be honest, liquid foundations for me have the most natural and flawless finish (obviously will depend on the type of foundation used). Just because a liquid foundation is more “liquidy” doesn’t mean that it has less coverage (from experience).

Best Way to Apply: The best way to apply liquid foundation is with a foundation paddle brush or a synthetic buffer foundation brush. A synthetic brush, instead of natural hair brush is the most suitable because it absorbs less of the liquid foundation, causing “less” wastage. Pour or squeeze some foundation onto the back of your hand and use that as a palette and then with a brush, get some of the foundation and apply in short strokes onto the face. Always set liquid foundation off with a powder.

Most Suitable Skin Type: Although there is oil controlling foundations out there, the most suitable skin type is dry to combination skin. Although people with oily skin can wear liquid foundation, it may irritate their situation, especially if they don’t set it with powder.

2. Powder/Mineral Foundation

Description: Powder foundation can consist of mineral or non-mineral powder foundation. In Singapore or Asian countries especially, these come in the form of Two-Way Cakes with sponges. People take a fine pressed powder and sponge and press it onto the face. To be honest, this is my least type of foundation and is the make-up product to blame because people don’t get enough coverage so they tend to pile the stuff on. I would use powder foundation to set my liquid foundation. I know that’s crazy and sounds like a cakey mess, but it’s really not. Works like a charm, just don’t get the one that’s lighter than your actual skin color. In terms of Mineral Powder Foundation, I do like it for natural days and days I want to be a little kinder to my skin. Most mineral foundations do have decent coverage when buffed on correctly but need to be paired with the right concealer to match textures.

Best Way to Apply: The best way to apply powder/mineral foundation is with a buffer brush. You need to buff (press down and swirl into face) the foundation into the skin for it to appear flawless. I recommend the Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Make-up Brush (Both the Brush & the product is pure awesome).

Most Suitable Skin Type: Mineral Foundation is good for oily skin people because it lets their skin breathe a little. Just don’t go crazy and remember to embrace your skin type. I have oily skin sometimes and no product is going to stop you from oiling up. Just integrate the practice of blotting throughout the day.

3. Cream Foundation

Description: A cream foundation is thicker and comes usually in pots or sticks. They’re known for their fantastic coverage and moisturizing properties and are really thick and well, creamy.

Best Way to Apply: The best way to apply a cream foundation is with a synthetic powder brush or with your own fingers. I feel like the fingers do the best work to evenly spread the foundation into the skin and then spread it out nicely because it’s so thick. Although if you are using a stick, just draw onto the skin and blend with fingers or a sponge.

Most Suitable Skin Type: Great for dry skin, period.

Of course there are many other types of foundations from Gel foundations, to air-brushing, to make-up bases like BB creams, but those albeit are the most popular types!

If you have any questions or just want to say hi, leave a comment and I’ll get to it asap :)

Love,
Roseanne

2 Comments how to take off glitter nail polish, how to take off nail polish, remove nail polish

Quick Tip: How to Remove Glitter Nail-Polish

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips!

Hey Everyone!

We all know how hard it is to remove glitter nail polish. For some reason, we have to use probably double the cotton, and double the amount of nail polish remover to get it off. Yet there’s a trick to removing nail polish that works pretty much every time. Nail polish is quickly removed by alcohol based removers which is why if you get a little perfume on your fingers, it sometimes removes the nail polish off. All you need to do is grab some cotton and then separate it so that there is some cotton for each of your nails. Then pour some of the nail polish remover until it is damp and stick it on-top of each nail. Wait for about 3 to 4 mins and then start rubbing to remove the nail-polish. You’ll see that it will remove it much quicker then if you didn’t wait for it to melt. Then just take it off as you normally would.

Hope you liked this quick tip!

Love,

Roseanne

Tangspiration: Why Exactly Makeup is NOT fake.

Posted by roseannetangrs in Let's Discuss! | Tangspiration | Tips!

Hey Everyone,

Today I thought I might write an opinion piece. I haven’t done one of these in a long time. Now, I’m going to warn you first that with opinion pieces, they’re unplanned and messy unlike most of my posts. There are no pictures, it’s just what I have to say about the topic at hand. Opinion pieces flow out of me and I’m not going to bother correcting and structuring it. We’ll see where we end up.

When people come up to me and ask me what I blog about or what my passion is and I reply with the answer cosmetics or makeup, sometimes depending on the person, I get too much of a shrug or a raised eye-brow. When I asked people on twitter the remarks they get, @Miss_Flossy replied that “Someone once assumed I was dumb because I wear makeup.” Well hey, I get that too.

You see, although I know that this does not apply to everyone, many seem to think that make-up or wearing make-up is fake. Albeit that yes, you are adding something to your face to enhance your beauty and that yes, it can sometimes become an addiction. Once you start to wear makeup, you can’t really stop. Well, for me at least. It is a rare occasion when I will walk out the door with a bare face. You kind of become accostomed to it and you kind of become comfortable under that shield of powder and foundation, that wonderful feeling of confidence in yourself that you know you look good because you have your “face” on. Maybe it’s the media. Maybe it’s the fact that all the popular girls on TV wear makeup and all the “real” girls tormented by these popular girls wearing makeup, don’t. Maybe it’s common instinct to defend the real girls and I’m not saying that wearing makeup is a necessity but maybe it’s that inner calling of a once tortured inner self that scorns makeup wearers alike. Whatever it is, most people who declare that makeup is fake often say that we don’t celebrate ”true” beauty.

But I guess the point today to address is well, what is “true” beauty? True beauty is internal. You could be Miss Universe but if you are rotten inside, mean, insiduous and horrible, and have slept with married men to get to where you are, I would never ever call you a beautiful person. Thus, whether someone is truly beautiful should be based on our values, kindness and mannerisms rather than our external apperance. I think that makeup helps us bring out our confidence, feelings of empowerment and control which ultimately aids to nurture our inner beauty. It helps to fix ourselves.

Makeup should only act to enhance your appearance, not mask it either. Just like speech and art and poetry, makeup is a form of self expression. Each and everyone of us have different personalities and different styles. Just like clothes which can also enhance and alter our appearance, makeup does the same. Why isn’t wearing clothes fake? Why is makeup more fake than clothes? They both do the same thing. They express styles and it is ultimately and addition to your apperance. We may feel that clothing is necessary and makeup is not. Maybe that’s why. Like @Got_takoyaki, some also argue thatmakeup is an art form. The faces are the canvases and the makeup becomes the paint. War paint. Performance paint. Whatever paint, makeup is art. It is again a form of self-expression.

I reckon there’s a deeper meaning to it though. Makeup might make us look better, but the reason why we do it is because it makes us feel better.@peachykeen_15 says that makeup helps her to be the best version of herself and that she wouldn’t be happy half doing anything in life, why stop at the way she presents herself. @Adeline_er says that makeup is used to enhance her natural features and hence isn’t fake as she hasn’t altered anything on her original face.

I think however that ultimately, it all boils down to personal choice. When you look into the mirror and see yourself, do you believe that you’re beautiful? Well, imagine this. If you are undergoing cancer treatment, if you have been bullied again and again at school perhaps for the appearance of your skin, if you are facing ill treatment in the office because of how you look and you look at yourself in the mirror, it’s not going to be 100% there that you think that you’re hot. Most often than not, you don’t. You start hating yourself. You wish you were someone else. I think that no matter how many times people tell you that you’re beautiful, you will only think that you are beautiful if you yourself believes it. It’s the same with all the theories of life.

But say that that cancer patient looks to her side table, grabs a brush and her favourite blush, the sweetest pink. Say she does. Say she careful opens up the package and takes the brush, sweeps it tentatively side to side and then looks into the mirror and in small strokes, applies the blush slowly, almost savoring the moment. When she is done, she looks into the mirror, turns her head side to side and smiles. She smiles. She hasn’t smiled in so long. She smiles because she feels better about herself. She feels more confident. She feels powerful. She feels beautiful. Let’s say she feels like she can take on the world. Would you come to her and point at her and laugh, “Haha, you’re fake now!” – I didn’t think so. Isn’t all that matters is if that a person is happy, that that person does what he or she wants to do, that makeup itself becomes a factor of personal choice rather than a factor of others. If putting that blush on makes her happy, so much happier, then let her put that blush on.

A lot of people ask me why I ever started makeup or why I ever started blogging about beauty. I really was quite the nerd in High School. No silly person would have ever guessed, not even myself, that I would blog about beauty. I mean I always had that desire to be hot like all the popular girls but I wasn’t like them. They weren’t very nice anyway. All I really put on was an eye-liner and I would look into the mirror and tell myself, “Well, Roseanne, this is as good as it gets.” With a side smirk and a blank stare into the mirror and a comb through of my hair, I walked out of my room, ready to face the day no matter what people thought. I didn’t have time for myself. I barely cared about what I wanted or even how I looked. I had too many things to do and often those things were for other people.

And then my heart broke. It broke into I remember telling my friend how it feels to be heartbroken. It feels like your heart is made of glass and it’s dropped from the top of the empire state building and crashes onto the pavement and the wounds feel like they’ve been swirled around in the desert and salted. Pain. You know, you hear and you see it in the movies. You see people get sad and heartbroken but you really only know when you’ve had it yourself and it’s a pain that you can’t just stop. It’s a pain that you ultimately have to rise up, defeat and learn from. I did. It’s something you have to do yourself, alone. I had never felt so alone in my life. Looking back, it feels like you’ve climbed mountains and crossed rivers and re-built buildings you never though you’d have to. I have to say that makeup to me was an integral part of the healing process. I started to wear makeup to school and in the morning I would wear makeup for myself. It was “me” time. It was the 10 to 15 minutes at the start of my day that would make me feel important again. Because when you break up with someone, you feel lost. You don’t know who you are anymore but makeup helped me feel powerful, in control and pretty. I felt pretty. I didn’t feel useless and pitiful, I felt pretty. That really helped me.

Makeup isn’t fake. It isn’t about short, slutty skirts, mean cheerleaders, homewreckers or sell outs. I believe that sometimes we come to conclusions thinking we know both sides of the story but I don’t think we always do. It’s like thinking a toy does something when it actually does a bunch of other things that we didn’t know it did. Likewise makeup yes, if applied wrongly can be disastrous, but if applied correctly, can serve to empower women and that is something that I’ll always believe in.

What do you think?

Love, Roseanne

16 Comments

Top 4 Must Know Online Make-Up Websites & Tools

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips! | Top 5!

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

Nails of the Moment: O.P.I La Paz-Itively Hot Pink Matte Nails

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings

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

Quick Tip: Where is the Lid line, Tight line & Water line?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Basics for Beginners | Tips! | Tutorial

Hey Everyone!

I don’t know if you remember, but I did a quick tip ultimate guide to eye-shadow in February (I know) with a few sketches I did at the office. I did one for liner as well so if you are ever befuzzled with what the difference is when your favorite beauty youtuber says lid line, water line and tight line, then here you go. Obviously for make-up gurus, this would be a lesson for a pre-schooler.

1. Lid Line

Where it is: Your lid line is your “top line” – where you usually put your liner. It starts from the tear duct to the end of your and often ends in a winged tip upwards in the direction of your eye-brow.

What to use: Any form of liner works on your lid line. Liquid liners create the sharpest line, gel liners are great for beginners because they offer control and pigmentation and pencil liner will offer a great smokey eye if you want to smudge it out a bit. The downsides are that liquid liners are not good for beginners (you need training wheels first unless you want to keep messing up), gel liner needs an additional brush that can be a bit of a hassle and pencil liners don’t offer the sharpest of lines and are likely to smudge. Choose wisely! My current favorite is the Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner pen.

2. Water line

Where it is: Your water line is your bottom line, encompassing the bottom of your eye. Line this portion if you want that goth look but if you want sort of what I call tiger eyes, just line half of it as I usually do in my tutorials all the way to the end. I don’t usually line all of the water-line because it creates too hard a line that can actually make my eyes smaller.

What to use: Pencil liners are your best bet and something a little water-proof as well. It’s the area that’s most likely to smudge because you might tear when you laugh or cry. Best bet is the Covergirl LiquidLine Blast, my ultimate favorite. You need something soft, pigmented and that stays. It’s a hard balance.

3. Tight Line

Where it is: Your tight line is the line that is closet to your eye-ball, the tip of the flap of skin. Even though you can hardly see it and you have to lift your eye-lid to access it, it’s there and it needs some lovin’ too because it really makes a difference. It’s like making sure the tip of your nails are painted.

What to use: No exceptions, a pencil liner is best for this.

I always line my tight line, water line and lid line. You can mix it up with different colors and can even use an eye-shadow to line your water line for a smokey look or you can line your tight line and water line and leave your lid line blank for a more natural look. Mix and match lines and you’ll be one step closer to creating a look that you’ll love.

Hope you liked this post!

Love,
Roseanne

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

Quick Beauty Tip: Where do I put my eye-shadow?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Basics for Beginners | Tips! | Tutorial

Hey Everyone!

I remember my first time applying eye-shadow. I had no idea what went where nor did I have any knowledge of what the difference was between the outer v and the crease. Heck, I didn’t even know what they were called. That night, I went to Prom looking like the white ghost from Bel-Air. If she even exists.

It all starts with the anatomy. I’m at work right now, whoops, and I decided I’d practice my drawing skills so I drew these drawings up above with my trusty Pilot pen.

The first thing is to get the anatomy right! It probably would be beneficial to identify the text with the label on the picture and flip back and forth if you’re a total make-up newbie!

Step 1: Lid

Where it is: This area of the eye is your entire lid. Often referred to as “all over the lid”. This is where your medium to light eye-shadow colors go – your light browns and beiges or lavenders to sky blues. It is the base shade of your entire eye-look. It is the “background color” to a work of art.

Colors to Use: Light to medium shades.

Brushes to use: Eye-shadow paddle brush, M.A.C 217

Step 2: Crease

Where it is: Your crease is the crease your eye makes when it opens. If you don’t have a prominent double eye-lid, it may be hard to find. this is great for opening up your eyes so make an artificial crease if you have to. It is the area near the roof of your eye-ball.

Colors to Use: Matte shades are best for the crease if you are going to use a glittery or shimmery shade all over the lid. Don’t use super dark shadows unless you are going to really go for a dramatic look. Something like a light to medium neutral will do but make sure it is darker than your lid color.

Brushes to Use: Fluffy, Small brushes to buff the color into the crease, M.A.C 224

Step 3: Outer Corner

Where it is: The outer corner of your eye is simply the outer half of your lid. See that dark area on the outer half of the eye? That’s the outer corner.

Colors to Use: You can shade your outer corner with a dark color which helps give your eyes depth and dimension.

Brushes to Use: Pencil Brushes or small paddle brushes

Step 4: Outer V

Where it is: This one is a little tricky but always a must do. Imagine finishing up a winged liner and then like a boomerang connecting it back to your crease. It frames the eye in a way and it’s almost like a sideways V around your eye.

Colors to Use: Matte Black, dark browns, dark plums

Brushes to Use: Pencil Brush

Note for eyes without a prominent crease, it’s good to concentrate your darkest colors not only in the outer corner but on the lid line working up. Check out my 5 Simple Tips for Getting Eye-Makeup right for Pretty Asian Eyes for more info!

Step 5: Inner Corner

Where it is: Your inner corner is where your tear duct is. It is the start of your eye. Michelle Phan is probably known for dominating this part with a white eye crayon of some sort. It’s known for brightening up your whole look. It doesn’t work for me though

Colors to Use: This area is for your lightest shades – your whites, sparkling beige and cream colors.

Brushes to use: Best to use a very small brush or just your fingertips.

There we go! To be honest, eye-shadow isn’t hard at all. You really need two shades – one lighter for your lid and one a darker shade for your outer v. After that, the rest is pretty much additional. You can experiment using eye-shadow on your water line for a smokey look or concentrate colors on different parts.

I know this was rather quick, but if you have any questions about eye-shadow, just comment below and I’ll get back to them! As you can see from the picture, I drew up a liner tip as well, I’ll be showcasing that in a future blog post.

xx Roseanne

15 Comments

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

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips!

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:

Hope you found this helpful!

xx Roseanne

Ultimate Guide & Tips to Finding the Perfect Bra for You with XIXILI Intimates! & Giveaway!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Lifestyle | Tips!

Hey Everyone!

I’ve always been a nervous wreck when it comes to buying a bra. I’m pretty shy so harboring enough courage to ask a sales assistant to come measure me is a challenge in itself. I mean lingerie and bras have always been a tricky issue, especially if you’ve just started wearing one and even if you’re well into the bra wearing age, you might not even be wearing the right one for you. The right bra should feel really comfortable, support your assets well, and give you that desired lift. Wearing the wrong bra can give you an undesired figure (we never want bra fat right?) and can cause a bit of ache if your assets aren’t supported correctly. So let’s tuck the blushing cheeks and shy feelings away and talk about how you can find the perfect bra for you.

The scene is set at the wonderful XIXILI intimates boutique at Suntec City in Singapore!

What is interesting is that XIXILI offers a special service called the Perfect Fit session that basically allows you to be personally fitted by a professional fitter. No appointment is needed as their sales consultants are all trained professional fitters. Drop by anytime, a Perfect Fit fitter will be able to help measure, give advice on various bras, and basically help you find the perfect fit in a private space. I thought this was a perfect chance for me to show you how to find the perfect bra by the bra experts themselves!

XIXILI is an established lingerie brand from Malaysia. XIXILI boasts beautifully spanish inspired intimates, in high quality European fabrications and is renowned for its exquisite fit for Asian ladies. They really focus on a personalized service and the experience by offering extensive inventory in sizes to make sure customers are fitted right. XIXILI carries brassieres from cups A to G and will do bra customization for customers with bigger needs. Let’s get some bra-ducation, shall we?

A few starter steps:

1. Get Measured:

Just like testing out a foundation shade to see if it matches you, you’ll need to get measured by someone who knows their sizes and stuff. The person measuring you should measure the width below your breasts, on your breasts and the distance between your shoulder and your nipple point to find the correct size. They’ll then refer to their set measurements to get an approximate estimate of a size. Then it’s off to the fitting room!

2. Know the Occasion & Your Preferences:

Know what this bra is for and what you’ll be wearing it with. This will determine if you want to have lace with your bra (will it show underneath your garments and do you want it showing?), the plunge of the bra (whether you’ll be wearing a super low cut or not) and how comfortable you want to be with your bra (sometimes you just want to have a normal, simple bra without a design – I know I do sometimes). Understand what you want, and it’ll make the process simpler.

3. Trial & Error: FIT Before You Go

Then, it’s all about trial and error. When the sales assistant hands you your size, don’t rush off to the cashier just yet. You need to try on the bra and see if you feel comfortable in it. Wear the bra and move your arms, you shouldn’t really feel anything, no tightness whatsoever, no uncomfortable push anywhere. You shouldn’t be stuffing anything. it should just be worn as it is, gently encasing, and nothing more than that. I say if you feel the bra too much, ditch it and find another one. I want to go about my day not feeling it.

Troubleshooting with a little anatomy

A little anatomy of the bra. Take note of your straps and sliders to adjust the height of the bra. This is the first problem to correct if a bra feels a little bit too tight, it’s often because you need to adjust the strap. The band may be the next trouble spot. If you see fat seeping out from the band, so you have those bra bulges, the bra is way too small for you. You need to get a bigger one. Bras are a little complicated with sizing too. A ‘bigger’ one doesn’t mean a size up, you have to take into consideration band width and cup size. You need to get those two right and your fitter can help you with that. Don’t stuff your boobs into your bra either so that it’s seeping out from the cup. This can cause ‘stale fat’ – basically those lumps can become permanent if you keep on wearing a bra that is too small for you. A cup should be supported by the bra in that it lifts you up on the sides and from below.

Bra Tips & Tricks to Looking a Size Bigger!

1. Bend & Bring it Forwards

A great trick to make you look a size bigger bringing your “bust” to the front and into the cup of the bra. To do this, wear your bra and then bend forwards and simply use your hand to go through your bra so that you are about to grab your “back meat” and bring everything forward into the cup of your bra so that it encases everything basically. I wish I could show you but that wouldn’t be very appropriate. It seriously makes you a size bigger!

2. Push-Ups

If that doesn’t work, you can always buy additional bra push-ups or supporters. Bras usually have a pocket for these and you can buy the supporters to enhance the shape. Simply replace them with the ones already in the bra and you will instantly have a va-va-voom!

3. Bras & Lace

Lace actually plays a really important role than just looking good. Lace helps to distract fat away from the eyes and is also a good material to bring and push the bra into place to help lift and shape.

XIXILI Perfect Fit Pointers – A Few First Bra Pointers:

I was paired up with the lovely Cheryln who gave me so much advice on what the perfect bra should feel like.

1. Your ‘assets” change throughout your life

Believe it or not, whether it’s time to wave the red flag or if you have a bun in the oven, the shape and size of your breasts do change over time and according to different stages in your life. Stuffing yourself when you’re pregnant into a bra that you used to wear will probably not work out. It’s best to have a range of sizes for these reasons or to change or update your sizes as they have been outgrown.

2. Breasts come in different shapes and sizes, most times not symmetrical

Your boobs do come in different shapes and sizes so a bra and size that is totally fit for someone else may not be fit for you because you may have a different shape altogether. It’s also perfectly normal to have unequal sized breasts.

3. Your bra should “house” your assets. Park your assets in a Fixed Depost Account and watch it APPRECIATE

You shouldn’t be stuffing your assets into the cups of your bra. Instead, it should be housed gently into the cups. That being said, I’ve always thought I was a size smaller than what I actually am. Much to my surprise, I’m actually a size bigger without even doing anything and you might be as well. In fact, stats show that 90% of women think they’re actually a size smaller than what they actually are!

4. Don’t squeeze into a mini bra unless you want stale fat!

Another reason why you shouldn’t squeeze is because I’m sure we are all familiar with those two friends of ours between our arms and breasts. They’re like little pockets of fat and that’s actually caused by squeezing into undersized bras. Don’t do it! Those things can be come permanent and stay there which is unsightly in bikinis and dinner gowns.

5. Bras can make you look slimmer and improve your posture

Bras not only help to improve your breasts, but can also slim down your entire look and give you more confidence and a better posture once you’ve been supported correctly.

After looking at a few bras, I loved the pink design of this one! I’m not a huge fan of lace so a little bit of lace where I couldn’t feel it was perfect for me.

I was wearing a pretty good La Senza bra so I didn’t know if there would be any improvements but I gladly saw that it brought everything in a lot nicer and felt more comfortable. Me likey!

Taking Care of your Bras

When you take care of your bras, your bras will take care of you. The last thing you should do is to take care of your bras really well. Forget about being lazy and machine washing them, that will ruin the shape of the bras as well as the lace. They need to be hand washed gently. Cheryln shows that the bra depending on the design should be hung to dry (not put in a dryer). If you have something in the gore of the bra, it should be hung via the band but if not then it should be hung by the gore (refer to anatomy above if you are confused).

Overall, I had the most fabulous time learning about bras from XIXILI and the fitter Cheryln! It was indeed a wonderful learning experience and I walked away with two of my favourites! In fact, I want to share the joy of being fitted and the importance of it so much that I asked XIXILI if they’d like to giveaway three Perfect Fit sessions to three lucky winners in Singapore AND Malaysia and they agreed!

Babes, it’s time for a giveaway!

Giveaway is now closed as of Jan. 25th 11:59 PM! ———->

To win a XIXILI Perfect Fit Session with a fitter who will give you bra advice and help you find the perfect bra for you AND a free set of lingerie that you’ve fitted best with during your session courtesy of XIXILI, tell me:

1. Describe your perfect bra

2. Write “Enter me”

3. Write your email address

For example:

1. My perfect bra would be really comfortable so that I can wear it not only for sport but for daily wear as well. I want to feel supported by the bra and I want it to not be as visible when I wear things over it.

2. Enter me

3. roseannetangrs@gmail.com

Good Luck! This giveaway is only for Singapore and Malaysia residents due to location of the store! Don’t worry though to my international readers, there will be more giveaways! Thank you so much XIXILI for sponsoring this post and making this possible. Do visit www.xixili-intimates.com for more details or join their facebook page to keep in the loop!

~~The giveaway ends Jan. 25th, so be sure to enter now!~~

Much Love,
Roseanne

35 Comments

Top 5 Weird Beauty Trends that Only Lady Gaga Might Love

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Top 5!

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

Christmas Special: Top 5 Make-Up Tips to Looking Party Ready All Night Long!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone!

Merry Christmas! While Santa is devising a way to stuff his way through your chimney tonight and scrummy christmas puddings and sugar plums are being made, I thought one way to add to the Christmas cheer would be to give you something you could do for an upcoming christmas party or dinner. Whether it’s a company occasion or a family affair, looking party ready all night can be difficult but here are my top 5 few tips to help your make-up stay longer and your Christmas a little sweeter this holiday season.

1. Stock up on Primers

Face and eye primers are equally important if you’d like your make-up to stay. Face primers help your foundation and make-up to go on easy and thus help your make-up to stay longer. If you’re going to a party and want to go heavy duty, try the Smashbox photofinish primer but if you think you’re going to be running around chasing your kids during a family affair, choose a lighter wearing primer like the RMK make-up base or the Rimmel primer. Plus, your eye-makeup will love you for wearing a good eye primer like the Urban Decay Primer Potion. It can do wonders for making the colors pop and to stay throughout the night. I use it every time I put on eye-shadow, wouldn’t know where I’d be without one. To find out all you need to know about primers, check this out here.

2. Bring some Touch-Up Make-up Goodies with You

Don’t forget your presents and your touch-up make-up bag! Putting a few key items in a small pouch to keep with you throughout the night can be handy or drop some in your purse. Some suggestions for this include your eye-liner, your lipstick or lipgloss for the night, a perfume tester, some powder or concealer in case anything happens. You never really know when the party gets a little rowdy.

3. Santa told me to wear a Long-Wearing Foundation

Yes he did, and he probably told you too lest you forgot. Leave your bb creams alone tonight and opt for something a little heavy duty because you can. If you want to look flawless tonight and you can’t possibly because you had too many chocolates the night before, don’t be afraid to amp up the coverage a bit with a long wearing foundation. To look flawless, read about my top 3 foundations for a night out here. Some other suggestions include the Make-Up Forever HD Foundation and the Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hr foundation. You’re probably going to take loads of pictures and if you’re like me, a sip or two of champagne can give me a very unwelcome asian glow that will look even more unflattering without the extra coverage.

4. Skip the SPF tonight because Christmas Gouls are Unwelcome

Skip all foundations with SPF tonight because chances are they’ll make you have that white over-cast in photos. Simply make sure your foundation doesn’t have SPF. The white overcast may also be from the “I like to look paler than I actually am” syndrome that many people seem to have over here and is not welcome in photos. Also, check your undertone especially if you have beautiful darker skin. A cool undertone when you’re warmer can look ashy on you even if it’s cold outside, forget about matching the weather.

5. Remember to set your Make-up!

I have a lot of friends asking me why their make-up just melts off during the night. I go through the standard check-list and be-fuddled, I then ask the most basic question, “So, did you set your make-up?” and the answer is almost always no. Baby girl, you need to set your make-up after you apply your foundation, especially if your foundation is a liquid foundation! Grab a light loose powder, your favourite powder or even a mineral foundation and gently sweep over your foundation and concealer. This ensures that your make-up stays and helps to control oil while it can. You’ll still have to blot but it’ll stay longer for shizzle. Almost as important as wearing a primer. Suggestions for powder include the Maybelline Dream Matte Powder, the M.A.C MSF Natural and even the Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Make-up!

And there we have it! My Top 5 Tips to looking party ready all night long!

Here are some Christmas Tutorials if you’d like!

Classic Holiday Look: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=18939626
Classic Christmas Look: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=18940312

I hope you have a fabulous Christmas everyone and I hope Santa gives you what you want!

Love,
Roseanne

Beauty Blogging Tip – How to Take Great Pictures of Make-Up! by tea-noir.net

Posted by roseannetangrs in Blogger of the Month | Tips!

Hey Everyone!

You’ve probably already noticed that I’m now open to guest posts by other bloggers and a lover of the photos on Ilyana’s blog, www.tea-noir.net, we decided to do a collaboration together! If you’re a beauty blogger, you would probably know that having great pictures on your blog is key to having a great post in the making. I’m constantly finding better ways to take better pictures so you can see the products better whether if it’s standing by itself or slathered on my skin. Since Ilyana takes beautiful pictures on her blog, I asked her to give you her top 5 tips to taking great pictures of make-up. So this is for all the beauty bloggers out there – I’ll let Ilyana take it from here! :)

1) Keep the angle of your photos and the position of your products consistent.

I’m quite partial to taking shots which are either centered or on the extreme left/right of the picture frame. It seems pretty methodical at first but you’ll see that a little consistency will go a long way! :D

2) Keep your background clutter-free

I know this might be one blatantly obvious tip but try taking a step back and take a closer look at your photos. Are your backgrounds clear of anything that might detract readers from the product? If you photograph your products on a desk, for example, there might be bundles of paper or a rebellious pen hiding in the corner. Remember, the key to photographing products is to sell and keep your readers’ attention on it – not the remnants of what you ate for lunch ;p

3) Brightness and contrast is your new bff.

I always adjust the brightness and contrast of my photos in Photoshop after shooting. This nifty trick in Photoshop will brighten any dull image and tone down overexposed ones :D Don’t panic if you don’t have Photoshop, there are plenty of free image editors online like Picnik and Picasa.

4) Get inspiration from beauty editorials in magazines

I love looking at shots in magazines because man, they have it tough! Imagine having to come up with new ways to photograph beauty products every month? I die. But someone’s got to do it – and these magazines do it with such finesse. Plus, it also doubles as an excuse for you to pick up a nice mag to read every month! What better way to look for inspiration, right? ;D

5) Don’t take photography too seriously.

Photography’s supposed to be fun and stress-free so play around with your camera and see what works for you! It might take a while but don’t give up and keep at it :D

Good luck, everyone! x

Hope you found this helpful!

Love,
Ilyana

P.S Be sure to check out her blog at www.tea-noir.net - lovely pictures :D

Top 5 Tips to Finding the Perfect Lipstick for You!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone,

There are many times when I’m walking down the street and I notice a beautiful girl. Eye-make-up down wonderfully, blush applied perfectly, foundation is flawless until I see her lips and they are either basically erased or filled up with an unflattering color. I think lipsticks should only be worn if they flatter you – the right lipstick shade will be able to give you almost a face lift, enhancing your skin tone and making your eyes look brighter. I have to be honest with you, I’m not a fan of nude lips at all. I just don’t see the point of erasing your beautiful lips. So here are my top 5 tips to finding the most flattering shade for you.

1. Match Undertones

Believe it or not, lipstick colors tend to have undertones too. They might have a cool or warm undertone just like your skin or foundation has. The trick is in deciding what undertone the lipstick is and then knowing what undertone you are and then matching the two. A cool undertone on warm skin can look like an ashy mess and a warm undertone on cool skin might look a little weird too.

2. Types of finishes

Lipsticks have different finishes and not all tubes of glory were created equal. Here are a few different types of finishes and a few tips and tricks to using them for different situations.

Matte Lipsticks - Matte lipticks usually have a powdery finish and are great to make that poster finish. They’re dense, last the longest and are partially known for being a little drying. If you have dry and flakly lips no matter how many lip scrubs you’ve taken, matte lipstcks are not for you. They will emphasize the flakes on your lips which isn’t a hot look.

Sheer Lipsticks - Sheer lipsticks are semi-transparent colors that are great for everyday. They tend to have a semi-gloss finish that makes it more moisturising. If you are looking to add just a tinge of color, try going sheer. However, if you know that the color will make your look, you might want to opt for something else.

Amplified Lipsticks/Lip Tars - These are the most pigmented forms of lippies. If you’re looking to create that Classic Holiday Look or Katy Perry’s hot pink lips for an event or a costume party, then these lipsticks will really put a boost. They’re more long lasting and can even semi-stain your lips so remember when removing

3. What Characteristics do I judge it on?

When I’m reviewing lipsticks, there are three characteristics that I really look for in a good lipstick. I want to know about it’s texture, lasting power and color payoff. The texture should be smooth, silky and not dry. It should also last a while. Some lipsticks (NYX round lipsticks are notorious for this) last perhaps an hour or so. I want a lipstick that won’t make me look like a vain pot when I’m out and will need constant re-application. At least stick around for a few hours. I also really look at color payoff. A good lipstick like a good shadow will produce great color payoff. I can always pat the lipstick for a sheer finish so I look for a decent color payoff so my lipstick becomes more versatile that way.

4. Put the lipstick to your face

At the store, it might not be super hygienic to apply the lipstick on the spot. What I tend to do and what makes a great tip is to just put the lipstick to your face, not on it. That way you can see whether the lip color matches your undertone or would look good on you without the nasty germs that tend to live on testers.

5. Lipshades best for different Skin tones

It’s a fact that different lip shades are best for different skin tones or rather different shades of lips. From the Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual, here’s a quick guide for selecting lip colors according to the natural color of your lips. If you have pale lips – go for beiges, sand pinks, light corals, pale pinks or bright reds. If you have medium lips, go for brown, pale rose, pink, oranges, warm reds. If you have dark lips, go for browns, deep reds, plums, deep chocolate, or deep berry colors. For two toned lips, go for chocolate, blackberry, deep plums, deep raisins and deep reds. A rule of thumb is if you have pale lips, use pastel shades like pale pinks or beiges because deep tones tend to be overwhelming for daily wear so apply them with a light hand. If you have super dark lips, blue-toned or deep lip colors go best and pale, nude shades will appear ashy on you. For uneven colored lips, try concealing your lips first to even out the skin tones and then apply the natural lip color.

And there you have it! The best lipsticks for daily wear are those that enhance your natural features, not try and mask them.

What’s your favourite lip color?

Love,

Roseanne

13 Comments

How to Touch-Up Your Make-Up & What to Bring in your Make-Up Bag!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips! | Top 5!

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

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Top 5 Fall/Winter 2011 Make-Up Trends and Tips from the Runway!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Top 5!

Hey Everyone!

When watching the latest fashions walk down the runway, we’re probably focusing on one thing – the clothes. Litte do we know that the models wearing these beautiful dresses are also sporting the season’s make-up trends. Here’s a little snapshot of five make-up trends for Fall/Winter 2011 including – nude make-up, strong brows, orange eye-shadow and dark red vampy lips! Plus, I’ve included a few make-up tips to make these into more wearable versions for every day. Let’s get to the runway!

1. Radiant Nude Make-Up

Nude make-up has always been a classic but for Fall/Winter, designers are taking this trend to the next level. It’s the barely there make-up, the kind of make-up that you’re putting on but knowing that you want to achieve a face that looks like you’re wearing nothing at all. I honestly think it goes quite well with the Fall/Winter weather as the clothes will be in colors of dark green or shades of brown. A clean and flawless skin with a radiant complexion would look beautiful.

Making this trend wearable: To achieve this for everyday, find matte eye shadow shades that are two or three tones darker than your original skin color. I just recently did a tutorial on how you can achieve those nude eyes right here. Check it out. I basically paired a skin tone color and then just in the outer half, applied a darker matte skin tone colour. Then, pair it up with minimal eye-liner and some beautiful false lashes. You can also choose to line your waterline and tight line but may want to leave your lid line empty. For foundation, you should choose a more moisturising foundation because you want a glowy complexion. Keep liquid highlighters handy and for lips, choose a neutral but not nude colour and you’re set!

Fendi Fall 2011

Fendi Fall/Winter 2011

Valentino Fall 2011

2. Dark, Vampy Lips

I’ve always thought dark and red vampy lips to be the epitome of classic sophistication. It’s such a beautiful trend and it has been spotted on the Gucci and Yves St. Laurent runways for Fall 2011. It’s obviously great for any season and occasion and I’m glad it’s made a comeback this year. The red doesn’t scream tropicana. Instead, it’s tones of scarlet and magenta. I love it.

Make this trend wearable: I think investing in a great lipstick or lip tar would be your best bet. The OCC lip tar in Strutter or Stalker make great tools to have to make this make-up trend work. Always remember to use a lip brush because you don’t want to make any mistakes. These lip products often stain making it hard to remove. Investing in a good red lip liner and layering that one before your lipstick will stop the pigment from “bleeding” or seeping out of your lip lines throughout the day. If this look is too bold for you, you could always opt to pat your lipstick in for a “just stained” effect. It’s one of my favourite ways to deal with bold lipsticks and turning it into an everyday lip color.

Gucci Fall 2011

YSL Fall 2011

3. Bold Eyebrows

This season, dark and bush eye-brows ain’t just for your man because bold eyebrows are in as seen on Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexander Wang’s models. Dark, defined eyebrows help put a frame to your face. Clean and sophisticated make-up with dark eyebrows are in this season.

Make this trend wearable: I suggest brow powders for this look because you can control the pigmentation of them and they look more natural than regular brow pencils. Always go for shades one or two shades lighter than your original hair because you don’t want the brows to detract totally from the rest of your face. Don’t forget to groom them. Bold defined chaos isn’t hot on any day.

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2011

Alexander Wang Fall 2011

4. Orange and Coral Eyes

The hottest shade this season for eyes is orange, or any fall color for that matter. Orange has been spotted by Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan and Jill Sander in their Fall 2011 collections. The smokey orange is in, without the use of eye-liner but rather scattered on eyes over glossy and glowing foundation so that eyes are highlighted and the color spotlighted. Beautiful, but a little bird has told me that orange isn’t a color for everyone.

Make this trend wearable: I suggest going for matte shades of orange or an orange with a slight shimmer so that it appears glossy instead of sparkly. You still want to keep with that nude make-up but your eyes will have an orange accent to them. Use a blending brush and your eye-shadow and blend the colour into your crease. You can add some liner but the runways say that it isn’t really a necessity this season.

Giorgio Armani Prive Fall 2011

Jill Sander Fall 2011

Donna Karan Fall 2011

5. Eyeliner Lovin’

An eye-liner is a basic necessity in every girl’s vanity. Fall/Winter 2011 is making eye-liner more fashionable by applying it in new and different ways. As seen in Louis Vuitton and Jean Paul Gualtier, the eye-liner is placed in weird angles to morph the shape of the eye-rather than define it. Eye-liner can not only be used to darken the shadow but also to elongate or enlarge eyes which they have done pretty well on their models. It almost gives a fantasy, cartoon drawing look.

To make this trend wearable: Use a liquid liner, forget all other types. Liquid liner will give you the sharpest and most defined line. Then draw away. Draw around the features of your eye to make them bigger or elongate them. A trend isn’t to follow the contours of the eye but instead do it with a bit of space in between. Have fun, go crazy and see what you can come up with. Illamasqua’s Theatre of the Nameless collection had some shots of a similar trend. Take a look at them here: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=18939350

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2011

Louis Vuitton Fall 2011

Jean Paul Gaultier Couture Fall 2011

So what do you think of this season’s trends? Do you have a favourite you’d like me to do a tutorial on?

If you think that this post was pure awesomeness, remember to like it, fb share it or retweet it!

The images were collected over various websites found by Google. I do not own any of them! ;)

Love,
Roseanne

8 Comments

How To: My First Do-It-Yourself French Manicure – Be Nice!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Basics for Beginners | Tips! | Tutorial

Hey Everyone,

The french manicure will always be a classic. It’s clean, sophisticated and matches pretty much every outfit but it can be pretty pricey at your local nail salon – they usually add ten to fifteen dollars extra on top of your classic manicure bill. So hey, why not do it yourself? Today I’m going to show you my first attempt at a french manicure, free hand. I’m warning you, I haven’t done nail school so don’t laugh if things get crooked but hey, practice makes perfect. Plus, if my nails look yellow, it’s because I decided to do this at 1 in the morning under my yellow desk lamp. Whoops! Let’s go!

Here are the tools of the trade! I got this Rimmel French Manicure paints from Priceline on sale but really, any white cream nail polish and sheer skin color polish will do. Don’t forget your base and top coats too!

Here are my bare nails – un-cut, un-filed, un-squared. Pretty boring

The first thing you have to do is cut and square them. Refer to my How To Paint Your Nail Post for full details on how I do this. Basically, I cut my nails straight across and then I use a 4 way buffer (best thing ever) to file across and then a little bit on the edge to keep the square shape.

I then continue with the rest of the steps on the buffer for gleaming nails.

It’s always important to add a base coat because this prevents your nails from getting nail polish stains especially from dark tone nail polishes. I’m using the Sally Hansen Base & Top Coat!

Overall, it’s like putting a face primer before your foundation.

All good to go for the paint!

Apply your first layer first of the French Ivory Rimmel Paint or whatever nail polish you have chosen

You then get the classic white milky finish

Then, it’s time for the hard part. Apply your strip of white to the tops of your nails. Of course there are actually tons of ways to do this. You could go out and buy the manicare tapes which I have done before. Make sure the nail polish is extremely dry before you take the tape off or you could be too cool for school like me and do it free-hand. Now the the trick to this is to put one finger on the table top and then alight your brush to the side so that it is parallel to the edge of your nail. Then sweep from left to right towards you. This is the quickest, no mess way. Painting it with the tip of the brush facing the nail does not work by the way. It will create an uneven line. The trick is to sweep from left to right in one motion.

Then apply your top coat and you are finished! Not bad for my very first time doing it freehand right?

Hope you liked this post!

Do you have any nail tips to share?

P.S: You don’t have to sign in to anything to leave a comment anymore! I’d love to hear back from you!

Love,
Roseanne

19 Comments

Tangspiration: What is Inner Beauty? My Top 10 Characteristics of a Truly Beautiful Woman

Posted by roseannetangrs in Let's Discuss! | Lifestyle | Tangspiration

Hey Everyone,

Let’s be real. You could look like Miss Universe on the outside but if you’re like the wicked witch of the west on the inside, I don’t believe you can ever be truly beautiful. Whether it’s something simple like opening the door for the next person behind you or a strong charismatic glow, inner beauty I think takes many forms. In fact, it’s something I don’t mind sharing either. So here are my top 10 characteristics of a truly beautiful woman – a woman who encapsulates a kind, powerful and strong heart. Truth be told, I believe sometimes inner beauty is all you need.

1. Loves and Respects Herself

A woman who loves herself is admirable. I don’t mean a woman who stares into every reflective surface, but someone who respects herself to know what is right from wrong. If you love yourself, you’ll know what’s right for you and you’ll be able to stay away from what you know is wrong. A woman who loves herself is a woman who respects her body not to induce self harm, a woman who respects her heart not to fall for nonsense and a woman who respects her soul to seek enriching and valuable experiences.

2. Confident, but not cocky

They say confidence is the most important accessory a woman can wear. True. With confidence, you glow and feel like you can take on the world. Whatever challenges that come your way, you’ll be able to hit outta the ball park and you strut walkways like runways. In fact, I think that wearing confidence is more attractive than wearing any beauty product. A confident woman is able to light an inner glow that is contagious in a room of insecurities.

3. Generous Heart

Have a big enough heart to be generous. I’m not talking about money either. Have the heart to love unconditionally, to care for a stranger or many, and to share experiences when needed. Have the heart to teach someone something new, to help someone grow as a person, to sacrifice your time for a person who needs it more. Sometimes people say they’re generous just because they’re giving a few hundred dollars to a local charity. I think generosity means much more than that, much more than a number, I think it means a self-less willingness to give and to service humankind.

4. Supportive and Inspirational

I reckon that you can be real, there’s nothing wrong in stating the truth but I think one should be considerate in knowing when to be supportive and when to be critical. I think if you know that something means a lot to a person, you should support them in any way you can. Be the voice that helps them realize that possibilities are endless and that giving up and failure is always a choice. But it’s not only in another’s endeavours that you should be supportive for, you should be supportive enough to advise them right from wrong too.

5. Considerate and Kind

These characteristics are a given. In fact, they’re probably one of the first things you think of when you think of inner beauty. Someone who takes into account how others are feeling and puts themselves in their shoes is truly kind and considerate. Whether it’s taking out your wallet as a gesture at the end of a date, or being careful about how your words might make someone else feel, kindness is certainly not surrounding yourself with furry forrest friends, but really putting yourself in another’s shoes.

6. Genuine and Real

Be real, especially when it comes to realising that no one is perfect. I think that being yourself is better than trying to be someone you’re not or trying to be someone you know you should be. Perhaps you can’t be all of this, maybe it’s not your nature to do so, then take it as light hearted advice to steer or guide your actions but you shouldn’t feel pressured to become it. Being real and true to yourself and celebrating your individuality is better than being someone you’re not. Period. Also saying you’re the bomb when you don’t practice what you preach is not being genuine. I think a woman should be modest but not self-deprecating.

7. Loyal to Friends and Lovers

Loyalty to me is so important. I hear stories of people cheating on their partners and it breaks my heart. It’s not only love though, because you should be loyal to your friends as well. That means standing up for them when someone is bashing them up, sticking to your values and morals and being genuine enough not to backstab your way through life because we all know what goes around, comes around.

8. Honest and True

No one likes a perpetual liar. To be honest and truthful and not being afraid of the consequences of telling the truth is a beautiful thing. Honesty in endeavours makes a good result worthwhile. It means you earned it. Honesty in life frees the heart of guilt and living an honest life will make you happier. There is nothing wrong in admitting your wrong-doings because it helps you learn and that’s what life is for.

9. Visionary and Intelligent

A woman isn’t only beautiful because of how she looks, she’s beautiful because she has a good head on her shoulders. Intelligence, brains and wit add substance to her beauty. She’s well-cultured, knowledgeable about the world around her, and most of all does not act stupid when she’s not. This isn’t about getting Einstein’s IQ, it’s about being curious about the world and seeking knowledge to know more about your surroundings. Knowledge makes a powerful, engaging and interesting woman. You’re a cultured conversationalist. You don’t want to talk to a woman who stares blankly at you dumbly no matter how pretty she is.

10. Passionate and Strong

A beautiful woman is passionate about something, has a dream or a goal in life and will do the work to make it happen. She’s strong to admit that there is a challenge ahead of her but her passion is strong enough to overcome it. A beautiful woman is also ambitious, strong, and well focused. She wants to get somewhere in life and I think that’s important.

So those are my top 10 characteristics of a truly beautiful woman!

I asked some of you on Facebook and here’s what you said!

My current motto: Never give up, live the dream, live your best life!

What do you think makes a truly beautiful woman? Comment down below!

Love,

Roseanne

Top 3 Drugstore Foundations and Tips for Clubbing and a Good Night Out!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips! | Top 5!

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

5 Tips on How To Choose the Perfect Perfume For You!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone,

Finding the perfect scent can be hard. You walk into a perfumery or your local Sephora and in front of you sits hundreds of different brands of perfume. I reckon your little nose gets tired of the scents after a while and for me at least, I walk out of the store with more than a few mixes already on me. Honestly, scoring a free spray is always a hit with me. But, it can be hard to find the perfect scent for the season, an occasion and mostly for yourself. In fact, did you know that it’s always good to have a signature scent? People (cough boys) can recognize your scent better and it helps them be reminded of you whenever they take a whiff of it. It’s like an emotional thing. That’s probably the reason why Marc Jacobs Daisy reminds me of my first semester of Uni, Anna Sui’s Secret Wish of senior year and Chloe of last semester. I’ll suggest some of my favourites as well that I’ve used throughout the years.

1. Compare it to Clothes

Silly enough, what style do you usually wear? Your scent should correspond with the kind of clothes you like wearing. So if you’re into floral prints and pastel colors, you’re probably going to go with Marc Jacobs Daisy and if you’re more sophisticated like a Samantha Thavasa girl or have a pet poodle and like to wear beige or cream than Chloe would be more of your fragrance. If you’re more dark and sophisticated maybe something more musky like Theirry Mugler’s Alien or Marc Jacobs Lola. It depends what you like to wear, your personal style and your fragrance should match that.

2. Compare to Seasons

Besides your clothes, you should look around you to see what the weather is like. I know in Singapore you don’t have much choice – it’s mainly just summer – but in Australia, you do. If it’s cold, a musky and more warm winter fragrance will suit better like Juicy Couture and for Summer or Spring, something light like DKNY Cherry Blossom might be a better pick. Plus can you imagine smelling a musky, tired fragrance during a hot summer day? Not that great either.

3. Trust your instincts

Honestly, I’m not going to lie, perfume is all about personal preference. It’s such a personal preference that it’s so basic that maybe you don’t need to keep in mind the first two guidelines. Maybe all you have to do is smell, like, buy. It’s not something I recommend unless your wallet needs to go on a diet but trust your instincts and if you like the scent a lot and see yourself wearing it, well, it’s as simple as just getting it.

4. Wear the scent and then buy it later

You should always spray the scent that you’re eyeing on yourself and then walk around with it before you think of purchasing it. You need to see how the scent develops throughout the day. Even better, hold your horses, and just get it the next day. If you still see yourself wearing it and if you really like it, then get it but wait. I’ve bought Dolce & Gabanna Rose The One and fell so in love with it the moment i smelt it, bought it and realized that it really had a metal note I did not like as it developed throughout the day. I’ve also made a mistake with YSL Parisienne, the musk after-smell is quite ageing.

5. Observe how the scent develops

That being said, how the scent develops and changes, is a key characteristic that people overlook. Scents have lots of scent layers. They are complex scents, especially the ones you are really paying for. You should make sure to smell the perfume and then smell off it. I’m not sure what the after-smell is, but it sometimes changes. Some scents morph as you go and as you hit the sun, how does the scent change. Especially in hot and humid weather, this is really an important point.

A few perfume tips for the road? – Those coffee beans are there for a reason. Smell them before you smell the next fragrance so that it cleanses your palette. Keep some of your perfumes in the fridge for a refreshing spritz in the morning before you leave and remember to never put your fragrances in direct sunlight!

Smelling good is very important and I hope I helped you find your purrfect scent!

*images by Bellasugar

To view my perfume collection, click here: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=14837943

Love,

Roseanne

1 Comments

How To Get Roseanne’s Flowin’ Hair. (finally, right?)

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Basics for Beginners

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

4 Comments Let's Discuss!

Let’s Discuss: Drugstore Vs. Expensive Department Store Makeup – What’s the Deal?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Let's Discuss!

Hey Everyone,

Check out my Facebook Page here: http://www.facebook.com/roseannetangrs

I have to admit that for the longest time, I’ve been skeptical of lower priced items. If you’ve been with me for a while, you would have noticed my constant coos of NARS, MAC and department store products that seemed to flood the drawers of my collections. Back then, higher end makeup gave me the satisfaction that no other lower priced item could. Perhaps it was the whole image that kept me coming back or maybe it was something deeper. Who Knows? But as I continued my hunt, I started trying drugstore products as a way to add spice to my makeup collection. I didn’t want to be a two branded whore (sorry for the language) and I’ve never looked back since. So, is there really a difference in quality between department store products and drugstore products in terms of performance? We’ll, let’s talk about it.

In the early stages of my makeup obsession, I was clearly a department store junkie. I remember my friend asking me what’s the big deal on department store makeup. It’s not like the next Prada bag to sport or Gucci shoes because no one really sees the label of the makeup you apply. True, but I argued that for some reason department store makeup made me feel so good. i didn’t care if no one knew I was wearing NARS or Chanel on my face, just the act of applying them in the morning was enough for me. I also blamed my small obsession on quality. I felt that because we were charged so much that there would be more effort invested into the products including research and creativity. So I hauled. I shopped like a mad woman, building my collection of my favourite brands and sharing them with all of you online. However, as my collection grew and more companies approached me to review their products, I honestly grew a little tired of what I was doing.

Yes, you heard me right. I grew maybe a little tired of products. I think as you are bombarded with products from companies and such, you start to miss the life you once knew when you bought each and every product because it meant something to you to put it on in the morning. It’s the exact reason why I don’t like product sitting around. Everything I purchase, I do purchase with thought and the intention of using the product to review. Safe to say, I was bored of department store makeup I think. It was a way too expensive hobby for me to keep up.

Being too expensive lead me to the drugstores to try brands like Maybelline, Loreal and Rimmel. Of course coming from department store products, I was little hesitant with full fledged fears of what you might have. It’s a lot cheaper, is it going to break me out? Is it going to oxidize and look weird throughout the day? I hope it’s good. But I knew being a beauty blogger meant being open to every brand and every makeup item, so I took the plunge.

I have to say that I’m really glad I did. I’ve learnt that just because makeup is affordable doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have quality. Many of the foundations from Maybelline supersede department store foundations in performance and the Covergirl LashBlast Mascara is probably better than any other department store mascaras that I’ve bought. Safe to say that price in makeup sometimes isn’t the only factor you should judge with. I now see drugstore makeup in a new light. It allows me to buy more of the product instead of one or two and I get great quality as well. As for the blog, it allows viewers and readers like you to have a more likely chance of knowing about pocket friendly (always a good thing) products instead of watching me haul products that you can’t get yourself.

I don’t mind the occasional Chanel Lipstick or NARS blush, but I really do think that people need to stop thinking about drugstore products as lower quality and more inferior to department store makeup. Having tried the lot on both sides, for me it’s safe to say that I treasure the performance of both.

What about you? What’s your view on Drugstore vs. Department Store Makeup?

Love,
Roseanne

Top 5 Favourite Places to Shop for Makeup Online

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5! | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone,

I don’t know about you but I sure think that buying makeup at the counter can get pricey. Too pricey in fact. In Australia, my wallet can go on a lean and mean diet for dishing out 39 bucks for a revlon foundation at Priceline when I know I can get it in the states for $8 which explains my dreary late night activity of hunting down beauty bargains at the following online stores. Probably one of the second best feelings in the world is returning home from a day of studying only to plop down on your bed, whip out the card and in a state of bluriness do some good old online retail therapy. One of the BEST feelings in the world is getting that notice that your parcel is waiting for collection.

I get this question a lot. “Roseanne, where do you buy your makeup online?” Well, today I’m here to give you a rundown of my favourite online haunts so your early morning hours will be that much more interesting.

1. Cosme-De.com (www.cosme-de.com)

Beautifully laid out with an easy navigation and it stocks asian brands like Kose, Ettusais, FANCL, Etude House, Hado Labo, KATE and SANA – asian drugstore products that you can find in Singapore but probably not so easily in places like Australia and the United States. The shipping is fast and efficient and there is free shipping on every order. I ordered NARS blushes from them when they had them because the would sell them at US prices which was awesome. I just looked on the website and they don’t stock them anymore but it still is a unique site in that it has the asian products that other online makeup stores miss out on.

2. The Beauty Club (www.thebeautyclub.com.au)

The Beauty Club probably has the largest collection of department store brands to date. You can find MAC, Makeup Forever, NARS, Scott Barnes, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, YSL, SKII, the list goes on and at discounted prices. I like how there is a review option so you can see other people’s take on them and the prices are great. A MAC blush from The Beauty Club will cost you around $20 but at the store in Australia, it’s $40. So you’re basically doing half the damage or if you’re cool like me – will buy 2 for the price of 1. From makeup, to skincare to perfumes to haircare, the range at The Beauty Club is amazing. The only catch is that you have to be a member and pay a membership fee to enjoy these privileges. I do think it’s worth it if you do buy a lot of makeup. The delivery is also fast, efficient and free once you become a member.

3. SG_Beauty (www.sg-beauty.livejournal.com)

I know it can be a little weird but second hand makeup isn’t all that bad. If its been swatched once or twice, you can still use it. SG_Beauty is an online livejournal community in Singapore in which Singaporeans come together every weekend to sell their makeup in sale posts. It’s like a tradition to browse through them on a lonely Saturday evening. Usually, the products are secondhand or new and you would arrange to email the seller about it and proceed to pay through bank transfer/postage. It’s like a secondhand market, but online. I’ve bought lots of nail polishes through here and a couple of NARS blushes too. Now, how cool would it be if that concept went global? Thinking of integrating a marketplace on my upcoming website but we’ll see. Give me feedback though!

4. Crush Cosmetics (www.crushcosmetics.com.au)

Crush Cosmetics is a site where you have so many brands you can’t normally get anywhere, not even in the average online shop. They stock brands like Wet N’ Wild (where you can get that comfort zone palette), NYX (jumbo pencils and lipsticks), NYC, E.L.F, China Glaze Nail polishes, Seche Vite, Eyeko, Sleek, Barry M and even Lime Crime. It’s for sure a place to check out and the prices are reasonable too – usually under $20 an item or even below $10 bucks.

5. AllCosmeticsWholesale (www.allcosmeticswholesale.com)

If you’ve stuck with me for a while, you probably already know I had a previous obsession with AllCosmeticsWholesale. I know, I know, gone were the days when I did hauls at least once a week but when I chanced upon allcosmeticswholesale back in the day, I was so happy. Think of all the US brands you know – MAC, NYX, NARS, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, KORRES, Sigma, Sugarpill, Tarte, Too Faced, Victoria’s Secret, and more. It’s not only that they stock brands like this but they stock huge varieties of each brand. They even have a lot of MAC makeup from past collections that are rare and you can’t find anymore, MAC brushes (!!), NARS Blush refills, OCC lip tars, Urban Decay palettes, Kryolan and more. A Maybelline expertwear blush can go for a little over USD$2. It’s a great website. It’s the kinda website that you could spend hours just putting things in your online basket like you have all the money in the world but never hitting the checkout button when you’re done. I call it online window shopping aka online window drooling. The only downside is that shipping is very expensive so make sure you split with a friend if you’re up for it.

So, there we have it! My favourite online makeup shops.

What are your favourite online makeup shops?

Love,

Roseanne

5 Hilarious Beauty Products That are Sure to Make you Gawk!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5! | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone,

Honestly, the time I spend on the net is probably more than a normal girl should ever spend on the internet but that makes me more prone to coming across cool and funny things, especially those related to beauty and makeup. In this post, I’ve sort of collected my findings into one to introduce to you the funniest or weirdest beauty products that have graced planet earth. Hear me out, some of you may take offense to what I’m about to find out as weird or funny but please take it as lighthearted fun or forever hold your peace.

1. Justine Bieber’s Nail Polish Line and Perfume

The picture tells it all. I have nothing whatsoever against Justin Beiber. I actually really like it when ‘Baby” comes up on the playlist in a club, it is the epitome of an awesome song that everyone can sing to. But, I’ve noticed a little trend with his paraphanlia – that he’s really getting into the beauty scene too. But, he’s a guy, right? I mean how many people can raise their hands in sorrow when he announced he was going out with Selena Gomez? I can’t raise my hand but I’m sure you might have your teeth bared at her right now. I find his new perfume hilarious. I also find that the name “SOMEDAY” is hilarious. Basically, if you wear this perfume, someday, you will get to be Bieber’s girlfriend. Someday. That’s so sad. It’s almost like false hope in a bottle. But hey, if the shoe fits, wear it. Most of his target audience are girls anyway. Kind of sad that he can’t wear his new perfume out, nor his nail polish line. Justin Bieber perfume, not colgone, perfume. Am i the only one finding this amusing?

2. Sheep Placenta Cream

The last time we visited China was in January of 2009, my parents love connecting to our roots and instead of our usual Shanghai haunts, we decided to branch out a bit to places like WuZhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and Wuxi, home to views like this:

Despite it’s beautiful facade, Wuxi is home to distributors of not only pearl powder products, but sheep placenta creams as well. They call it the Sheep Placenta element, a cream that my Mother actually stocked up on and bought for the whole family. I used mine until it ran out. It made my skin really smooth and I know how gross a placenta can sound but if it works, it works. The logic behind sheep placenta is that a placenta is created by the mother to nourish the womb and supply the baby with nutrients while it’s in the stomach, making the placenta home to very nutrient rich stem cells, the start of life to every cell. Using live cell therapy, the stem cells from the sheep placenta are extracted and then injected into the topical creams so that when applied, will activate older cells to life (something along those lines). It’s an anti-ageing treatment for skin rejuvination and have been used by personalities like Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower.

3. Nightingale Dropping Facial

First of all, for some reason, I always thought nightingales to be birds of legend, something that people wrote about but hey, nightingales are actually real birds. Okay maybe I need brush up on my bird knowledge but imagine putting nightingale poop on your face. Sounds tantalizing doesn’t it? Apparently in Japan, uguisu no fun or powdered nightingale droppings are used in a facial, The Geisha Facial, to improve the skin. Yes, it actually exists. The theory behind this beauty treatment is that the natural enzymes in the dropping can make your skin extremely soft and that Geishas are known for their beautiful complexions simply because they used this treatment to take off their makeup and to rejuvinate their faces. I know the video is japanese but you can see how it works! If Victoria Beckam things it’s hot, then why not.

4. F Cup Cookies

image source: http://vujie.blogspot.com/2011/06/f-cup-cookie-review.html

I don’t know how appropriate it is to put this here but hey, I reckon it’s beauty related. If you don’t need a shirt that says “up here”, you might want to look at F cup cookies as your next solution. F Cup cookies are cookies that you eat to make your boobs bigger. Sorry for the bluntness but the story behind these cookies again from japan is that you ingest a herbal supplement called Pueraria Mirifica which is a breast enlargement supplement. The cookies come in two flavours – Soy Milk or Pralines and Chocolate. Who would have known.

5. Deo Perfume Candy

Sometimes, we can all dream a little. Imagine a candy that you eat and then suddenly you smell just like it. Introducing the Deo Perfume Candy. Alpi, a belgian confectionary company found out that when you eat garlic, you kind of smell like it. They got the chemical that does this and apparently it can’t be digested so it must be released by your pores, making a natural scent. Alpi got smart and put this into candy with natural scents like rose and lavender via gernaiol, a component in essential oils. Right now, it can only be found at Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

And there we have it, I hope I made you gawk a bit!

What’s the weirdest beauty product you’ve seen out there?

Love,
Roseanne

P.S: Eating collagen doesn’t work, so don’t even think about eating those Collagen Marshmallows. Plus, there’s a SEPHORA Monopoly Edition that I could cry for.

*Images and information sourced by various websites from Google.

- Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation
- Bobbi Brown Pastel Eyeshadow Palette

What are my Favourite Makeup Brands?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings

Hey Everyone!

Today I thought I might blog about something quite special to my heart – my favourite makeup brands and why. Being a beauty blogger means trying out a myriad of products – bought and sponsored – but I have to say these brands that I’ll list out below have got to be some of my favourites. It’s not only the quality of products that enable them to make it to this list, it’s also the association of their brand but most of all a special resonating ring that it has in my heart when I purchase one of their products that no other brand can strike a chord with. Call it a brand review, call it anything. Let’s get started!

* P.S: I’ve also listed hits and misses from each brand. Click on the colored links for full reviews or related posts!

1. Bobbi Brown

If I were to ever emulate or work for any brand, I would have to say that Bobbi Brown’s values and image would make us very like minded individuals. I absolutely love the pretty and powerful phrase and you’ve probably seen me quoting her more than once. The use of real women, the books that she writes, the whole package is beautiful. I have tried only some of their products (eyeshadow palette, gel liner, shimmer brick, skin foundation) and there were a few hits and misses but for some reason, it will always be in a special place in my heart.

Go Get the:

- The Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual (MUST buy)
- Bobbi Brown Gel Liner
- Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick

Forget the:

2. M.A.C

I’m sure MAC, despite their attitude sales assistants, will always have a massive following of diehard MAC fans. I wouldn’t say that I’m a current diehard fan, but I pretty much was. I remember even the sales assistant telling me that my collection was big enough probably. First of all, why would you tell me that. Second of all, I’m sure they train people with the MAC attitude, a rolling eyes gif probably wouldn’t suffice. Because of that, I’m not a diehard MAC fan anymore but I do remember my glory days well and the massive amount of money I put into their systems at one time. They have good quality products and aren’t as expensive as other brands like Bobbi Brown and Chanel so I thought I might put it here, in almost loving memory.

Go Get the:

- MAC Sheertone Blushes (3)
- MAC Studio Finish Concealer (re-purchased)
- MAC Brushes – all of them. I have 8 MAC brushes. I know, I have a problem. (hopefully NEVER have to re-purchase)
- MAC Blot Powder (re-purchased 2x)
- MAC MSF Natural (re-purchased 3 times)
- MAC Blacktrack Fluidline (re-purchased)
- MAC Technakohl Liner in Graphblack (really good for water line)
- MAC liquidline

Forget the:

- MAC Lipsticks ( I have 12, why. Blinded by my love for MAC ex-)
- MAC Lipglasses
- MAC Lip Primer
- MAC Mascaras
- MAC Brush Cleaner
- MAC Fix+

3. Maybelline

Maybelline is one of my favourite drugstore brands. It has probably the best line of foundations and I like the whole “Maybe it’s Maybelline” image that they have. They have quality products, mainly I am in love with their foundations, and their products are innovative and appealing. Plus, the price ain’t bad either! When someone asks me to recommend to them a drugstore brand, I do always find myself mentioning Maybelline. My first ever foundation was from Maybelline, the Maybelline Angellift (only available in Asia). Good times.

Go Get the:

- Maybelline Superstay 24 Hour Foundation
- Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation
– Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation
- Maybelline Lipsticks
- Maybelline Dream Matte Powder
- Maybelline Palettes
- Maybelline Pulse Mascara

Forget the:

- Maybelline XXL Curl Power Mascara
- Maybelline Last Stiletto (not bad, but not that great either)

4. Wet N’ Wild

There is only one reason that Wet N’ Wild has made it to this list. Only one. And that reason is the Wet N’ Wild Color Icon palettes. Since that palette is like crazily awesome, the brand is automatically crazily awesome. You have to get this palette. The eye-shadows are some of the best eyeshadows I have ever touched in my life. I have used it in a couple of tutorials so you can see the beauty of it but hopefully it does it justice. It’s the kind of eyeshadows that when you touch the shadow and you just know. You just know from the magical mystical makeup place inside you, you know it’s the bomb. It’s a hit for sure, it’s a major hit. Plus I have tried their blushes and I like. And they’re cheap.

5. Urban Decay

Ever since it landed in Sephora Singapore, I’ve been lover of it. It has been my part-time muse. First of all, the eyeshadow quality is amazing. Second of all, who couldn’t resist the allure of the Naked palette and their book of shadows. No one! And they are going to launch their fourth book of shadows – it apparently has portable speakers and get the look tutorials. I’m really excited. Oh, no. The only downside I think are those really chunky monkey shadows with way too much fallout. I still need to get my fallout be gone tricks right. Who couldn’t go without their trusty Urban Decay primer potion, no really.

Go Get the:

- Naked Palette
- Urban Decay Book of Shadows palettes
- Urban Decay Lipsticks
- Urban Decay lipglosses smell like melted butter, omg. Plus they have hot men on them!
- Urban Decay Primer Potion (Must Get)
- Urban Decay 24/7 Liners – good eye bases as well when smudged out!

Forget the:

- Urban Decay Makeup Remover
- Urban Decay Pore Perfection Primer (It’s not bad, but you can just do without)

Some of my other favourites: Rimmel (Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation, Nailpolishes, Lipsticks, Glameyes Mascara), Everyday Minerals (Bases, Intensive Concealer), Smashbox (Foundation Brush, Blush, Bionic Mascara), YSL (Rouge Volupte, Brow Pencil, Touche Eclat), Chanel (Rougue Allure), Rachel K (Rachel K CC Cream, Lip Plumper in Suggestive), Benefit (Hoola, Dandelion), Majolica Majora Frame Plus Mascara, ZA Concealer

And Who doesn’t love NARS? Nars Blushes ROCK!

And there you have it! My favourite makeup brands that I find myself repeating over and over again. Listing out those products has really made me look like a product junkie. *blush*.

What is your favourite makeup brand?

Love,
Roseanne

5 Comments

The 5 Beauty Do’s and Don’ts That Everyone Should Know

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5! | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone,

There are just some rules and guidelines to makeup that everyone should know, so I decided to do an entry on what my top 5 beauty don’ts and do’s are. Do beware though, I might offend some people in this post, nothing personal, but please don’t spear me on a rod and roast me like a marshmallow later. Take it as well, constructive criticism. Let’s have some fun.

Don’t:

1. Don’t Tatoo Your Eyebrows – Murder Charges Apply

Sometimes when I walk around back in Singapore, I see these wonderful old ladies with blue eyebrows. I don’t mean to be brutally brash or rude, it’s just that it’s totally unflattering. If you haven’t heard of this myth before, people actually wax out all their eyebrows and tatoo them back in. There’s no natural hair anymore. Why on earth would you do this? Because baby you’re lazy but don’t you know no pain, no gain? Don’t wax off all your eyebrows and tatoo them back in unless you want to eventually have blue eyebrows. Over arched brows can age you as well.

2. Wrong Lipsticks Don’t Look Hot

When you look at a celebrity and there’s this lipstick that looks dead hot on her, it sometimes doesn’t mean that it will look hot on you. Our skintones and less mentioned undertones are different. I am not a marshmallow to roast, but take for example that MAC Lady Gaga lipstick. If you’re unsure about what that lipstick looks like, it’s a bubblegum very nude and light pink with blue undertones that may look beautiful on Lady Gaga with her blonde hair and pink undertones but on others, it looks like someone just came out of a sci-fi movie looking like a hoochiemama. Know what looks good on you and wear it, not the other way round.

3. Circular Blush for Clowns Only

I have to say that I’m still seeing girls trying to go kawaii on me and adding pink or orange circles to their cheeks as their blush. That or it’s an undefined circle and I have to say lots of it. I’m trying to blame the beautiful japanese anime as the culprit for this beauty don’t or even a lack of practice and know-how. Blend your blush upwards a bit so it becomes natural and don’t put that much, please – with a cherry on top.

4. Hide your Undereye Circles but Don’t Play Reverse Racoon

I know, dark circles can be a pain in the you know what and we will try all the ways to cover them but somewhere in the history of makeup, someone said to use a very light concealer under your eyes. I am not a marshmallow again but sometimes people in a frantic frenzy pile on way too much that they don’t have dark circles anymore, they have white circles. This does not wake you up, it wakes other people up seeing you look like that. I’m so mean. But, you know its true. Here’s your tip, don’t go more than one shade lighter if you can’t use your original concealer shade, only if, and take a little and pat it underneath. Make sure what you’re doing is buildable. It’s better to put a little less than a little more. That way, you can blame any unproductivity at work to not sleeping enough and you have the proof to show it, I kid.

5. Don’t Pop em Zits

I know it’s tempting. It’s like a volcano waiting to erupt. All you have to do is put those two fingers together and go “Pop!”. But, don’t. That’s a sure-fire way to cause acne scarring and we all know that acne scars take ages to dissapear. Just let them ride it’s life. It will come and go like it never was there, it just takes 1 or 2 days of embarassment and then everyone will realize that they’ve had zits too.

Do:

1. Take off all your makeup every night

Everyone should take off their makeup every night before they sleep. If you don’t, it causes clogged pores which eventually leads to zits which eventually leads to unhappy faces. Regardless of the awesome night you had, whether it’s 4 or 6 am in the morning when you come home, take a shower and clean up. Afterall, that’s the most you can do for your body that night, eh?

How do I take off my makeup? Here: http://roseannebeauty.onsugar.com/My-Nightly-Beauty-Routine-Removing-Make-up-9736273

2. Be Careful of Undertones

Sometimes people are too concerned with their skintones when picking out their colors but they forget about their undertone. If unfamiliar, undertone is concerned with whether you are a pink or yellow undertone. Just turn over your forearm and see if your veins appear blue or green. If blue, you are a pink undertone and if green, you are a yellow undertone. Knowing if your foundation has pink or yellow undertones helps to eventually make a better match.

3. Match Things Together – Cream with Cream, Powder with Powder, OIl with Oil and not Oil with Water

With matching undertones comes matching formulas. If you’re finding that your makeup isn’t lasting as long as it should, it’s probably because you’ve mixed up the formulas. If you decide that you are wearing an oil based moisturiser, make sure your foundation sitting on top of it isn’t water based because we all know that water and oil don’t mix. Likewise, if you have decided to powder your face, applying a cream blush after will probably result in patchy blush. Make sure you match formulas too.

4. Wear Sunscreen

Probably one of the common mistakes people do is that they don’t wear facial sunscreen. I’m not talking your regular banana boat let’s go for a holiday sunscreen, facial sunscreens have better formulas than body sunscreens in terms of mixing with your facial chemistry and making sure they stay presentable under makeup. You wouldn’t wash your face with showergel right? Wear a sunscreen because it protects your skin from harmful rays that can cause skin cancer, melanoma and of course wrinkles. Save money on botox in the future. Kidding.

Need sunscreen help? All you need to know here: http://roseannebeauty.onsugar.com/What-Sunscreen-Best-Sunscreens-Face-14902443

5. Embrace your skintype

Probably one of my number one makeup do’s is to embrace your skintype. Often, we don’t. Often, we try to make ourselves the opposite of what we are. For example, if you have oily skin, you try to find lots of matte products to make yourself extremely matte. Likewise, if you have dry skin, you try to make yourself extremely glowy. What you should do is embrace that you have oily skin and not walk around like a caked up monster and start thinking of maintaining your look throughout the day instead of putting all your apples in one basket in the morning. You’ll look better and not to mention feel better.

My Personal Makeup Pet Peeve – White Liner and Really Heavy False Lashes

Now for my personal makeup pet peeves. When the wonderful makeup godesss started using white liner, the whole world seemed to start using white eyeliner on their water line as well and well, much to my dismay. Maybe it’s the structure of my eyes that makes white eyeliner look like an alien invasion to me but it sure looks horrendous on my eyes. I also do not understand why some people put false eyelashes with hair as thick as a moustache onto their eyelids and walk around as if they don’t have moustasches on their eyes. They do, and they look pretty funny. Find false lashes that suit your eyeshape and make sure your ordinary eyelashes can hold them up. Too much of a good thing, perhaps?

Make-up Pet Peeves from you from my facebook page

Thanks for contributing everyone!

What’s your makeup pet peeve?

Love, Roseanne

Top 5 Tips to Build Your Own Makeup Collection for Beginners

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5! | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone!

Like all of us, when I first started watching youtube videos, I was kind of lost in cyberworld. It was prom and my mom wasn’t going to dish out eighty bucks at Bobbi Brown so I could get my makeup done. So, I looked for a tutorial online and soon my makeup craze soon bubbled and boiled until it grew to what it is now. I have to say that when I first landed my eyes on youtube, I was quite intimidated. People were using products that I didn’t have and I didn’t know where to get. Urban Decay, MAC, Benefit? But Benefit was like fifty bucks for one product, how was I to afford that with my high school pocket money? Furthermore, the collections of the makeup gurus online were so big, was I to have as big a collection as well? I was confused, stunted and most of all, kind of intimidated. If you currently feel the same way, here are my top 5 tips to building your makeup collection if you are a begginner. If you have a collection going, I urge you to simply reminisce.

1. Don’t be intimidated by massive collections

Don’t be afraid of these collections that you see on Youtube or on blogs. Those collections took ages to collect and no one in their right mind would have gotten every single thing at one go, well the majority of us anyway. If you’re an avid collector, you kind of look for products that you know you want and then go out and find them when you’re out. It’s a slow process and just like any “journey” it takes steps to incur.

2. Start Low, End High

I get relevant questions to this point every now and then from a begginners aiming to get their first foundation or their first blush or powder. They always ask me what should I start with, what foundation is good for me and where they should get it. My answer is usually that it really depends. With each makeup product, say foundation, comes many different varieties of the product. You might be a liquid foundation girl, a powder foundation girl or a cream foundation girl. But, wouldn’t it absolutely suck if you bought that 50 dollar liquid foundation from MAC and you discover that you’re actually a powder foundation girl? My tip is to simply start low and end high. If you are an absolutely begginner and there is no problem with that, experiment with the different kinds at a low priced avenue like the drugstore first and once you know what you like, experiment with higher end products. That way your wallet doesn’t lose as much money and you can get the momentum going to building your own collection, if necessary.

3. Get Organised

A lot of makeup enthusiasts when they first start out, don’t know where to put the makeup. Do I put it scattered in my vanity table or all in one bag? I say you should get stackable drawers and catergorise and organise your makeup. It really helps to quicken the process of your morning makeup routine if you know where everything is. I have stackable drawers and one drawer is for eyes, for face, for lips, for blushes etc and my brushes are standing up in a brush holder. In the morning I sit down and I’m like octopus mom and I just take the makeup and get everything done in just 10 minutes.

4. Do your Research

I always get mad at myself when I commit to an impulse purchase. I didn’t even need that new blush anyway! That’s why my advice to you is to always do your research first and stop impulse purchasing. That way, each and every item in your collection is like a treasured find, not a mass collection getting dusty if you know what I mean. Say you want the Nars Blush in Deep Throat. Find out what other people are thinking about it, whether it’s on other blogs, youtube channels or even makeup alley. Make informed decisions and that way you stop spending so much and start loving your collection even more.

5. Look at Trouble Spots and Start from There

If you have no idea what to get and you’re starting from zero, start at your trouble spots. If there’s something that you want to fix or make better, start with that. For example, if you have prom coming up and you have a zit outta nowhere, get a concealer, or even start with the basics of foundation and powder. Don’t worry about every single color of eyeshadow you can lay your paws on just yet or the whole range from clinique, start with trouble spots and then find out what you need from there!

Hope you liked it!

Do you have any tips for begginers?

Love,
Roseanne

P.S: The banner is right! We are moving soon to a new roseannetangrs.com ! I can’t wait and I am so excited, so excited..Haha. If you have any suggestions that you’d like the website to have, let me know in the comments section below! Hope you will be as excited about the move as I am!

Top 5 Best Drugstore Foundations for Beauties on a Budget

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone!

Blessed with less than flawless skin, I’ve always been a fan of foundations. Plus, with my wallet losing more weight than I can lose by only eating apples, I thought it would be awesome to list out my five favourite drugstore foundations to fuel your healthy or not so healthy addiction to makeup. In this post, I’ll be talking about my five favourite foundations or bases or whatever you wish to call them and talk about what they are, why I love them and a few caution points to consider before you grab it off the shelves the next time you’re there. Let’s go!

1. Maybelline SuperStay 24Hr Foundation

What is it? This is a liquid foundation that claims to have a special characteristic called micro-flex that allows the foundation when applied to move with the surface of the skin. This allows the foundation to be flexible and not flake off or melt off as easily as some foundations might do, leaving the 24HR claim up to us to decide.

Love the..

1. Ease of Application -the best way to apply this foundation is with a foundation paddle brush or if you’re feeling lazy, you can use your own fingers. The texture of this foundation is like Optimus Prime. It’s not too thick and not too watery making application uber easy.

2. Great Coverage - Forget about leaving your scars in the light, this foundation covers the lot and leaves your skin nicely flawless.

3. Great for Daily Wear - Unlike many liquid foundations, this one in particular doesn’t feel too heavy which means it’s great for everyday wear. My bestie uses it everyday and hey, if you can be absolutely flawless everyday, why not?

Keep In Mind the…

1. Lack of Oil Control - This foundation doesn’t really pack a punch in the oil department so make sure you carry some blotters with you in case you have the oilies.

2. Short Longevity - Forget what this foundation says about lasting 24 hours, it really doesn’t (but that was expected, right?). You can bet on 6 hours and maybe a few more.

Read my Full Review Here: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=15504214

2. Revlon Colorstay Foundation

What is it? A liquid foundation with absolutely full coverage. Super famous for being probably one of the top drugstore foundations.

Love the…

1. Full Coverage - This is one of the highest coverage foundations that I have for sure ever tried. It’s so full, that your flaws will see it on the brush when you put it on and then epicly dissapear in fear of this foundation because it knows it stands no chance. That’s right. Epic.

2. Oil Control - This is the number one drugstore foundation that has done very well in controling oil. I find myself not blotting at all really throughout the day, maybe once, but really I know I don’t need to. I come back from class and it’s like close to flawless. I love it.

3. Lasting Finish - You can put this on in the mid morning and go clubbing until the next and it’s great, it doesn’t move or melt. I really like this because it really does last really long.

Keep In Mind the..

1. Thick Consistency - This foundation is not that great in the blending department. I like to use a foundation paddle brush but just think of a really strong serum and this is kinda equivalent to that.

2. Ability for Daily Wear – Not so Much :( - I wouldn’t recommend this for people to use everyday because it feels unatural and is so flaw-proof that I feel that I’m laying more than a few chemicals on the surface of my skin. I wouldn’t recommend this for first timers who have never used liquid foundation before because it doesn’t really look that natural so I don’t want to potentially scare you from using makeup ever again. If you are first starting makeup, try a mineral foundation or something lighter and then work your way up to something like this.

Review: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=11023445

3. Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation

What is it? A liquid foundation that is supposedly mineral enriched and provides 16 hr wear. Right now, they have a new lasting finish that is supposed to last 25 hours, I have yet to try that one. This review is based on the old lasting finish foundation!

Love the…

1. Texture/Blendability - If there was ever a foundation designer, you should look at this as a role model. Not to watery, not to thick for the absolutely perfect finish.

2. Great for Everyday - Light enough feeling to use, this is an awesome foundation if you are looking for a foundation that looks great and feels not too bad either.

Keep in mind the…

1. Short Longevity - I know this foundation is called lasting finish but it’s more like..finish…because it’s not THAT long lasting. We’re talking 5 hours before it’ll start looking like you need to touch up.

2. Use on Sensitive Skin, Beware! - I did breakout from this foundation, but man do I hate my skin for it. If this baby works for you, then it’s a keeper.

4. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse

What is it? A mousse foundation in a pot from *puts song commercial on* “Maybe it’s Maybelline”.

Love the…

1. Flawless Coverage - If you use your fingers the way I do and work this foundation into the skin, you can really get a beautiful finish from this unlike any other. You can enter a room and you can trick people instantly that you have flawless skin, naturally. (From afar at least).

2. Super Smooth - Being a mousse, you can bet on a really nice silicone feel texture after you apply the foundation. Your powder glides on easier but if you use your concealer ontop, it might actually slide a little. So be careful but setting that aside, it feels great after application.

Keep in Mind…

1. Clumps/Application - The application part can get difficult. The trick to this foundation is that you need to press and apply the foundation onto the skin. Ditch the brushes and the sponges lest you want to waste a decent amount of foundation and use your fingers to press the foundation and work it into the skin in circular motions. If you don’t, you could get decent clumping instead that can fall from your face and onto your lap. Not so cool for a hot outfit.

2. Short Longevity - It wears fast, especially in humid weather. Geat for events for 2-3 hours but not for a day out.

3. Poor Oil Control - Be prepared to blot if you have oily skin!

Check out my Full Review:http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=16376613

5. Rachel K CC Cream

What is it? The new generation of BB Cream. A much improved and refined version of a BB Cream. This baby is a skincare and makeup product that can be used in place of your foundation or makeup base but provides a myriad of skincare benefits as well.

Love the…

1. The Brightening Effect - When you apply the CC cream, it really does brighten your complexion which I love. It’s like I just slept a few more hours in the morning. This is due to the really nice salmon color that really color corrects when you apply it.

2. Pore Minimizing - Pores for sure seem to dissapear when I apply the CC cream, melts it off. It’s a beautiful skin-like finish.

3. Lasting Skincare benefits - After using this for a month daily, I did see improvements in my skin and I became much more radiant and brighter even without any makeup on. My mom even commented on my skin when I came back from Australia!

4. Natural Look - Probably the best thing is that it’s makeup but it looks like skin, making it my daily foundation right now and for a long time ahead. I don’t always want to carry a thick face of makeup and this CC cream makes me feel like I’m not wearing anything and it looks so natural.

Keep In Mind…

1. Application - You have to remember that a little goes a long way. Not applying it correctly can result in the opposite finish. I suggest putting it on the back of your hand, just a squidget, and using your three fingers, spread it out a little until you have some on those three fingers placed together like you’re E.T and then patting the CC cream over the surface of your skin. That, or you can dot lightly the CC cream all over the skin and then with clean fingers, pat lightly until the surface is evenly covered.

2. Color Selection - Only one color so far and for people with tones below an NC30! I wish more people with darker skin tones can use this product because I absolutely love it.

Check out my Full Review: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=16036721

And there we have it! My Top 5 Best Drugstore foundations, healthy for your wallet and soul.

What’s your favourite drugstore foundation?

Love,
Roseanne

5 Awesome Ways to Apply Your Foundation!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5! | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone!

I have to say that I’m a foundation buff and just as there are so many varieties of foundation, there are just as many varieties of methods to apply them. Today in this post, I thought it would be handy to point out the five main methods of applying your foundation, the tools involved, what kind of foundations work best with what and the finishes that you’ll eventually receive. In no time, you’ll be able to figure out how to get the most flawless face out of the foundation that you’ve recently purchased at the store.

1. Use a Foundation Paddle Brush!

Probably the most basic brush that comes to mind is the foundation paddle brush. This brush is characterised by its synthetic fibers and paddle shape with a relatively long handle. The best kind of foundation for the paddle brush is a liquid foundation because the paddle brush is able to smooth and blend over a wide surface area without the need for applying pressure. That’s the key thought here. A paddle brush cannot apply much pressure and thus an easily manipulated texture is the only thing that would be most suitable for the paddle brush. Pressing down hard can clump your bristles.

The key to finding a good paddle brush is one that keeps its shape and isn’t too fluffy. Synthetic paddle brushes should be evenly shaped, meaning that they shouldn’t be spiky, and it’s bristles shouldn’t disperse extensively when pressure is applied or when you press down on the brush. That way, you’ll find that the liquid foundation won’t cause the bristles of the brush to clump together making it unusable to spread your liquid foundation flawlessly and evenly.

To apply your foundation with a paddle brush, simply pour your liquid foundation onto the back of your hand. Use the brush and dab a little bit onto the foundation as if you’re using a painter’s palette and then apply in short strokes onto the face. Once the area is covered, proceed to longer strokes and then finish with a smooth over with your hands.

My favourite foundation paddle brush is the Smashbox Foundation Brush in #13!

2. Smear with a Sponge

A sponge, whether of a decent quality or disposable, can make it easy to blend your foundation on the skin. Sponges come in all shapes and sizes, but the most common form of sponge for foundation is the wedge sponge. The wedge sponge is so popular because the lower end of the sponge makes it easier to reach into hard to reach places like the crevices of the edges of your nose or the nook of your eye.

Sponges are best for liquid or cream products. Although sponges can pick up too much product at times, almost soaking up the foundation like a sponge that can make it hard to clean and may even waste your product, the ease of the application and the finish it creates offsets this. Getting a pack of disposable sponges are great or if you haven’t checked out the beauty blender, you seriously need to. Absolute flawlessness but also an absolute pain to clean up. If you are in Singapore and you’re looking for a great sponge cleaner, the one Daiso has at only 2 bucks is worth much more.

3. Dab with Clean Fingers

Sometimes the best thing to do is to use what your mama gave you. Using clean fingers allows you lots of control and lots of blending power. Even if I use a tool beforehand, I alway smooth it over with my hands anyway just to make sure I didn’t miss any spots. Plus, the application suits any foundation except powder foundations because that would take you forever. You can also vary the amount of coverage easier with your fingers.

The products that I use my fingers almost 100% of the time include BB creams, makeup bases, sunscreens and skincare products of course. I do also use my fingers if it’s a light to medium coverage foundation. I think it’s too much to handle if it’s a high coverage foundation like the Revlon Colorstay which is a foundation you’ll be best off using a sponge or brush with.

4. Stipple and Swirl with a Stippling Brush

A stippling brush is commonly referred to as a skunk brush. Forget about smelling a bit “unique”, a stippling brush has a more dense black haired body connected to the ferrule with a more sparse set of white synthetic bristles coming out of the dense set of black animal hair. This brush helps you achieve a flawless, less than full coverage foundation finish by moving the white bristles independently of the black bristles onto your skin. It can also be used for powder blushes and bronzers for a more sheer application. The best foundations to use the stippling brush are liquid foundations, balm like cream products and powder.

The reason why a stippling brush is called a stippling brush is because of the application process. Simply pour some of the foundation on the back of your hand and taking the brush, get some foundation onto the bristles and in light dabbing motions, stipple the foundation onto your face in quick dabbing motions. Once you have covered the majority of the face, lightly swirl the brush to blend and create a smooth finish. Be careful not to push down on the brush when you are swirlling as the effect can be quite disastrous. Always move the white bristles independently of the black bristles.

5. Buff it out with a Kabuki

Whether it’s your favourite fluffy kabuki brush or a kabuki stuck on a long handle, there’s only one thing the kaubki does better than any other brush can and that’s buffing. The foundation that needs the most buffing into the skin? Mineral foundation. To make mineral foundation absolutley flawless, you need to buff the powder into the skin so it really is worked into the skin. Litle do we know that long handle kabukis also make great companions when it comes to buffing foundation, liquid or powder, for that even complexion.

And there we have it! 5 Different Ways to Apply Your Foundation!

How do you apply your foundation?

Much Love,

Roseanne

The Coolest Make-Up Advertisements, Ever.

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone,

We’ve all been swept away by the power of advertising – whether the world is trying to sell us pillows in place of mascaras. I’ve always been a fan of analysing, browsing and looking at print to tv ads and because I have a gigantic passion in make-up, I thought it would be cool to do a post on the coolest makeup ads I’ve seen by far. In this unconventional post, I will be keying out a few worthy and unique makeup campaigns that will be sure to have you putting on those running shoes to visit the nearest store.

1. Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick:

Watch this!

*If you can’t see the video, click your re-fresh button! If not, here’s the URL! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoFZSumHiTg

This ad brings seducing men to a whole new level. I think it’s cool because it’s artsy, unique in its way that it doesn’t shout out the product on a celebrity or model, but brings in ideas of power and well, seduction. The music brings a mysterious flare to the lipstick and the pigmentation on that lady is amazing. I just love the artsy feel to it!

2. DOVE Real Beauty Campaign:

You’re probably wondering, Roseanne, why are you posting up a picture of a group of ladies in their undies?! Well, it’s Dove’s advertising campaign to celebrate real women. I do really admire Dove’s efforts to promote a self appretiation and respect for your body. I’m honestly sick and tired of everyone trying to lose weight when they are already stick thin, drives me nuts when they pinch their non-existant fat. I much more appreciate a healthy and happy body because I don’t believe that you can’t be truly beautiful without feeling beautiful inside.

Enough with the supermodels, time to turn on the spotlight for people like ordinary people like you and me. Amen.

3. Makeup Forever HD Foundation – The First Untouched Makeup Ad?

Yep! You heard me correctly, Makeup Forever supposedly didn’t use photoshop to correct this advertisement. We always hear horror stories of how companies mould and correct faces for their advertsising but I have to say after finishing a bottle of HD, this is pretty much what it looks like on real skin. Kudos to Makeup Forever. It helps that she looks like Kesha right? Wait, is that Kesha?

4. Bobbi Brown Pretty & Poweful Campaign

This Campaign is such a wonderful one. I can’t explain enough. It uses real women but it’s thoroughly inspiring and I love Bobbi Brown for it, no matter how over priced their products can be. “The concept of beauty – confidence, natural-ness, a good smile, authenticity and happiness, a kind heart. The most beautiful people I know have the most beautiful souls. If you feel fresh, you can do anything”.

5. Favourite Pretty Women Ads: Dior Nude Foundation, Chanel Spring 2011 and Kate Hudson for Almay

There are always advertisements that will always catch your eye, or have just leveraged just the right amount of secondary associations from celebrities.

For starters, the Dior Nude Skin Foundation ad has always caught my eye:

I wish I looked like that. :(

Chanel Spring 2011 Collection:

This look made me want that $99 palette so badly.

Absolutely gorgeous. Remind me to put this in my must do tutorials box!

Kate Hudson for Almay

She’s so beautiful. I love Kate Hudson!

The making of the ad:

6. Vintage Makeup Ads

I always find Vintage – anything pretty interesting, Seventeen Makeup Anyone?

Why of course it reveals your personality:

Maybelline is for sure sensibly priced!

So I hoped you like this post! This was kindly sponsored by Estee Lauder.

I can’t believe I’ll be in Singapore next week, June 24th! Keep an eye out for me!

Much Love,
Roseanne

Beauty Blogging Tip: Who needs Photoshop? How to Create Cool Graphics using Microsoft Office Powerpoint 2011!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone!

Let’s face it. We weren’t all blessed with the inherent ability to Photoshop. I know I wasn’t. I’ve used it once or twice for class, was a bit familiar with the layers, but in totality and in all honestly, I’m Photoshop hopeless. There are just too many buttons to press and I end up chasing my tail anyway. But, as a beauty blogger, it’s almost a necessity to make a few graphics introducing contests, events or giveaways or as banners or blog stickers. Thank the beauty blogging angels up there; I have found a way around that. In this post, I’ll be giving a beauty blogging tip on how to skip reading Photoshop for Dummies and start exploring Microsoft PowerPoint as an alternative. Sounds too good to be true? Read on.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post thanks to Nuffnang Australia and Microsoft. The opinions and ideas to create this post belong to me and no opinions or justifications were altered due to this sponsorship. Why am I giving beauty blogging tips? I want to encourage you to make your own blog and start having your own smart consumer opinions about products. I’m here to help my fellow beauty bloggers as well. Thought it’d be a nice thing to do. Check my other post on my Top 10 Tips to Becoming a Beauty Blogger here: http://roseannetangrs.com/?p=15562616

What’s on Today’s Menu?

Say Hello to my new Facebook Page display picture, which I will be making. If you didn’t know I have a Facebook Page – I urge you to check it out atwww.facebook.com/roseannetangrs It’s a way to connect and talk to me instantly, for daily beauty tips or inspirational quotes to make your day. Plus, there will be a big giveaway once I reach 3,000 fans!

Tools of the Trade:

Today’s Tool of the trade isn’t a makeup brush, it’s the new Microsoft Office 2011 for MacBook. I’ll be using Microsoft Office 2011 PowerPoint as well as a free downloadable program called Picasa. You can check that one right here: http://picasa.google.com/mac/

Prior Note: This tutorial is all about exploration. You’ll see that the photos aren’t really consecutive. I wanted to show you sort of my “raw journey” with my ideas for the Facebook Page display picture. With these sort of graphics, I never really have a prior plan before, I kind of just open up PowerPoint and have fun. I put things in, take things out, move things about. You’ll still get the general Idea though!

Step 1: Open up Microsoft Office PowerPoint. You’ll end up with a blank slate like this. Delete the “Click to add Title Box” and the “Subtitle box”. You want a blank slate.

Step 2: Insert your Images. Go to insert, Photo and picture from file. You can insert any image you have either taken and want to be in your graphic.

I’ve selected my logo for right now; I know I want that in. Hmm, what else.

Step 3: Then you can have fun making it transparent, re-sizing the graphic, putting borders around it, making it glow and all sorts of cool things.

Step 4: After a bit of fooling around with the background and text, which I’m sure you already know how to do, I’ve decided to add my picture of course to the mix. The cool thing about this is that you can remove backgrounds really nicely with the new program. It’s a bit difficult with the lines but you can select areas you want to add or subtract which is a nice add-on from the standard transparent tool that I used before. In the format picture area, click on the button that says “remove background”. This program also allows you to add filters on your pictures (on PowerPoint, I know!).

After removing the background, it can be a bit tricky on the edge so I’ve removed that bit out by cropping the picture.

Step 5: Move the picture where you want it to be. Click and drag as per usual. Lots of experimentation, re-sizing done.

After a bit more fooling around, decided to take the Facebook logo away and added a glow to my picture and changed the background to pink. Thought it would go better with the color of my blush.

To add the glow, just go to effects and you can do all sorts of things.

Step 6: And then save the picture as a jpeg file. This is of uber importance. That means you can now use what you have created as a graphic and picture. Do not save it as a “pptx” format, save it as a “jpeg” file. Congratulations, you just made a Photoshop worthy graphic on your daily Microsoft Office 2011 PowerPoint program!

Step 7: I know, I know what you’re probably thinking. Roseanne, what are you going to do with the gigantic pink space? Well, I’m going to crop it. The best way to do this is on a program called Picasa because it really crops the picture without a white space. The link is above in the Tools of the Trade section. I love this program and highly recommend it. Plus, it’s free!

I then manually cropped my picture!

Say Bye Bye to large pink space!

And there you have it! Easy as A-B-C. Well, sort of. You are now skilled enough to use Microsoft Powerpoint as Photoshop, like yours truly.

I hope you enjoyed this beauty blogging tip and thanks to Microsoft and Nuffnang Australia for the sponsorship! Remember to check out my Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/roseannetangrs

Some links to check out:

Want to try it for free? Download the Mac Office free 30 day trial

Want to win it? Nuffnang Australia is also having a competition on the Nuffnang Blog giving away this program and more!

Here is the link: http://www.nuffnang.com.au/blog/2011/06/14/competition-better-your-blogging-thanks-to-microsoft/

Love, Roseanne

http://roseannebeauty.onsugar.com/category/tutorial

5 Simple Tips to Getting Eye-Makeup Right for Pretty Asian Eyes

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5! | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone!

Let’s set the scene. You’ve only just started to explore the world of makeup, you have your eye-shadows infront of you, the same primer, the same brushes and you open up youtube, click on an eye-makeup tutorial ready to take on the world. As you apply the shadows with a quick hand just like the guru in the video, you don’t know why at the end of the video when you look in the mirror, you look nothing like your ”idol” on-screen.

Image Source: Google Images

I’ve been there. And it’s not to add to any racial slurs, it’s because everyone is different and every eye-shape is different. If you have smaller, beautiful asian eyes, this is the post for you. Not all eyes were created equal, mine are smaller, I don’t have a deep crease and sometimes I can wake up with one eye a little puffier than the other. I don’t have eyes like Angelinia Jolie, nor her lips, but that’s a different story.

Thus, here are my top 5 tips to getting perfect makeup for Asian or smaller eyes – without that deep-set crease and large double eye-lid. These tips are suitable for smaller creases to monolids. I’ll give you more options than just layering on those eyelashes, which I personally do not think is very flattering at all. The goal here is to enhance your eye-shapes by defining them, but still making them appear larger.

1. Use Smaller Brushes – Pencil Brushes

Don’t deny it, not all brushes were created equal either. Stop using those big fluffy brushes because they can make your makeup look ruddy and muddy. Instead, opt for more specific and smaller brushes like the pencil brush or the MAC 217 (one of my all time favourite brushes) that can add color to where you want it to go instead of making it look like you had a little too much to drink at a Panda party. Sort of. The point is, use brushes that fit your eye, there’s nothing wrong with that.

2. Keep darker colors concentrated on your lower lid

For Asian eyes, or monolids, the trick is to keep the darker colors on your lower lid – which sort of explains why liner is sometimes my second best friend. The darker colors concentrated on your lid can define and mould the shape of your eye to become rounder and thus larger. If you put a darker color in your crease with a blending brush, you will mould or contour your eye by squashing or flattening, limiting the shape of your eye and making it smaller. This is not what you want to do. Lighter colors to your browbone or matte neutral shades in your crease are the most flattering keeping in mind that your charcoals, dark browns or plum colors should be closest to your lid line. If you have a slightly puffy browbone, stop adding a white frost or lavender or light blue to it, just stop it.

3. Create an outercorner and then brush in. Don’t brush the color out because you will distort the eye shape. Contour in.

Again, with eye-shadows, or the purpose of eye-shadows is to contour or mould your eye-shape into a more desirable shape. For asian eyes, the almond shaped eye is the most flattering. To get this shape, add color to your outer corner and then add liner to elongate. Every person knows that the basics to eye-shadow is to have a darker color and a lighter color. Lighter color goes all over the lid, and the darker color goes in the outer corner. With asian eyes, yes have that base shade, and then with a darker color start at the corner (outer corner of your eye) and shade inwards, not outwards, until you have a handsome looking outer V. Remember not to go far up because you need to concentrate dark colors on the lower lid. Then, blend away. Because we want to concentrate the darker color on the lower lid again, use a small brush right after, like a pencil brush, and apply the darker shadow on your lid line smoking upwards.

4. Start from the lid and smoke upwards

This is an absolute skill to use for smaller lids. Take a pencil brush or a small shadow brush and after applying a soft more neutral shade all over the lid, take the pencil brush and with your favourite darker shade whether it be a plum, charcoal or dark brown, shade upwards starting from your lower lid and smoke upwards. This instantly defines your eyes, much like a liner but isn’t too harsh that it sets borders on your eyes.

5. Open up your eyes with eye-liner

You’re probably familiar with this already. If all else fails, eye-liner can be your new best friend at the vanity. For asian eyes, the best eye-liner for you would be liquid or gel eye-liner mostly because they are the most smudgeproof eye-liners. My lids tend to be oilier, smaller and more prone to smudging than other eyes so most liquid eye-liners stay on forever while gel-eyeliners are like training wheels for the begginners. It’s also important to get an eye-lash curler and a good mascara (I recommend the Benefit Bad Gal Lash) to help open up your eyes in addition to your favourite eye-liner.

And there we have it, my top 5 simple tips to getting eye-makeup right for pretty asian eyes.

Check out my previous eye-makeup tutorials here:

Love,

Roseanne

5 Comments

5 Tips on How To Pick the Right Foundation Shade That’s Your Color at The Drugstore or Online

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5! | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone,

This is possibly one one of my most frequently asked makeup questions on the list. I receive emails and questions about helping people find their foundation shade because they can’t whip out the testers at the drugstore. Not to fret, superman might be late, but I am here yet again to save the day.

*Image Source: Beautylish

1. Observe your undertone

You can observe your undertone by flipping your forearm over. If your veins that show through your underarm skin appear green, then you have a yellow or warm undertone and if your veins appear blue/purple-ish, then you have a pink or cool undertone. This is because your veins near your forearm area are blue and the undertone of your skin (yellow + blue = green) and (pink + blue = purple, blue) can thus be displayed.

You need to not only match your shade, but you also need to match your undertone. A fair skin lady with a yellow undertone wearing a foundation that is meant for a pink undertone will have a maskey look that doesn’t look so great unless you are auditioning for the Phantom of the Opera. Ha-ha. *crickets chirping in the background*. Nevermind.

Know your undertone first so when you go to the drugstore, you can match your undertone and your face shade.

2. Search online communities and google beforehand – Get your keywords right

If you’ve been thinking of getting a foundation, you can search on google for people who you know is your shade and what color of the foundation you want that they are wearing. This is a little online research beforehand and is something I always do.

Here are the steps to getting this process right:

1. It is always handy to know your shade in M.A.C

M.A.C is almost like the universal shade language in the makeup world. Knowing your shade in M.A.C is like unlocking the key mysteries in life. Well, not really, but almost. O C’mon, if you can say “Girlfriend, whatcha talkin’ bout, I use the 116 to put some color on my cheeks, the 134 to dust my powder all over, the 217, 224 for the eyes and the 109 for my contour and the 190 beforehand. Duh,” you know you’re there. Just kidding. Back to the topic. Just go to the fiesty sales assistants at M.A.C in your local department store and ask them to color match you (if you dare) and you are just about about halfway there.

If you don’t know your foundation shade in M.A.C and don’t have a M.A.C nearby, know it well in another common foundation that’s been written a lot about online. You basically need a point of comparison or reference so that you know that when this person is an NC30 in MAC, you can pretty much imagine it on yourself already.

2. If you’re able to get a hold on your M.A.C Shade, look on Temptalia’s Awesome Foundation Matrix. it uses your MAC shade as your point of reference and will tell you your shade in just about any other foundation. It’s awesome. Really. Like Kung Fu Panda! Alright, I’ll stop now.

Just key in if you’re a cool or warm tone (depending on your undertone) and what category you fall under:

Search and scroll for your foundation. I’m an NC30 so now I know that I’m a Soft Beige or Nude in the Rimmel Lasting Finish foundation which is totally true:

3. If That doesn’t work… and if you know your shade (or point of reference), type in google and search for a review or a blog post on the foundation you want and make sure the person who wrote the review has the same shade to see what shade they are in the foundation that you want.

For example, if I am an NC30 in M.A.C (my point of reference) and I want to know what shade I am in the Maybelline Superstay foundation,

I would type in google “NC30 MAC Maybelline Superstay foundation color shade Nude” Putting in a random shade helps the search even if it’s not the right one. You’ll get something like this:

Ta-Da! You can get a pretty good idea of your shade in the foundation that you want now!

3. Bring along foundation that you know is your color to the store:

If all else fails and your online search bears no babies, then bring a foundation that you know is your color to the store and color match the bottles with your eye. A neat trick but not something that most people think about. Just put the foundation you bring and the foundation you want at the store side by side and see if the color matches. If there are testers, you can even pour the foundation out to see if they match!

4. If you have testers, match it on your jawline

And if you do have testers and you know that this foundation stuff isn’t gross and disgusting or have an insane need to put it on your face to know, then your jawline is the place to go. The foundation should match your neck and jawline. I do not endorse or support this practice as makeup on the tester aisle can be full of bacteria that should be a no show for your complexion.

5. Forget about your hand:

Your hand is not the same color or texture or skin as your face. Forget about it. Period. “Oo it matches my hand, thus it should match my face” IS NOT, I repeat more pleasantly, not the way to go darling.

And there you have it! I shall no longer do the searches for you. And no, I cannot possilby know what foundation shade you are if I have never seen you before in ma life!

Lots of Love,

Roseanne

10 Tips to Keep Make-up Fresh During the Summer in Hot & Humid Weather

Posted by roseannetangrs in Tips! | Top 5!

Hey Everyone!

I don’t know about you but I’ve been seeing my newsfeed and twitterfeed filled lately with updates regarding the hot, hot, hot Singapore weather. Although the weather would be quite welcoming here in Melbourne being about ten to fifteen degrees right now nearing winter, I thought it would be pretty handy to state my top ten tips to keeping your make-up fresh during the summer time.

Just to set the scene if you live near Antartica, summer weather means pearls of sweat and lots of it, hot weather that can turn your make-up look from fresh and fabulous to a flop in minute and foundation that melts off like…well an ice-cub out of a fridge. Excuse the awful pun but the summer isn’t the best climate to look fresh and fabulous 24/7 in. I always keep a fanning device or a thick brochure in my bag to cool myself off with, but let’s see what other summer beauty tips there are to keep in mind as June and July draw near.

#1. Primers are a Girl’s Best Friend

Make-up primers are pretty much essential if you find your that foundation not lasting as long as everyone tells you it will. I remember working in the office in Singapore and although you’re not really hot because of the air-conditioning, I found my make-up dissapearing by midday. Trust me, it wasn’t a look I liked to sport. Make-up primers are great because they help your make-up last longer. According to the finish you would like to acheive, more silicone based primers will help you with your pores and will help keep your make-up mattified or if it’s seriously hot, then you should look for a more gel or water based primer as it feels lighter under the skin and will be less prone to cakey foundation flaws. Eye-shadow primers are absolute must-haves as well! Refer to my Back to Basics post on Face Primers Here.

#2. Keep Blotting Sheets Handy

I used to be adament about bringing a blotting powder around, but now I’ve gotten used to the idea that blotting sheets or just blotting with tissue or your bathroom’s toilet paper really helps throughout the day. Either way, keep some sheets in your bag as an instant refresher after a long day. The sweat and the potential humidity could make you look like you’ve just run a marathon so blotting is a must. If you’re scared of eradicating coverage, then keep a sheer face powder to dust off with all over your face after the blotting.

#3. Wear a lighter foundation

During the summer time, I’m for sure not a fan of thick and creamy foundations. If you’re out and about during the day, the most unattractive thing to see and probably what I’m also guilty of are those nasty sweat beads peaking out through a powdered and foundation covered nose. It’s quite unattractive and it’s inevitable when you’re looking at cream and heavy liquid foundations. Thus, it’s always good to go with something more everyday and lighter. Mineral powder foundations, tinted moisturisers and BB creams are great bets to have, but if you like the coverage and flawlessness of the liquid foundation, make sure you’re not under the sun for too long. It’s absolutely fine if you’re indoors for the majority of the day.

#4. Don’t be afraid of the glow

I have to say that I must raise my hands in guilt for being guilty for a time when I just wanted to be as matte as possible. Coming from Rae Morris herself, you should analyze your skin and not try to change it to the other extreme. For example, if you have oily skin, don’t make yourself the other extreme and try to go extremely matte with a cakey powder and lots of coverage. Embrace a glow instead, not an oily glow but a nice highlighted glow, highlighting the good points like the bridge of your nose, the top of your cheek bones and the face of your chin. It’s for sure a more natural look to sport during the summer months.

#5. Play with fresh pinks and peaches and keep dark shades in storage

Summer is all about being light, happy, and fresh. The sun urges you to dance on the beach, go surfing and be just overall happier than you obviously are during the winter. Your makeup should reflect this joy, so keep the dark shades in storage and bring out more fresh colors like lighter pinks and peaches. Bring on the neutrals and tans and bronzers. Use fresh colors during the summer and you’ll blend right into your surroundings. I always advocate standing out from the crowd but in this case I’m sure you’ll appreciate a fresher color pallette than the palette you’ll use during the winter time.

#6. Go Waterproof

Things melt and things drip during the summer. Always opt to try and go waterproof even if you don’t have anything to cry about. Waterproof eyeliner and mascara are great bets to have to prevent panda eyes from forming and a good waterproof sunscreen will help too.

#7. Don’t forget your sunscreen!

Speaking of sunscreen, you’ll need one. Refer to my Back to Basics Sunscreen post where I give you the ultimate guide and an all you need to know about sunscreens to get a bigger picture but in a nutshell, you want to go with an SPF 30 usually to prevent you from all kinds of nasty things like skin cancer, melanoma, wrinkles and sun burns that won’t let you enjoy the waves of the ocean anymore. I mean, what fun is summer when you can’t enjoy it?

#8. Layer and Set your Make-up!

Setting your make-up is just as important as priming your skin. Not only should you set your foundation with a good powder, a loose powder or any favourite powder to be exact because it makes makeup last longer, you should look to setting your blush and even eye-liner as well. For longer lasting blush, use a cream blush then set it with a matching blush in the same color, blend away so you don’t look like an odd looking clown and apply lightly as you are putting on two blushes but you want to make it look like you only applied one. Setting your eye-liner with eye-shadow is also a good idea to keep liners from smudging. After you’ve applied your eye-liner, take a small brush and use the same color to set your liner with the eye-shadow over the line. You could also have a little fun and use brighter colors like teal or turqouise that are great summer picks.

#9. Foundations do oxidise faster during the summer, what a bummer.

Keep in mind that foundations oxidise during the summer. That means that foundations that appear flawless and just the perfect color when you leave the house may not be the same color in a few hours under the heat. They often appear just a little darker. In cases like these, it’s alright to get a foundation just a little lighter than the foundation you really match with. This is really only the case if you know that the foundation will oxidise, just ask the sales assistant if it will, and if you will be under direct heat and humidity. If not, just use the foundation that matches you, it’s always safer that way.

#10. Add a bronzer for that summer glow

Bronzers are a must have during the summer. Everyone loves to sport that bronze goddess look and it just adds warmth and vibrancy to your look. You don’t want to go too heavy so using a fluffy brush to lightly dust the bronzer onto the places where the sun naturally hits is a great way to do it. I like to contour with the bronzer on the hollows of my cheeks. It slimifies but adds just the most beautiful shade of warmth.

And there we have it! My top ten tips to look fresh and fabulous during the summer time, even in hot and humid weather!

Stay tuned to my winter version soon for all you Aussies out there!

Do you have any summer beauty tips?

Love,

Roseanne

I’m on YouTube as well! Check out my channel at http://www.youtube.com/roseannetangrs

and Talk to me on Facebook for giveaways, beauty tips and secrets onhttp://www.facebook.com/roseannetangrs !

Here on roseannebeauty, you will get a reply! :)

5 Comments

Top Ten Tips to Becoming a Beauty Blogger

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips!

Hey Everyone!

I’ve had a few personal messages of late from wonderful people just starting blogging. Just like many of you, they wonder what it’s like to be a beauty blogger and if I have any tips to start them off. So, I created this post to help everyone who wants to blog beauty, blog it well.

First off, it’s not as glamorous as most people think it is. They have this perception that beauty bloggers are vainpots with makeup stashes as tall as Mt. Everest. While the latter may be true for some of us, most of us work hard for what we do. If we do get invited to try something out say at a spa, we aren’t relaxing away and enjoying the moment, most of us will be thinking of what to say in our post the entire time and snapping awkward pictures of our facial here and there. We may get sponsored many products, but we also have to try them out before the PR companies come nudging back. However, it’s our love for all things beauty and the followers who read us that keep us coming back.

I’m sounding like I speak for everyone. Well, take it that this is what happens in my beauty blogging world, but it may not apply to all beauty bloggers.

Here are my top ten tips to beauty blogging:

Tip #1. Stay True to Your Values, Honesty Included

I always have a set of values I carry and keep in mind everywhere I go. And I very much believe in them too. Honesty, Integrity, and being true to oneself. Carry your values into your posts especially when reviewing products. Your blog will help many people and let’s hope that the information you’re publishing out there is true and that you have tried the products before you post up the review. As time passes and you become more popular, always keep your values in mind and don’t be afraid to say no. Your followers will thank you for it.

Tip #2. Don’t be afraid to be opinionated!

Blogging is all about publishing an opinion for all to see. And the beauty of it is that it’s your opinion. The reason why people read your blog is that you have an honest opinion and they want to know of it. If you feel strongly about something, don’t be afraid to say it. So what if the company comes back to you and emails you that they saw what you said, So? If that’s what you really feel, you shouldn’t be afraid to say it loud and proud.

Tip #3. Take Nice Pictures

Let’s face it. When we first land on a new blog, we scan the pictures first. Well, at least I do. Blogging, especially beauty blogging, faces an audience that is increasingly image loving. They love good pictures. Thus, having a great camera, great lighting and some kind of editing software to give it a boost really helps your blog. Take time to do your pictures. I spend a good 30 minutes or so doing pictures for a post to make sure that each picture tells a little story of what I want to say – whether it be a swatch, a tutorial or a point proven. Then I go on and edit the pictures (the lighting etc.) I don’t photoshop my pictures unless it’s really unwanted blemishes that are just painful to look at, and upload one by one to watermark them. It’s all worth it in the end though when you hit the “Create Post” button. It all looks so very rewarding.

Tip #4. Blogging is built on people with personalities. If you lack the personal touch, it will be hard for you to make it online.

I tweeted this last month because it came to me that your audience doesn’t just want to know you as a blogger, some sort of post generating machine, they want to know you as a real person that they can relate to and be friends with. That makes things easier. Just be yourself. Everyone has a type of personality and you can probably hear mine from my words. Have a twitter (http://www.twitter.com/roseannetangrs) and post what you do during the day, about the guy at the library everyday who you think is cute (*clears throat ;)), upload pictures of your food, I don’t know! It’s not very hard to be yourself. I’ve made so many friends with you, my followers, over my entire journey and I’m very thankful for that. Thank you.

TIp #5. Make friends & have name card

Sometimes the best thing about beauty blogging is being able to make friends with other beauty bloggers. When you’re with your everyday friends, it’s hard to ramble about makeup without them scratching their heads and changing the subject. When I’m out with the beauty bloggers, we can talk about make-up and just catch up on our lives. It’s so wonderful to make new friends this way and beautiful that everyone is so supportive of each other. This is actually one of the reasons why I can’t wait sometimes to go back to Singapore because I really do miss them!

I always say that you should keep a name card handy. You never know who you’re going to meet who’s going to ask you about what you do so it’s good to be prepared. On your name-card, besides the necessary graphics, add all your online links as well as your email address. I add my phone number but that’s a personal preference.

Tip #6. Thank Your Followers

I understand now that when Taylor Swift goes up to receive her award, she tells everyone that “I love you all so much, thank you so much for everything, you all mean so much to me,”. Well, not in those exact words and in no way am I equal to Taylor Swift. I’m probably a gruelling worm next to her. *Bows*. But, really. What is your blog without the people who read you. Be able to thank them when you can whether it be just words or in the form of personal letters when you send something or even lots of giveaways. You girls and guys really mean so much to me.

Tip #7. It’s your blog, be original. Don’t make it look like PR companies own you. Do what you want to do.

Sometimes people get caught up with all the events, get caught up with all the things that companies send over to them. When I go back to Singapore, my workload doubles. I get more sponsorships but with more sponsorships, I make sure I make and create an equal amount of original content. I rarely or never post a sponsored post upon a sponsored post. It makes my blog look cheap and makes it look like and advertisement so I make sure I achieve a balance. I love my blog more when it has my original content in it because it breathes “me”.

Tip #8. Hang in There – Long Term Rewards

When you first start blogging as with anyone, you’ll have no readers. When you first start anything, you’ll have no readers. So, just don’t care about that and keep blogging your content. Soon, people will find you and start reading you but sometimes you might give up in the beginning because you feel that it’s sort of pointless. You’re probably doing it for the wrong reason then. Blogging should be done if you enjoy the activity of posting up things, not the fact that you want people to read you. Not the fact that you want to get “famous”. You get it? Blogging, the activity itself, is enjoyable to me. Even if no one read my blog, I’d still be doing it. That’s when you know you’re a true blogger.

Tip #9. Utilize Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are all avenues to connect to your readers even more than you ever can on your blog. A Facebook page is such a good tool to get to know your readers on a more personal level, address their concerns immediately and ask them what they want to see on your blog. You can also help more people on your Facebook page because you can upload beauty tips, mini reviews, looks of the day or just short snippits of beauty news, encouraging inspirational quotes. Anything really, it’s great! Of course, twitter helps you connect to your readers on a personal level. I guess they are interested in my very emotional rants. Haha.

Tip #10. Just close your eyes and imagine a beauty blog that you would love to read and then make it happen!

I do this all the time. My blog is a blog I love to read and it’s not to sound narcissistic or anything like that, it’s just that I’ve made it become my vision of what I think a good beauty blog should be like. I read my posts over and over again, not to proofread but because I like it. Why blog something that you wouldn’t personally like to read? Each post I put up on here means quality, not quantity and a lot of thought and effort goes into each post. Make your blog layout look visually appealing, make it balanced. Sometimes I see blogs with pictures not even centred, or way too big. It makes the blog hard to read. It’s only natural that I’m proud of them! I hope you’ll be proud of your future or existing beauty blog as well.

And there we have it!

Here are some “FAQ”s that I asked you on my facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/roseannetangrs):

I use a Canon S95 for my pictures and Picasa Editing (downloadable free from google) and then Picnic online to watermark my pictures individually. Good quality camera + good lighting = good pictures. My lighting comes from a very bright white light desk lamp that does very well :)

I have to say that you can’t really intentionally get bigger in the blogging world. It really just happens all of a sudden. I never blogged or YouTube-d to get popular or bigger. I did it because I loved doing it. I post pretty much every other day when I can. Not sure if I can keep on doing it during exam season though. I really should be studying even right now but I make time for it because my blog is important to me.

Nope! Just Picasa from google that you can download for free. I don’t really “photoshop my pictures”. I may remove a pimple or two because it’s not necessary for an eye tutorial to do a bit of clean-up but really nothing at all drastic.

Well nothing that’s different from domestic giveaways :) I do pay for all the international shipping fees to ship the parcel overseas. It can get expensive, yes. But I don’t see any other way! :(

You can’t really get people to read your blog. They sort of find you and if you have quality content, they’ll keep reading it. :)

Make your blog have “you” in it. My blog is what I love reading as a beauty blog personally and it’s very much “me”. Since everyone is different, you’ll have different beauty blogs. I also I guess really show everyone how to apply the product and a more step by step approach that makes me a bit different. I do put also effort into my writing even if writing pretty much comes natural to me. I love it!

Haha. I don’t know if this is relevant to this but you can check out my contouring post here: http://roseannebeauty.onsugar.com/How-Contour-Highlight-Apply-Blush-12582442

Well I just ask myself if I would read it and if I would, then there we have it. I also ask people on my facebook page sometimes to see what they want to read about.

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I hope you enjoyed this post!

Are you a beauty blogger and what are your beauty blogging tips?

Love,

Roseanne

Let’s Discuss: Are Beauty Bloggers Credible?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Let's Discuss!

Hey Everyone,

Let’s say you’re a newcomer to a beauty blog. You’re a little unsure who this person is, you don’t know if what they’re saying is true and perhaps you feel a little insecure that you’re trusting new media. What I want to argue for is why? In fact, The Straits Times recent Urban article published last Friday, “Beauty and the Blog” did spotlight Singapore’s top beauty blogs but subtly qualified them as unqualified for the beauty scene.

What do I think? It’s freakin’ ridiculous. Do you know why exactly they did that? Unless you have no background in media whatsoever, the media channels of today are in a big competition for funding and advertising. Blogs not so much but blogs yes so much are becoming threats to mainstream media – whether it be News, TV or even online media portals. Blogs are supposed to be special interest but publications like Urban and The Straits Times are making us look like liars. In their recent article, they spotlighted a 29 year old, not a credible survey source, just a random 29 year old for their main quote. This random 29 year old executive stated, “Magazines are more credible than random blogs because journalists do more research and provide objective opinons.” Apparently, she was quoted because she uses $1000 creams. Of course that woman who is able to afford that $1000 cream represents the whole of Singapore. Not.

Before I burst into flames, I just wanted to say how horrible that comment is. How horrible it is that the article was supposed to inform viewers of a new upcoming online trend but the fact that they bashed us is so immature and you know what, is so “press” of them. Look, I’m no stranger to hate. My last interview thanks to SPH Razor TV was called by the journalist, “I eat less to shop more”. I don’t. Look, you can go ahead and trust a media channel that manipulates sources and information to gain more views. You can go ahead and trust a beauty journalist who makes a claim that a product that they haven’t even tried before is great while when you flip the next page, an advertisement of the same product appears. Be my guest.

In fact, asking a person who has already worked in media whose name I won’t disclose, said that she was told by her editor to be more biased in her article to say more good things about them. When she said that she couldn’t because she didn’t even try the product, the editor just told her to “make it up.” We might be blogging about make-up, but we sure aren’t making anything up.

I’ve already highlighted how much time I spend bringing you the best and the truest content here. I’m always reading, reading blogs, doing my own tutorials, using my skin for you to try out a product. I don’t care where you got your information but for me, the credible source for a review is from someone who demonstrates that they have already tried the product. Once they have tried the product can they produce an accurate review. I don’t see that in Urban. Do you? What makes bloggers not be able to write objective reviews? I’m not going to lie, it depends on the blogger, but I’m protective of what goes up. In fact, I’m very protective. You can’t say that about bloggers. You just can’t. The whole thing is objective – we give the good and the bad.

Perhaps it’s other blogging genres that have given us a bad rep. Other blogging genres which show bloggers as unreliable, prissy, and unknowledgeable – I’m not going to lie – usually it’s in the lifestyle section. I want to tell you that not all blogging is the same. I’m Roseanne. I’m 20. I go to Uni. I’m a hopeless romantic with probably negative luck in love and I like to eat. I think I’m part dog sometimes, I don’t wear heels and I’m a normal everyday girl who takes the public bus, the mrt and I like bubble tea. So, you know me. I’m not prissy, I don’t put flowers in my hair and I really work hard for what I do. I’m just like you. It’s like you’re saying that you don’t have the authority to judge whether a product is good or bad. You’re insulting yourself. I really do care about this. I really do care about my blog. Most of all, I really care about you. I’m a person, a human being and this is my blog. These are my opinions and I don’t do lies, I don’t do biased stuff, I don’t do that.

So to say that beauty bloggers aren’t credible is something that hurts me because this is what I’ve created. You’re saying that 3 years and constant ongoing preparation and hard work isn’t credible? If you call me un-credible, I want to see Urban publish their editors wiping off their heavily powdered faces and showing me their bare faces and then with product on before they publish any review.

I want to see surveys and statistics. In fact, The Straits Times just published an article the prior week that included this specific research. “According to research BlogHer Inc and Devries Public Relations … beauty bloggers are twice more likely to drive beauty product purchases than magazines.” I don’t care what one random 29 year old said.

Look, it’s common knowledge that magazines and newspapers are run by advertisements. You choose who you want to follow.

What do you think about this?

Love,

Roseanne

21 Comments

All about Perfume: Perfume Collection and 5 Perfume Tips

Posted by roseannetangrs in Basics for Beginners | Top 5!

Hey Everyone,

I don’t know about you, but I have an absolute obsession with perfumes. If I walk into a department store, I’m instantly gravitated towards perfumes and out comes my sniffing nose to sniff pretty much all the perfumes the store has to offer. I also think smelling good on a daily basis is important to your overall image so today, I’ll be talking about my current perfume collection – a little obsession that has overtaken make-up for the meantime and has turned my vanity into a little bottle house.

YSL Parisienne Eau De Parfum

I usually tend to go for fresh or floral scents, so this one is a bit out of the norm. I bought this as part of a pack on sale and I think I was a bit on a shopping high because I honestly don’t wear this out much at all. The YSL Parisienne smells like berries, powdered berries, and it’s a very light scent. Not a light scent by ways of a refreshing one, but more so that you can’t really pile this up and smell overpowering. It’s subtle and slightly alluring. However, it develops into a funny musk smell throughout the day so I stopped wearing. My friend refers to this as the “grandma” scent. I don’t know if I disagree.

Givenchy Ange & Demon Le Secret Eau De Parfum:

This is a scent done right. It smells so familiar – like something my Kindergarden teacher wore but it’s hardly Kindergarden appropriate. Think sexy, Victoria’s Secret, alluringly yummy. If that makes sense at all. This is one of my favourites. It’s a sweet and sophisticated scent that smells like flowers, sweet citrus, jasmine with a hint of tea and an after woody base. I hope I got that right. I just gave it a couple more sniffs. It smells amazing.

Ok, ok. I admit I bought these perfumes because of the bottle. Just look how cute these bottles are. They belong on some kind of princess vanity with a bunch of pearls and lots of make-up. I love them. But, I guess they don’t smell too off in the perfume department either. Actually, they smell pretty good.

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy:

This scent is a very light, sweet, peppery scent. It has a mix of honey suckle, jasmine, caramel…and *sniff sniff* vanilla…and probably a woody note like sandalwood. It smells great. Funny how we associate smells to different experiences. I wore this perfume all the time when I was studying for exams so whenever I give it a whiff I think of stress. I know, how horrible. I also think of a certain boy. Hehe. Smells great, give it a try. One of Juicy Couture’s most popular scents in their little family of four.

Juicy Couture Juicy Couture Eau De Parfum

I am in love with this scent. It smells so alluringly sophisticated. The kind when you walk into a room and you pass someone and that someone goes “ahh” . It’s the kind of scent you want to go to sleep in Peter Alexander pajamas with, or the kind of scent you want to wear to an afternoon tea with scones and..well, tea. I don’t know if this is right, but I smell jasmine, woods, vanilla with notes of roses and lily flowers. It’s a wafting and beautiful scent.

JLO Glow

I’m not a fan of celebrity perfumes. Most of them make me kind of nauseous or remind me of teenange girls going on a wild frantic to see Justine Beiber sing live. But by the looks or rather the smell of things, JLO can not only sing, she can make perfumes. I’ve been looking for a scent for a long time that would smell differently when you smell it and then you smell off it. If a boy should smell like anything, they should smell like Emporio Armani’s Diamonds – that smells different when you smell the air after smelling the scent. It’s like letting go and letting loose, mixing with the ambience, that it can develop into another scent. I really hope this makes sense but JLO glow does this beautifully. In fact it has it’s own wikipedia page. It’s a very clean smelling, powdered smell that reminds you of a top notch resort house, white sheets, white sands, and deep blue water. It smells like rose, sandalwood, grapefruit, vanilla and musk with jasmine notes.

DKNY Be Delicous:

Well, this one is an ultra popular perfume isn’t it? This has the perfect balance of fresh notes and vanilla notes but despite it’s apple shape, I really don’t think it smells like an apple at all. When I give this a whiff, I think of New York, well despite the brand name, I really do. I think of this woman dressed in a sand colored burberry trench coat (sorry DKNY) with a…Marc Jacobs bag..along Saks Fifth Avenue, strolling into boutiques and having a good time. I guess in other words, it smells very day like. It’s a day scent. Grapefruit, cucumber, perhaps hints of apple, vanilla and sandlewood. Am I seeing a trend in my perfume collection here? I think I do.

Paul Smith Rose

This is actually one of my first perfume buys in the days when I first sort of started buying like crazy. I was so obsessed with this perfume, I would run to every store, find it and give it a whiff before spraying it all over myself before the sales assistant caught me. Yeah, classy. But this perfume is no short of classy. It smells like roses. It’s really a rose scent and I got all caught up with being Roseanne and smelling like roses but I don’t wear this perfume out often. Sometimes the musk gets a little annoying but still, it’s a very nice scent. If you are into roses, then this is for sure a scent for you.

Elizabeth Arden Pretty Hot

Right before I left for Melbourne, I met up with Elizabeth Arden and they gave this perfume to me to smell. I actually really like this fragrance. Inspred by the fearless, bold woman who knows what she wants, the Pretty Hot fragrance is I would say really spicy and sensual. I still think it lacks uniqueness though. It smells like a generic ladies perfume and nothing absolutley special smelling like the Chloe is, you know? Nonetheless if you are into blood oranges, apples, and peonies with bottom notes of amber and sandalwood, this makes a great perfume to check out at the store if you haven’t yet!

Other Notable Perfumes (Not Pictured because I finished them):

Chloe Eau De Parfum

Probably one of my all time, all time favourites. So unique. Nothing in the world smells like Chloe. It’s clean, so darling, so sophisticated and alluring. It’s the kind of girl who’s brought up well, very well mannered, wealthy and a good girl. Not the good girl with bows in her hair and hello kitty clips, the good grown up girl who’s confidant, bold, gentle and very considerate and kind. The girl who would pair up with a chivalrous man, doesn’t sleep or kiss around, a woman who waits for their prince charming. Lychee, Magnolia flowers, Amber and Honey..I would buy another one but looking at my collection, I probably need to go to PAA (perfume addicts anonymous).

Marc Jacobs Daisy

Who doesn’t love Daisy? I love this scent. Like I said, certain smells always pair up with certain experiences. I wore this perfume my first semester of uni and my best friend had the same smell too so I don’t really want to go out and buy another one because it’s very significant to me and I want to keep it at a first semester of uni scent, not a second or third semester. I love it because it smells fresh and there’s nothing that smells quite like it. A very floral and fresh scent.

Anna Sui Secret Wish

Believe it or not, I finished two bottles of this stuff. I bought the first one when I was in Kyoto in Japan and they have a lot of perfume sales all the time so I quickly grabbed this one knowing that I fell in love at first whiff. It’s peppery but it’s very hard to explain. It’s very citrus smelling as well. With notes of peach, melon and lemon, mixed in with a bit of pineapple from what I remember, with amber and musk as the bottom notes. It smells like what tinkerbell would smell like I reckon. For me, it smells like junior year and that was a good year.

Anna Sui Flight of Fancy

I love this scent and I got so many compliments when I wore it. Now, it’s gone though and I’m not a fan of re-purchasing perfumes simply because I buy too many. So hard to explain. It’s a sensational and sensual blend of citrus and floral notes. You need to check this out and spray it on yourself. Smelling from the bottle makes it smell kind of funny.

Back in Singapore:

1. DKNY Cherry Blossom – a no fail scent, sweet, floral and light.

2. Dolce & Gabbana Rose The One – I don’t like this one anymore. It smells like juicy oranges, just like Benefit’s Coralista but unfortunately it develops into a quite metallic scent so I don’t uber suggest it.

Perfumes on my Wishlist:

1. Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue

2. John Galliano Parlez-Moi D’amour

3. Dolce and Gabbana L’Imperatrice

4. Burberry Brit

5. Chanel Tendre

Top priority being the John Galliano but all scents need a check out from you. I love them all but parting with my money with my already stable collection would be too much, I rekcon? Haha.

5 Perfume Tips:

1. When you’re thinking of buying perfume at the store, try it on first. Don’t buy it on impulse (trust me, you’ll regret it). Spray it on yourself and walk around and then if you really like it, think some more and spray it on a sheet. Wait a few days and then buy it. These babies are expensive, you don’t want to make stupid mistakes!

2. What’s all this eau de parfum gibberish? Eau De Parfum (I translate it into perfume) is lighter than Perfume while Toilette and Colgone are lighter versions of the perfume. Sometimes the companies like to mix it up a bit so the Eau de Toilette smells a little more fresh than the heavy perfumes. They make more wearable day scents but they don’t last as long.

3. When a sales assistant tries to sell you a perfume and he or she knows their stuff, they’ll probably explain that a scent has top notes, middle notes and base notes. This is how the scent smells or develops. It’s like eating a Warhead. You’ll taste the extreme sour and slowly it develops into a sweet tasting candy, or even a food with an after-taste. The top notes are usually light scents like fruit or citrus while middle notes are more floral and a little heavier while the base notes are woody, or musk which are the heaviest notes. It makes for the more complex fragrance, something that’s very unique. There’s coffee beans around the store to help you clear your scent palette while you’re having fun so that each scent doesn’t mix with the next one.

4. Make sure you keep your perfume out of the sun, and not by a window. In fact, I tend to keep all my makeup in a shady place away from sunlight. It can damage your hundered dollar perfume, and you wouldn’t want that right? Don’t get it on your clothes either, it might stain.

5. Where should you apply your perfume?

Easy, on your “pulse points”. That means on your wrist:

Or behind your ear, on your neck line. This is because this is where your body heat sort of does its thing. Body heat + perfume = stronger scent. Simple equation, really.

and there you have it! I hope you learned something about the wonderful world of perfumes!

What’s your current favourite perfume of the moment?

Love,
Roseanne

Nude vs. BOLD Lips. M.A.C Dark Side and M.A.C Shy Girl Swatched!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Get the Look | M.A.C. | Tutorial

Hey Everyone!

If you take two lipsticks and two different people, you’ll have four different looks, not two. Why? Because makeup looks different on different people.

Today, I’ve grabbed one of my best friends, Danielle, to show you what I mean. We decided well not really decided, it was sort of on a whim, like all the things we do, and we thought it would be cool to reach out of our comfort zones to try on different lipsticks. Although we are pretty similiar people except I think she’s more of a social butterfly than I am, you’ll notice that she’s a cooler tone and her lips are totally different from mine. We’ll take the same lipstick and switch it up to compare nude versus bold lips.

This is us with our natural lip color. I honestly prefer my natural lip color more than any other lip color and that’s probably why i’m not much of a lip fan but Danielle always seems to have to always put something on. She loves keeping her lips nude so taking these pictures made her pretty uncomfortable and resulted in “deleting sessions” of pictures she thought she looked bad in every five or so minutes. I was just shaking my head in a corner. She’s probably going to kill me for putting up that cover picture.

Who are today’s culprits? For nude lips, we decided not to go too pale or too mask like, and went for a nicer semi-nude MAC lipstick in Shy Girl. As for bold lips, we went for the amplified Dark Side. It’s the boldest lipstick I have.

So here we go. Danielle first puts on the bold lipstick, laughing all the way because she thinks she looks utterly ridiculous in such a bold color. All the while I’m telling her that she doesn’t always have to go nude!

And then I start to put on my “nude” lipstick. I’m not really a fan of nude lipsticks. I feel like they make you look too pale, or me at least. I want something that emphasizes my lips, not exactly makes them dissapear.

With any bold lipstick, not using a lip brush, means the lipstick is for sure probably going to go out of the lines a bit. You’re supposed to also use a lip liner in dark bold lipstick cases because “bleeding” might occur. Not actual bleeding but as the day goes on, the lipstick might bleed out of the lines and that’s not hot. Here, it’s for “play” purposes. We were going to take it off anyway so we decided to skip the liner.

I added a gloss because I haven’t used my MAC lip glass in ages, in Young Thing, so I applied it over the shy girl coat.

And there we have it. You can see that bold lips really make your teeth look whiter while nude lips give that soft, angelic and seemingly innocent demeanor. I honestly think it really looks nice on Danielle! Her full lip shape really does the shade justice.

We then decided to switch lip shades to see how different the two colors would look like on each other.

To take off the lipstick, I just used a Simple Eye Makeup Remover. I know it’s for eyes but it’s not like we’re eating it. It removed it really well without the oil that most makeup removers seem to have.

And there we have it. I have thinner lips so it really looks like the bold lips just line my lips. That’s Danielle’s signature look with her nude lips! I also think that Dark Side as a lipstick looks better on cooler skintones so Danielle pulls it off really well. I think I shall just stick to my natural lip color!

I hope you enjoyed this “semi-pointless” post but nonetheless it was fun for us to do!

What lip color do you think you look best in?

Love,
Roseanne

Beauty News: Illamasqua in Myer – Melbourne, Australia! and Pricelist!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Illamasqua | Tips!

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to tell everyone that Illamasqua is now available in Melbourne, Australia! Illamasqua is known for their beautiful blushes, and pigmented shadows. The whole brand carries a dark, theatircal and mystical aura, even down to its slogan “Make-up for your alter ego”. From the website, Illamasqua states that it’s roots are from a dark 1920s club scene with a heavy emphasis on make-up for film and theater. Dramatic, emotional, dark, bold, Illamssqua emobodies all of these traits to create a very seductive and mysterious brand.

You can now find Illamasqua at Myer! Myer is the department store equivalent in Australia to Takashimaya or TANGS in Singapore or Nordstrom in the U.S. After lunch with a friend and checking out the MAC Wonderwoman collection, we stumbled upon Illamasqua. I snapped these pictures quickly with my Blackberry because I was scared that they might see me.

I have to say that they did a fabulous job with the store, even if it was supposed to be just a department store section.

It was already quite theatrical and beautifully set and laid out. Very impressed.

Evenly spaced and not too cluttered.

Beautiful backdrop!

They even had model mannequins in the back!

Now you’re probably wondering, let’s get to the nitty gritty. How much is everything?? Not to worry, Roseanne and her blackberry is here to save the day again. I took pictures of the prices, but they’re too small if I load it up here so here goes:

All prices are quoted in Australian Dollars:

Face + Body:

Matt Primer – $50

Satin Primer – $50

Light Liquid Foundation – $55

Rich Liquid Foundation – $55

Cream Foundation – $55

Powder Foundation – $55

Concealer – $33

Underye Concealer – $33

Loose Powder $50

Pressed Powder $50

Powder Blushes $42

Cream Blushes $42

Bronzer $52

Bronzing Duo $52

Powdered Metal $57

Illuminator $34

Illuminator Oil $84

Gleam Cream $60

EYES

Volume Mascara $40

Eyeliner Cake $39

Powder Eye-shadow $39

Cream Eye Shadow $39

Pure Pigment $39

Eye Brow Cake $27

Brow and Lash Gel $29

Sealing Gel $26

Liquid Metal $44

4 Color Liquid Metal Palette $78

Liquid Eyeliner $42

Precision Ink $43.50

LIPS

Lipstick $39

Sheer Lipgloss $33

Intense Lipgloss $33

PENCILS

Fine Pencil $29

Medium Pencil $33

Fat Pencil $34

NAILS

Nail Varnish $34

Nail Top Coat $26

Nail Base Coat $26

Nail Varnish Set $99

ACCESSORIES

Kabuki Body Brush $100

Foundation Brush $65

Powder Brush $90

Blending Brush 1 $52

Blending Brush 2 $60

Highlighter Brush $60

Blusher Brush 1 $60

Blusher Brush 2 $65

Eyeshadow Brush $47

Eyebrow Brush $47

Angled Eyeliner Brush $39

Lip Brush $47

Sponges $6.50

Tweezers $52

Eye lash Curlers $47

False Eye-Lashes $30 to $40

I would say they’re a little more expensive than MAC here is in Aussie, and for sure cheaper than NARS. Did I buy anything, nope. I haven’t had a lemming for anything Illamasqua yet!

Is it cheaper to get it here or shipped? Shipped right?

If you could, what would you get from Illamasqua?

Hope you found this post useful!

Love,

Roseanne

Beauty News/Giveaway: What’s New and Cool at LUSH? —-GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!—–

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings

Hey Everyone,

Whenever I swing by a LUSH store Australia, I always grab a copy of The Lush Times. This newspaper of smelly goodness is a directory of all the products that LUSH will offer for that season including new items and items that are very much loved by you and me. So, I’ve decided that since many of you aren’t in Australia or aren’t able to grab a copy of The Lush Times, I thought I might bring it to you online.

Here are my favourite picks from The Lush Times that I thought were pretty cool. I bought a giftbox from Lush a while back and I was going to give it all away to one person but I thought that breaking up the prize would be an even better idea so that more people can win something. You’ll see the details of the giveaway at the end. Let’s go, shall we?

1. Orange Blossom and Gorilla Perfume?

These are apparently new products to the range. LUSH has taken over the scent scene. In this picture, it features the different sizes and kinds of scents that they will be offering. The percentages indicate how concentrated the different formulas are. I think the Gorilla Perfume atomiser is so cute.

From those different variations, come the different kinds of scents you can purchase. I’m really interested in the Breath of God scent which is a blend of cedarwood, sandalwood and lemon and melon while Smell of Freedom (available in May) is a complex blend of herbal, woody, spicy and oriental scents to create a masterpiece. Lust also looks good – it’s a pure jasmine that offers a very seductive scent. Very cool.

2. Emotibombs

These aren’t new products but i’ve always thought they were a cool concept. Because most of us don’t have bath tubs, LUSH created emotibombs that you put on the floor of the shower. When the water from the shower head hits the emotibomb, fumes of happiness come up and it makes for a pretty wonderful shower.

The names are pretty funny. I would like the Up You Gets. I like taking showers in things that wake me up. It’s a lemon, lime and grapefruit disc. Yum!

3. Glorious Mud

This is a body mask and fizz! Weird combination, I know. Once you add water, you can let the cube fizz and put it all over your body . It’s full of Aloe Vera extract, Rhassoul mud, and sesame oil to re-hydrate, soften and cleanse. It also has a warm vanilla fragrance. Yum.

4. Feet Things.

I have to say that my feet are probably the most neglected body part I have. Again, I love things that give a powerful jolt and I reckon the “Running to the Embassy” body butter with tingly peppermint, pumice and cocoa butter would do very well for a foot bar :)

5. Lush Does Hair Dye?

Yes, now they do, plus as always, they try to go low on the chemicals so now they’re using the best henna and essential oils to create rich cocoa butter blocks for basically chemical free hair color. Interesting.

6. Zit Zapper – Grease Lightning

This thing uses aloe vera, rosemary and tea tree gel to zap zits. Who knew?

7. Lip Tints

A variation of tinted lip balm. I have the one in Snow Fairy, I’ll do a review when I can. :) I have it on my lips and for a first impression, I love the hot pink color that’s subtle and it feels fairly smooth on my lips. It’s not very hydrating though and gives almost the same feeling as a matte lipstick.

8. Knot Wrap – Lush turns even more environmentally friendly

These are LUSH branded vintage scarves that you can use to carry things. It comes from the Japanese art of Furoshiki which means “cloth for the bath” and it promotes caring for the environment and is also an eco friendly wrapping cloth. You can choose from Lush’s selection of products and have them wrapped in this instead. Lush also offers recycled pots for bath bombs. Good on you, Lush. Don’t kill me, but I still prefer your paper bags please.

ok, so before you throw a fit and tatrum asking “where’s my giveaway??” Ok, ok, it’s right here:

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! AS OF MARCH 5, 2011!

LUSH GIVEAWAY!

On this blog, there are three items up for grabs.

Prize #1: Bubblegum Lip Scrub – It smells so yummy and smooth lips ahoy!

Prize #2: Rockstar Soap – A LUSH classic

Prize #3: Honey I Washed the Kids Soap :)

Conditions of the Giveaway

1. You must be a follower of this blog. Look at your right to see how to follow the blog – either by onsugar or by Google Friend Connect :)

2. This is international but make sure I’ll be able to post to you from Australia and that you’re comfortable with giving me your address

3. This ends on Saturday, March 5th, 2011

What do I do?

In the comments section…

1. Tell me your favourite LUSH item or item you wish you had from LUSH and why?

2. State which prize you want

3. State your email address

4. State your username that you followed me with so that I can check back

Example Entry:

1. My favourite product from LUSH is the Amondopondo bubble bar. It smells so good and its super relaxing after a long day

2. Prize #1: Bubblegum Lip Scrub

3. roseannetangrs@gmail.com

4. roseannetangrs

GOOD LUCK!

The other two items – Snow Fairy Shower Gel and the Candy Cane Bubble Bar will be given away on my Facebook Page this week. Stay tuned on (http://www.facebook.com/roseannetangrs)

Love,

Roseanne

81 Comments

Beauty Secrets: 10 Easy Ways to Get Pretty using Household Products

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Tips! | Uncategorized

Hey everyone!

It’s common to see our vanities stocked with products from the department or drugstores, but little do we know that your local grocery shop can carry a few beauty secrets too. Here are a few ways to put some household products to good use whether it be using a hairdryer to “iron” out wrinkles or using baking powder to substitue your whitening sessions to save a bit of loose change.

1. Egg in your..Hair?

An excellent hair mask that you can make at home can be made out of eggs. Raw eggs. My good friend, Rinku, used to do this all the time and when she told me this beauty secret while we were waiting for the bus one day to go home, I of course looked at her funny but then I looked at her hair and quickly alleviated any doubts. Because egg white proteins are basically full on full proteins, they go on to fortify hair shafts very well to add volume, shine and texture. Eggs can be drying so make sure to use your favourite shampoo and conditioner after your eggy hair mask session.

To take advantage of eggs to give you shiny and voluminous hair, you can either:

1. Take an egg, whisk it, and massage the mixture into your scalp. Leave for 10 – 20 minutes and rinse with cool or lukewarm water. Do not use hot water unless you want to make an omlette in your hair which really isn’t a good idea. Shampoo and condition after as per normal.

2. Make an egg-white hair mask by and beat 1-2 egg whites in a bowl, add 5 tablespoons of yoghurt (full fat) and apply evenly throughout your hair. Leave for 20 minutes and shampoo and condiiton as per normal.

Sources: EHow & Planet Green

2. Strawberries..and Baking Soda = Whiter Teeth?

Yes it does! Apparently baking powder and strawberries mix to create the main component in whitening teeth – malic acid. For shiny, pearly teeth and to eliminate stubborn yellow stains, you can actually crush strawberries and baking soda into a pulp, then use your tooth brush and apply and brush the mixture onto your teeth. Leave the mixture on your teeth for five minutes and then brush your teeth with toothpaste for a better white toothy session!

3. Nailpolish Remover gets Everything Off!

Ok I understand that this might not be a beauty tip but it does great in removing any stains from paint, permanent market or any permanent thing. I love art and I went through a period of time when I did a lot of art projects. I’d get marker everywhere – on the floor and paint on my hands. I’m a big mess when it comes to art. Not knowing what to do and trying to avoid a big scolding by my mum, I grabbed my nail polish remover and it really does remove everything! It’s great. So, for anything I can’t remove – even Hair Dye on the table – I will turn to my trusty nail polish remover to get..well..everything off!

4. Baby Oil and Olive Oil removes Make-up!

If you can’t find your make-up remover or have run out, dig for old baby oil or even olive oil in your pantry and it takes off the make-up better than any other make-up remover can! It’s an oil based product which also helps if you have dry skin. In fact, Olive oil has been an ancient beauty secret full of antioxidants to give your complexion a needed boost. Maybe running out of remover isn’t so bad after all!

5. Tape removes clothing lint

I absolutley hate it when I take something out of the dryer and it’s full of those small balls of fur. It’ll take you a million years to pluck each ball of fur and sometimes I can’t find my lint remover. I always dump it somewhere before I leave the house. So when you don’t have anything, I’m sure you have tape somewhere. Grab a piece of tape and then stick it on your clothing and then strip it off like a waxing strip! It works for me :)

6. Hairdryer can Iron Clothes?

I’m probably the most laziest person when it comes to laundry. I have to admit although my make-up is organized, I don’t care much about my clothes. Often I have to admit that I don’t even take the time to fold and hang them. Instead, I just grab what I need from the dryer that morning. Who needs a closet right? Oh gosh, that was horrible of me to admit but that’s the truth. So because I don’t even really use my closet, you can tell I get even lazier when it comes to ironing my clothes.

This is a mum’s secret. We were at the hotel and we realized that our clothes got wrinkled during our flight in our luggage. My dad is pretty much a “let’s go now” kind of person so instead of taking out the iron, my mom grabbed what I was going to wear that day and started to hairdry it. Magically, the wrinkles totally ironed out. It was so cool! From then on, that’s basically what I do to my clothes.

Of course, you shouldn’t do this on a daily basis like I do – because apparenty the cotton will do something funny – because of the heat but it’s a good quick fix I reckon.

7. Paper towels vs. Blotting Sheets

I have just about the oiliest skin. I glow like no other so I find myself finding the need to blot whenever I see myself in a bathroom mirror. One fine day I forgot my blotting sheets so now I’m guilty of grabbing paper towels to blot my face. Unless you are concerned with hygeine issues, which I don’t think are necessarily a problem, then these are great! Just fold the paper into fours until you have a square and then blot away. It’s like magic and I never have to whip out another cent for blotting sheets anymore.

8. Hot Water Bottle for Overnight Puffy Eyes

Sometimes I do cry myself to sleep. I probably will cry on Friday night and throughout Saturday because I’ll be leaving Singapore for another four months to go back to Melbourne for Uni. Why is it so throughly heartbreaking for me? Because my family is here and so are a lot of my friends and friends I have made including y’all and comapanies and my dog and yeah. My heart is in Singapore when I’m in Australia and it is always very sad for me to leave.

To put a beauty spin on this, I always get puffy eyes in the morning when I cry. I look like a greedy shellfish eater who’s allergic to shellfish go on a rampage at the seafood buffet. To eliminate my puffy eyes, I don’t use any product. I simply grab a glass bottle or a tall glass, fill it with hot water, and put a bit of tissue paper around the glass so it’s not too hot. You will have to feel the heat though, that’s the only way it’s going to work. Then, I place the glass against my eyes and leave for about ten seconds a time. You’ll feel a bit of water coming out and and continue the process until the swelling goes down :) works like a charm.

9. No Shaving Cream? Just use conditioner!

If you’re out of shaving cream, you can also spread some conditioner on your legs to take away those hair follicles. It acts as a barrier between the shaver and sexy and smooth legs. I honestly don’t even using any cream but slather moisturizer straight after. Heck, you can even use your moisturizer as your shaving cream.

10. Aspirin – the new Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

There are so many uses for Aspirin. From helping relieving blood pressure to even reducing the chances of getting colon cancer. But, I bet you didn’t know that it should do wonders for dandruff as well. This is because of the salicylic acid that helps eliminate dandruff. Simply drop a few aspirin tablets into your shampoo and it will dissolve overnight and you’ll have home-made anti dandruff shampoo!

So, those are indeed my top 10 ways to get pretty using household products. Amongst others, like mixing pigment into vaseline to get your own lipstick or using lemon juice as a natural hair dye, it makes a sure fire way to save some money with things you can already find at home.

Do you have any beauty tips with your own Household Products?

Love, Roseanne

26 Comments

Beauty News: Spring 2011 Makeup Trends & Favourite Collections

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone!

So we all want to be updated and in the loop of what is hot this season. With Spring onboard, we’re looking into more color to tease the drab of winter away (especially this winter). Here are some Spring 2011 Makeup trends that you might want to try certified by Vogue and Harpers Bazaar that I thought were pretty interesting as well as a few collections that are for sure spring note-worthy!

BEAUTY TRENDS

1. Bolder Lips

Nude has always been pretty much in but this season, try going for bolder lips like fuscia, red, or hot pink. To tone things down, I like to take a powerful lipstick and then lightly dab the color onto my lips so it leaves a semi-stain, just bitten look.

This is from Fendi’s Spring 2011 collection, featuring a matte bright orange. Bright lips are in babe so pucker up!

a more wearable bright lip is also very in

A great way to take advantage of this trend is to go bold and sport a hot pink lip. It freshens the look up and is absolutley stunning with a light pink blush for that perfect flush. I will be doing a Valentines Day look this weekend and I’ll show you how to amp it up, but for now Katy Perry will do. If you have black hair, hot pink lips are so hot!

2. Vibrant Eyes

Work your magic this season by adding a little more color to your looks. You’ve probably seen the outbreak of Peacock collections that MAC and Shu Uemura both have launched this season so it is no wonder that color is totally in. If you’re not used to it like I am, just try adding one different color shadow to your look for the day, you don’t have to look like a peacock going to work right? I absolutely love the blue hues of her eyes.

Derek Lam Spring 2011

3. Just line your top Lid:

The look that Taylor Swift is pretty much known for has taken the slot for the next beauty trend. Use a slightly frosty skintone shadow, a dark liquid liner, line your top lid with a wing, add a flattering pair of false lashes and you’re in! I wouldn’t be surprised if you turned into Dita by sporting a luscious red lip and maybe a fake mole ;)

Cool Spring 2011 Collections

1. NARS Spring Sleek – Spring 2011 Collection

Despite the current trends, NARS did something daring again and opted to combine the colors of the earth when it blooms in spring into his own Spring 2011 collection which I think is a wonderful ensemble.

With the cool metallic shades of ice just melting, mixed into the warmer tones of the earth just peeking out of the frost of winter to the beautiful blooming petals of the flowers make Spring blossom, the NARS collection features a newer shade for lipgloss, NANA and a variety of shadow trios.

2. Make-Up Forever Tres Vichy Spring 2011 Collection:

If you are girl, pink and forthy, the MUFE Vichy collection will tickle your fancies. The collection is inspired by the dress of Bridgette Bardot and the iconic looks of the 50s. This collection would be pretty much perfect for Valentines day but I don’t know how your significant other would react to the bow on your fake lashes.

3. MAC Jeanius Spring 2011 Collection

Ok this is seriously cool. If all you wear are jeans or you’re someone that owns more jeans than tops than this is probably up your alley. I think the pictures speak for themselves but the line is inspired by Denim and Spring 2011 Denim trends

Thoe eyeshadows are adorable. They have stiches and a button!

4. Giorgio Armani Transluminence Spring 2011

Man, if I could look like that…(Megan Fox btw)

Giorgio Armani says that his inspiration behind his collection is: Imagine the richest purple and the deepest green both enlivened by a frozen silver. A soft black completes the palette, to be worn alone as liner or to add depth to smoky eyes. Freshened by the softest baby lips, a beautiful frosty blush completes this new way of facing spring in the depths of winter.” Sounds good to me.

The Colleciton Features:

-Eyeshadow Palette with shades as: iris purple, jungle green, melting snow as well as carbon black.
-The Translucent Pale Pink Powder
-Giorgio Armani Sheer Blush of a pale pink shade
-Waterproof Eyeliners in: Classic Black, Modern Brown and Grass Green
-Lip Balms in: Dawn Pink (518), Petal Pink(503) and Early Morning Rose (508).

Would I get anything? I haven’t had a lemming to buy makeup for a while but I think above all, I will be sporting a brighter lip, using a liquid liner and going a little brighter this season. I feel that trends come and go but what works for you works forever. What about you?

Sources of Pictures and Information:
www.harpersbazaar.com
www.becomegorgeous.com
www.vogue.co.uk

Love, Roseanne

Let’s Discuss: Paid for Blogging? Is it really that unethical?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Let's Discuss! | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone!

So before you start lighting up those torches and sharpening those pitchforks, this isn’t reality, I just want to know what you think and I want to give my own opinion of the situation as well. I might be walking on very thin ice here, so don’t take my opinions to heart, I will want to hear yours.

Well just a formal welcome to the first roseannebeauty forum. Here I encourage you to comment your own thoughts about the situation at hand. Today’s situation is about blogging for money, being paid to blog, the works.

What do I think of it?

The reality is that people are already being paid to blog, people are making a livelihood out of it and the average famous blogger makes $100 US a day. Most of your famous lifestyle bloggers like Xiaxue and others are being paid for most of their posts not just being sponsored (I know for a fact), but beauty bloggers aren’t. The reason why is because we think that you would come after us with pitchforks and torches if ever we got paid for a single review.

Why is that so?

Simple. We think that you would think us unreliable money hungry assbuts who would instantly lie to you if we received any monetary compensation for what we do. It ruins our whole image doesn’t it? Or does it really? That’s my question because I know for a fact that my values are strong enough that I would never do that and you’ve seen it and known it. So my question is, why would receiving money for what we do change anything?

If a singer who once sang for free started receiving money from his albums sold be less reputable than if he didn’t and didn’t receive any money for a talent? It’s just something to think about really and it’s been on my mind because you know that I’m totally honest and real to you so the reality of the situation is that everyone I’m talking to is like “roseanne, start monetizing” I don’t know how and I want to one day make this part of who I am but I can’t because we all have this perception that we would be less reliable even if we told companies that NO WAY am I going to lie, but have the power to charge companies a fee for a review.

And you know what, beauty bloggers, we should start charging.

Do you know why companies are asking bloggers to do reviews, given free products and invited to nice events? Because we are the next advertising outlet that costs thousands of dollars less (we are free) than putting up an advertising print ad on a bus or a television ad after your favourite tv show, plus we are able to reach thousands of people. You might think – Roseanne, are you complaining? Are you complaining about all the free stuff you get? Hunny, it’s not a bed of roses because roses have thorns. Sure we have the ability to say yes and no, but most of the time, it’s hard to say no especially if you’re thinking of establishing a network. Companies give us product, we review them but its not really all fun and games. You got to try it out for a long time, figure out a way to show you guys that it works or doesn’t work and then edit, watermark and then post it and answer comments. Do you think I was really enjoying that facial when I was doing it – nope, I was taking pictures and trying to remember every single piece of information I was given. It’s not as easy as you might think and it takes more than a few hours. It feels like a full time job, but how much are we getting – nothing.

But don’t get me wrong – I’m not money hungry. I do what I do because I love doing it and I love helping people, but it’s just what seems fair. And I do enjoy a fair bit going to events and meeting people, and seeing what every company has to offer. But with the onsugar tracker, I’m seeing more sponsorships than special interest because I feel like we beauty bloggers feel pressured. With every interest, sparks something that eventually turns into a livelihood.

The trademark of a good blogger is someone who is opinionated and outspoken. If that blogger is weak enough to be strayed for a few dollars in their opinions, they’re not very good to say the least. I’m not saying you should accept money willingly but charging a fee for an honest and I mean honest review is a different story with the ability to tell companies, hey, this is my fee for any review but look, I don’t do dirty water I tell the truth and I will review your product regardless of whether it gives me good or bad results. It’s only fair compensation in my opinion.

But this hasn’t been talked about before. I know I’ve probably pressed a few buttons I shouldn’t have pressed but I think you know that I’m very vocal and I have personal opinions that I’m not afraid to share, especially if you follow me on twitter.

Now, I want to know what yours is. What do you think about bloggers charging a fee, being paid, the works? Total honesty here. I’m sure there are bloggers out there who do it but don’t tell their viewers and I find that fishy because you know that here, honesty is the best policy. So, I’m being honest here and that’s what I think.

And no, I haven’t accepted a single dollar for what I’ve done.

Of course the bad side is that you’re scared that theres unreliability now and maybe making it okay would make it hard to seperate the good from the bad. And you would never know.

Weird huh?

Love,
Roseanne

24 Comments

Product Fightoff: Maybelline Dream Matte Powder vs. MAC MSF Natural

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | M.A.C. | Maybelline | Tips!

Hey Everyone!

I got a little request a while back by the lovely Jay, asking:

Jay has been with me since the very beginning so of course anything she asks I do. Haha. Check her blog out here: http://feistyskies.onsugar.com! and this is a great question for all of you wondering what exactly is the difference between the drugstore Maybelline Dream Matte Powder and the department store MAC MSF Natural. Simple, really.
From a consumer view, Maybelline Dream Matte Powder compared to the MSF Natural…

1. is much lighter on the skin

2. has a lot less coverage than the MSF Natural

3. has a less finer and smoother powder

4. doesn’t oil up as fast as the MSF Natural does

5. is much less expensive

6. Both set foundations well and don’t have any skin side effects

So which one do you prefer?

Well, again it depends. I use the Maybelline Dream Matte as an everyday powder – I don’t need as much coverage, it doesn’t oil up as fast and it does the job down pat. Sometimes it’s good that it’s not super smooth and flawless because I feel like I’m wearing less. However, if I know I should look absolutely perfect for say an event, I will use the MAC MSF natural because the consistency of the powder allows for such a smooth finish but watch out if you have oily skin because it might oil up faster throughout the day. The coverage is great as well. So, it really depends.

Honestly though, if you don’t care about being as flawless as you can, the dream matte powder is a great powder. It’s light and it sets your makeup while making it last longer. The main selling point I think is the price. At 46 bucks, the MSF Natural is pretty much too expensive to have as an everyday powder because you might run out – as you can see. This one is actually my third. While the Maybelline does run out fairly fast (this is my second) – at half the price, it’s a 2 for 1 deal so it’s much more wallet friendly. Both have it’s benefits and setbacks, but both do the job.

What do you think?

xx Roseanne

Putting Make-Up On Someone Else! LOTD?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone,

Thought I might do one of those blog blog..entries today that doesn’t concern a product. I’ve been doing people’s make-up lately for Meld Mag but I’m not sure I can post pictures on my blog because it is for the magazine, but I did my friends makeup for her dance show so I decided to do an LOTD entry! I believe this is my first LOTD entry :)

Products Used:

Face: I mixed Skin 79′s BB Diamond Collection Cream with Maybelline Superstay just to get her shade, then used my fingers to apply the foundation onto her actually perfect skin. I used MAC’s studio finish concealer on her under eyes and dusted MAC MSF Natural with a fluffy brush, MAC 134 all over to set everything.

Cheeks: I used Hoola by Benefit Bronzer with the MAC 109 to contour her face on the hollows of her cheek, temples and jawline. I then used NARS Deep throat as her blush on the apples blending upward. I used Shiseido WT905 to highlight her cheekbones and the bridge of her nose and tip of her chin.

Eyes: I used MAC Prep and Prime Eye in Light and then used UDPP overtop. The Urban Decay 24/7 liner in rockstar went as my base all over the lid and then I layered a purple eyeshadow ontop of the base. I blended it and added a darker purple on the outer v, blending into the crease. I used the dark smoke from the NARS Eurydice duo and shaded further her outer corner finishing it with MAC’s blacktrack fluidline to create a heavy winged tip. Benefit Bad Gal Lash swept on the lashes after a curl session with the Shu Uemura curler.

Lips: OCC Lip Tar in Stalker carefully with a lip brush with concealer around to sharpen the look!

Putting on make-up on another person feels entirely different. Even being familiar with another’s eye-shape makes any make-up application an unpredictable situation. Do I like it…I love it! I want to learn and experiment more but I just feel like I don’t have the time right now. :(

xx Roseanne

15 Comments

MAC Rodarte Collection – Why people are offended.

Posted by roseannetangrs in Let's Discuss! | M.A.C.

Hey Everyone,

If you’re up with the times, you’re probably aware of the controversey surrounding the MAC Rodarte Collection and the people in Juarez. Because I took some time to understand the situation, thought you might like this informative post of why exactly this isn’t so cool.

Thanks to theSPNation’s video, I totally understand the situation:

Rodarte is a fashion label by Kate and Laura Mulleavy feauturing avant garde fashion with lots of chiffon, a bit mysterious and dark and something I would assume that MAC would be attracted to. Their partnership is no surprise.

The MAC Rodarte Collection was inspired by ‘a roadtrip’ taken by the sisters in Mexico from El Paso to Marfa, Juarez and parts of Texas and with product names such as Ghostown, Sleepless, Sleepwalker (representing prostitution), badlands, Factory (where workers are making basically 2 dollars an hour) and finally Juarez, it is basically insulting the people in Mexico especially those in Juarez where there is currently a death toll of 6,000 and where murder and rape unfortunately run rampant. The fact is, MAC had intentions to make profits from this collection while insulting the people in Mexico and emphasising the demise of woman in Juarez.

From Temptalia:

Although MAC & Rodarte could have taken a total left turn, they didn’t. It’s their make-up, they could have refused to take inspiration from Juarez. But, theydidn’t.

Personally, this is insensitive. I may not be Mexican, but I am human. How can they make a collection based on rape, evil and drug killings? Let’s make a collection about the HOLOCAUST, we can call products: Man-slaughter, Rape, Gas Chambers. Yea, good idea. NOT. They might just be product names but the fact that it is inspired by that roadtrip and the fact that you want money from it is really inappropriate. Emphasising the rape and violence of women isn’t ever cool especially because I would say most of their customers, fans and clients are women. They really should have been more sensitive in shedding light on Rodarte and should have intiated the charity aspect from the start. It’s MAC’s makeup, their decision to be like I love RODARTE, let’s make some makeup out of their road trip instead of their fashion!

Even the model is ghostly, emaciated, and dead.

Reminds me of the blood that these woman have shed:

It was funny because in the beggining apology, they chose to donate only PART of the proceeds to the women in Juarez, honestly can’t believe that they could think $100,000 will fix it…

They have since changed their initiatives.

Source: http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/07/mac_creates_charity_initiative.htm

MAC and Rodarte, you need to stop making collections every month and start watching the news.

xx Roseanne

8 Comments

MUFE HD Foundation under Flash? Put to the Test.

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Face | Reviews | Uncategorized

I still spy a little white overcast, but without the flash it totally matches my skin. It probably is my horrible camera though (thanks for the heads up Sarah love!) Flawless though :)

xx Roseanne

13 Comments

TOPSHOP MAKEUP & PRICES

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone!

I visited the Topshop makeup stand @ ION and I must say, it’s quite a selection of products – lip glosses, eyeshadow trios, tints, bronzers, blushes and lots of nail polishes. All of the blushes were sold out before I got there but I have to say the makeup packaging is quite the adorable. I couldn’t take many pictures so here is one:

But I did sneakily note down a price list for all of you interested. Most of the things were 13 dollars, it’s affordable and there is a promotion – something along the lines of buy $60 worth of Topshop stuff, with at least 1 makeup item.. and get a free makeup tote (btw thats a ton of makeup if you’re talking sixty!)

Topshop Makeup Price List

Nail Polish – $13
Eyeshadow Duos – $13
Lip Glazes – $13
Lipsticks – $19
Blush – $13
Skin Tint – $23
Skin Glow – $23
Eye Brightener – $16
Bronzer – $19
Mascara – $19
Liner – $13
Kohl – $9
Crayon – $13
Gloss – $13
Eyes Trio – $23
Tint – $23
Balm – $9
Lip Polish – $13

I think that’s all they offer, but lots of variety, more than I would think they have, especially in the nail polish department!

Hope that helped, it’s pretty cool, bought nothing though because I kinda need to stop buying makeup at this point..

xx Roseanne

16 Comments

My Current Makeup Collection!

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Lifestyle | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone,

I thought I might blog about my current makeup collection through a series of photos. Watch the video for more in depth review! I don’t have as much makeup (i think) as some people may think I do simply because I often sell or if I can’t do that, I will throw it away if I don’t like it. Thus, it’s changed quite a bit since my last update. Enjoy!

Current set up in Melbourne..

My Everyday Brushes…

Various stuff :)

Palette’s Galore!

Love,

Roseanne :)

Urban Decay’s Singapore Launch on Feb. 4 – A few prices & thoughts

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Events | Urban Decay

Hey Everyone,

Kiyoko and I infront of Taka’s store but I went to Ion for the below review..

For all of you too busy out there to catch a glimpse of the new set-up for Urban Decay’s Launch in Singapore, here I am to save the day. Well, not really. The launch at ION wasn’t as fantastically awesome as I envisioned it to be – no people dressed as urban decay primer potions, handing out urban decay primer potions and little cupcakes with urban decay sprinkles (what a dream :)) – just regular sephora sales assistants wearing the same black shirts but with the words UD stamped on their backs floating around the seemingly empty looking launch. The event on facebook said the event was supposed to be open at 12 PM, I went at about 12:30 and I swear it was a little lonely with just me and another and what seemed like 10 sales assistants wondering where the crowd went. I seriously thought I would get pummelled, scratched and even gnawed on. But nope, none of that excitement at all.

Apparently though people were queuing in front of Sephora stores earlier than the event, rushed in got their stuff and fled out. :) It’s probably because it’s still a week day and its not limited edition or anything.

Anyway, I really wasn’t supposed to take pictures but of course Roseanne makes sacrifices for you all, so I quickly snapped two pictures in a sea of sales assistants just for you:

Man, I’m good. Anyway I found that the prices were actually really reasonable and little did I know that there is actually a third primer potion – its a matte nude one in Eden – how exciting! They’re $32 each and most products are in the thirty dollar range! Theres also a lip primer ($35) and lash primer ($35) next to the stars of urban decay – the primer potions. :) After those are the face primers ($55 each).

I should really be doing this for a living. Ok anyway yay! 24/7 liners, I’m def. getting my hands on these cuz I heard they are really good, smudge proof pencils and awesome enough, they are only $30 each! I expected a lot more for some reason! Palettes range from $40 – $60 I think.

So What did I get??

Nothing. Well, yet. I’m attending the Urban Decay’s Master Class by Eric Jimminez with Jasmine (xbeanie :D) on Saturday and I have a $75 fully redeemable voucher for Urban Decay (If i buy two items, I get another survival kit with makeup remover and stuff supposedly and I think 24/7 liner) and a goodie bag so look forward to a huge haul on Saturday :) Just a heads up though – I def. want a primer potion (duh) and 24/7 liners!! Probably will redeem the Original primer potion, Eden primer potion (want to try it out and review for sure, i didn’t even know it existed till now) and 24/7 Liner in Zero (black) and I know thats more than $75 but I can pay the $19 difference for another primer potion :)

So I hope this was helpful for you!

Love,

Roseanne

www.twitter.com/roseannetangrs

P.S Makeupstash.com did a comprehensive review including whats in the goodie bag when you purchase 2 or more UD products, and all the prices of everything:

http://www.makeupstash.com/2010/02/urban-decay-at-sephora-ion.html

Her UD price list:

http://www.makeupstash.com/2010/02/urban-decay-singapore-price-list.html

MAC Blot Powder VS MAC MSF Natural – What’s the Diff?

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | M.A.C. | Tips!

Hello Everyone!

I was requested by the lovely Laura or Spinnelrain on Youtube who asked the following:

Confronted with the same question when I first decided to purchase the MAC Mineralized Skinifinish Natural, of course I wanted to fufill this request.

Right off the bat, in my opinion, you shouldn’t substitute the MAC MSF for the MAC Blot Powder. I can’t say which one is better because they’re both my holy grail powders, I can’t choose one because they’re for totally different purposes. I wouldn’t set my foundation without the MAC MSF and I wouldn’t have an on the go touch up powder without the blot powder, so here is my take:

If someone came up to me and asked: “yoyoyo! can you use the MSF Natural instead of the Blot powder”. Nope. The MSF Natural is a powder used to set your foundation giving a flawless subtle glow but the deal is, it has coverage meaning piling this on throughout the day could lead to a quite caked up face. Not cool. Plus it doesn’t really mattify your face – I still have oilies mid-day if I don’t use my blot powder! Its a flawless finish but not in terms of oil control.

AND vice versa – also not cool. Unless you have flawless skin already, using the blot powder to set your foundation can lead to I’ve realized a slightly fairer tone (not in a good way though) and its a translucent powder so don’t even think of trying to hide additional flaws without any coverage! Its great on the go though – minimizes pores while its at it. :)

They’re both very different products, both wonderful, and I also suggest buying both.

I know its short but hope this helps!

www.twitter.com/roseannetangrs

Great Website – sgdrugstore.com & NARS 22% discount/Too Faced 30% Discount

Posted by roseannetangrs in Awesome Findings | Uncategorized

Hey Everyone,

Disclaimer: this website did not tell me to post this up.

Ever wanted to order from maccosmetics or from the sephora or nars website but couldn’t because you weren’t in the states? Well, I was browsing youtube and went on a channel who was the owner of www.sgDrugstore.com and they do special request orders from various US websites and will quote the price – you just give them the list of what you want and they will quote the price – converting it to sing, including shipping and international taxes etc. It’s such a great website!

That means you can have your urban decay, nars, cheaper mac brushes etc!

And to make it even better, they have announced that there is a 22% discount storewide on narscosmetics.com!!!!!! & Too Faced with a 30%!

NARS is a favourite of mine as all of you know – I don’t know what to do now haha. I just bought a $63.00 Korres Wild Rose Foundation and now that I’ve found this website, I want the sheer glow foundation because its only S$57.00 with the discount and shipping and everything! In Australia, the foundation is ninety something AUD dollars! Isn’t that totally amazing?? Check the website out if you’re interested – just thought it would be nice to put it out there!

I’m so excited! Oh by the way I have a job now :D

www.sgDrugstore.com

Love,

Roseanne