[Review] Make Up Forever Aqua Shadow

 

Please note that this product was sent to me by Make Up Forever for review purpose. However, this is my honest opinion.

 Say hello to the latest addition of Make Up Forever Aqua line, it's Aqua Shadow!

Aqua Shadow is a waterproof eyeshadow pencil with extra colored pigments and long lasting hold, containing a generous jumbo tip. It is both waterproof and long-lasting, resists seawater, chlorinated water and rubbing. And for the pros, this is the promise of fast results an withstand the extreme conditions of the stage or the heat of fashion show.

Despite what the product claims to be, I tested this product based on my daily needs, and that exclude contact with seawater or chlorinated water. Nobody goes to the beach in Jakarta and I don't swim with eyeshadows on, in fact I'm not really fond of swimming. However, wearing waterproof and long-lasting makeup never hurts.

Make Up Forever sent me Aqua Shadow in 24E but I decided to add a more wearable color to my collection and purchased 20E as well. 24E is a sheer pink color with gold shimmer whereas 20E is taupe with silver shimmer. This is basically cream eyeshadow in pencil form. To me that's a promise to practicality. The fat wide tip is helpful for fast application when I am in a rush. Specifically, 20E has been my favorite color for daily basis lately. The color itself mimics the color of my lid so it doesn't really look like I have makeup on. But it's the silver shimmer the really brightens up my eyes. 

In general, I love the texture of this eyeshadow. It's creamy and soft enough that I could just gently pat it to get enough color on my lid - no tugging required! - yet it's not too soft that it saved me from transferring too much product upon application. However, 24E is a little bit more on a drier side. It's doesn't transfer color as easily as 20E.

Aqua Shadow can be used as either eyeshadow or eyeshadow base. I really enjoy wearing this alone on my lid with no primer. And thankfully they don't crease. Yay! The longevity is awesomeness. I put this on the morning and it stays until evening. It does fade a little bit, but it leaves enough pigments on my lid. And I think that's acceptable. As for the waterproof claim, given my lack experience around water and heat, I tried to put the eyeshadow on my lid and rub it vigorously, and here's how the result looks like.

On the left is how the eyeshadow looks like after I rub it with water. As you can see, there are still some pigments left.

By the way, I tried the one with matte finish at MUFE counter, and that one didn't really meet my expectation as well as the shimmery ones I have. It smudged underneath my eyes after only three hours. But it was just my first impression, so don't really rely on my thought about the mattes. I'm still looking for reviews to convince me to buy the matte ones, as the colors are so beautiful.

The application is easy. you can either rub the product to the tip of your finger and then apply it on your lids. Or simply apply the pencil directly to the lid. Make sure to build the color, instead of applying too much product all at once. You'll have enough time to blend the color before it sets. If you want to layer it, wait until the first layer dries, and the add another layer. Here I included a video on how I use Aqua Shadow.

 And here's the swatches of the products:

MUFE Aqua Shadows consists of 12 colors with 7 shimmery finish and 5 mattes. It retails for IDR 250k.

How I Highlight My Face

Hi guys!

This post is going to be about highlighting. At least, this is how I do highlighting. Most of the times I do highlight and contour, even though I don't do harsh contour. Just a little bit to cut my chubby cheeks and to shape my nose, since nose could look a bit flat in picture. However when I don't have enough time, I'd pick highlighting over contouring. It's always easier to accentuate rather than hiding you features.

How I do highlighting is based on video tutorial by Wayne Goss. His technique is more advance and he also include contouring in his tutorial. Click here if you want to watch his. The 'triangle' technique under the eyes is not new though, Kandee Johnson also has a video about it before Wayne posted it. Of course like so many makeup techniques, I learned it and then shaped in a way that feels comfortable for me.

What I use is my MUFE Lift Concealer and Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush (or any paddle foundation brush will do). Sometimes I want extra shimmer so I add my theBalm Mary Lou-Manizer highlighter.

1. I always do highlighting after my foundation. Now, the general rule of thumb is “Cream to cream (or liquid); Powder to powder.” The bottom line is, you want to apply all of your powder products after you apply your liquid or cream products.

2. The area I work on first is my undereye, as it is the widest area. Using my foundation brush, I start by creating the frame of the triangle and then fill it. As you can see in the picture, I draw the line starting from the inner part of my eyes all the way on the side of my nose. Another line goes from my inner corner of the eyes all the way to the temple. And then draw another line to connect those two lines.

3. I also add the concealer on other areas that I want to highlight. Like in between my brows, halfway down my nose, on my cupid’s bow and under my lips (marked in white dots). I don’t apply the concealer all over the center part of my forehead as it will give the illusion of wider forehead. As well as on my nose, I don’t drag it all the way to the tip to avoid my nose looking bigger (since I don't do contour here) and oily. The concealer might look a bit too harsh but I give it time to set while I do my eyes. The pink area is where I apply my blush.

4. As you can see after I did my eyes, the area under my eyes doesn’t look as harsh as before yet the highlight effect still noticeable. This is the step where I apply my powder. But I usually just powder the center part of my face and dust a tiny layer of powder on the undereye area to keep the highlight effect.

5. As the final step, as I said, I add shimmery highlighter to bring out the area even more. Add lipstick of your choice and you're done!
   

Other products I used
Chanel Mat Lumiere Foundation
Ben Nye Banana Visage Poudre
MAC Powder Blush 'My Highland Honey'

MAC Eyeshadow 'Cork'
Stila Smudge Pot 'Cobalt'
YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres no.9

[Review] Make Up Forever La Boheme Palette

La Boheme Palette is Make Up Forever's first baked eyeshadow palette. According to the website,

Six new limited-edition shades in extremely pearly springtime pastel tones. The baked powder technology ensures fine, intense color particles for eyeshadows with 50% pearly particles and a paraben-free formula. Incredibly fresh and luminous makeup and intense, Bohemian chic eyes. The eyeshadows of this palette glide on with fingertips or a brush for two different results: applied dry for a sheer, luminous and natural effect or wet for an intense look, filled with pearly particles.

The palette comes in a cardboard packaging with patchwork design and stitches all over. With a purple ribbon on the side, it opens up like a book and displays six eyeshadows in convex form, placed side by side. I'm not really excited with the placing of these eyeshadows. It creates super messy sparkle between each other after application.

This is my very first time trying out baked eyeshadow. Baked eyeshadow is promoted as eyeshadow that needs to be applied wet for vibrant finish. While dry application gives you subtle and sheer finish. All these times the word 'sheer' holds me from purchasing baked eyeshadow. And yet, out of curiosity, I decided to give this palette a try.

Six eyeshadows in this palette are Green Lagoon, Vegetal Green, Beige, Parma Purple, Brown and Coral. Natural Green and Beige have pearly finish while the others have sparkly finish.

Dry application.
Apparently, when applied dry, these eyeshadows are not super sheer like I thought it was going to be. In general they deliver great pigmentation in subtle colors. The shimmer and sparkle don't really show up which makes it appropriate for day time look. However keep in mind that eyeshadow with sparkly to glittery finish are really prone to fall out, especially when applied dry. Green Lagoon is the only color that applies sheer even on top of primer. Brown is a bit chalky when applied on it's own as you can see in the picture below, but a layer of primer underneath it could totally fix the problem.

Wet application.
Considering baked eyeshadows are meant to be applied wet, obviously these eyeshadows give the best performance when applied wet. The colors are more vibrant and they have sort of a metallic touch to it. Wet application really emphasizes the undertone and the shimmer and sparkle in these eyeshadows. Which makes some of these even prettier and other are even scarier, depends on whether or not you like glittery eyeshadows (Eventhough it describes as sparkly, Parma Purple and Coral look more glittery rather than sparkly). Wet application also decrease the chance of having glitter fall out since it automatically turns into a creamy consistency. It sticks better to the base and applied effortlessly. Lagoon Green shows its true color when applied wet. It has a beautiful greenish gold shimmer which makes it unique. I didn't understand why they named a turquoise eyeshadow as green, but I can totally see it once it applied wet.

You can either wet your brush and then dip the brush to the eyeshadow or pick up the eyeshadow with dry brush and then wet it either by spraying it using setting spray like MUFE Mist & Fix or carefully dip to water (just a bit!!!!!). I recommend the latter because that way you get the eyeshadow soaked evenly and saves you from chalky application. I currently don't have any setting spray so I just touched the surface of the eyeshadow-covered of the brush on a wet tissue. (Not the best option, definitely thinking about purchasing Mist & Fix)

Click for larger image

I swatched these eyeshadows in three different form. On it's own, on primer (Urban Decay Primer Potion 'Eden') and wet. Most of the colors show up as pigmented on it's own except for Lagoon Green. But of course I always recommend applying eye primer as a base. And as you can see Lagoon Green looks much better when applied on top of a primer. While dry application is enough to make these eyeshadows stand out, wet application delivers more vibrant pigmentation and enhances the sparkle and shimmer of the eyeshadows.

As for the color combination. There are two colors that can work as highlight, which is Beige and Coral. And only one color that works as definition color, which is Brown. Beige and Coral look pretty as highlight. But constantly pairing all the shadows just with Brown could end up in boredom. But, back to the main inspiration of the collection. Bohemian is about living freely without following the conventional rules. So go ahead and be creative with this palette (which is more like an invitation for myself).

In the end, I'd recommend this palette. If you like or you wanna try baked eyeshadow. If you like or don't mind glittery eyeshadow. This palette doesn't disappoint.

I hope you find this review helpful for you. Especially if you are thinking about purchasing the palette, hope this review could be a reference. I tried to post this review as soon as I can considering this is a limited edition. If you're interested, Make Up Forever La Boheme Palette is available at IDR 525k.

Make Up Forever Spring 2012 La Boheme Collection and a Fun Makeover

In case you haven't heard, Make Up Forever has launched their Spring 2012 Collection called La Boheme. According to the website, La Boheme collection is inspired by bohemian spirit with carefree attitude. They play a lot with floral motifs, ethnic and gypsy influences, handmade embroidery, patchwork and prints.

This collection consists of

• La Boheme eyeshadow palette

• Aqua Eyes in 'Gypsy' (matte black brown)

• Rouge Artist Natural in 'Folk' (red coral) and 'Boheme' (peach beige)

I was invited to the pre-launch of the collection but I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend the event. Therefore, I could not report it on my blog. I decided to visit the counter myself to check on the collection. As you can see this collection captures the Bohemian style mostly in the packaging. The Aqua Eyes and Rouge Artist have flowers prints on the packaging. While the eyeshadow palette is decorated with patchwork design.

When I arrived at Make Up Forever counter in Pondok Indah Mall, apparently they are currently in the spirit of introducing the new collection. I saw many ladies are sitting in front of the mirror, having a makeover. Of course I didn't want to miss it! The sales lady who helped me that day was Dian. She was so so so nice. I went to the counter wearing only foundation and mascara and I left the counter with full makeup on, including the latest La Boheme collection.

Products used.
Face
Channel Mat Lumiere Foundation
MUFE Velvet Finish Compact Powder. Not sure which shade
MUFE HD Concealer to conceal those nasty acne scars.
MUFE Sculpting Blush no.4
MUFE Sculpting Kit no.2

Eyes
MUFE Eye Prime
MUFE La Boheme Palette

• Lagoon Green
• Vegetal Green
  
• Brown
• Beige

MUFE Kohl Pencil. Don't know the number but I'm sure it was black with gold shimmer. The pencil used as a base for Brown eyeshadow.
MUFE Aqua Eyes Gypsy
MUFE Smoky Lash Mascara
MUFE Eyebrow Pencil in Blond. And then she layered it with the contour part of Sculpting Kit no.2

Lips
MUFE Lip Line Perfector
MUFE Rouge Artist in 'Folk'
MUFE Lab Shine in 6S



All MUFE products were applied during makeover. I just couldn't believe how generous Dian was. Especially because she didn't even know that I was going to purchase the palette. But she patiently did her job as a sales assistant, explained all the product and answered all of my questions. She definitely deserves a shout out! I wanted to try the blue and green ones but as you can probably see the color didn't really show up on my eyes. Before makeover, Dian asked me what color that I want to try. I told her I want the blue one but kind of afraid that the color will look too bright on me. Looked like that kinda made her hesitate to put colors on my eyes. LOL! She just patted the blue color very lightly on my lid so the color appeared super sheer. But then I told her to make it smokey that's when she put the black kohl pencil and Brown eyeshadow on top of it. In the end, I decided to purchase the palette.

I was thinking about writing the review of La Boheme palette at once in this entry. I tried but the entry got too long. So don't forget to check out the review of the palette in next blog post! ;)

Current Eyebrows Routine

Hi guys! This is going to be about my current eyebrows routine. Thought I'll share it with you all.

First of all, let me stress out the importance of shaping your eyebrows! Even if you don't wear a lot of makeup or not interested at all, please take time to shape of your brows. Or maybe trim it, at least. I'm not gonna talk about how eyebrows could change how your face shape looks like, because most of time it's not a very convincing reason and not everybody cares about it. My reason is, well groomed eyebrows gives you a neat appearance. That's all. Who would want to carry around a bunch of bushes above of their eyes? I used to neglect my eyebrows as well. But since I was introduced to threading, that's when the addiction started. I love neat shaped eyebrows and I can't help staring at people's eyebrows first, especially girls with makeup on.

My natural eyebrows shape. Mostly straight.

Eyebrows is one of my makeup basic. Whenever I'm in a hurry, I'd gladly ditch my eyeshadows, eyeliner and even lipstick. But I'll do my foundation, eyebrows and a pinch of blush. My eyebrows routine includes threading, obviously. Waxing is my second option and I almost never shave it. My favorite threading place is Narsih, which is a famous affordable waxing and threading salon in South Jakarta. I love the place because it always gives the best result but I hate that the place is super crowded and I have to queue about thirty minutes almost everytime I visit the place. Anyone know other place to thread eyebrows, please let me know. When I moved for a year to Semarang, I learned to thread my own eyebrows from youtube. I still have professional do my brows but being able to thread my own brows helps A LOT in so many emergency situations. Shape wise, I prefer high-arched eyebrows shape which has nothing to do with my face shape (although it is the right shape for my round face), I just want more space to apply highlight on my browbone. Haha!

I didn't immediately do my makeup routine after my first threading experience. Back then, I thought, having shaped eyebrows means I didn't have to do my brows anymore. Boy how wrong was I?! I didn't realize how washed out my brows looked like back then. I even almost didn't fill my brows when I did my own makeup on my graduation. Thank God my mom told me to! Otherwise I'll have a no-brows look in my graduation pictures.

When I first started to do my brows, I used just eyebrow pencil. I raved about Viva eyebrow pencil before. But the more I was introduced to other products, the more options I had. So now I already picked my favorite products for my routine. And here they are.

Mac 'Cork' satin eyeshadow
Revlon Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown
Revlon slanted brush. This is actually not for sale. I got this as GWP. But any slanted brush will do. My point is, it doesn't have to be an expensive brush!
MUFE Khol Pencil in 2K, which is optional.

I prefer MAC Cork and Revlon eyebrow pencil because the color is more neutral and doesn't look too brown when applied. I don't even know how to describe the color on my brows. Not brown, not taupe, definitely not grey! Just enhancing my brows!

Here's the step by step.

1. This is my bare eyebrows. I prefer to do my eyebrows after I apply my foundation.
2. Using slanted brush, I fill the beginning of my brows, all the way to the tip of my arch with MAC Cork eyeshadow. I don't fill the tail of my brows with eyeshadows because the tail is too thin.
3. Using Revlon eyebrow pencil, I line the lower part of my eyebrows. It helps a lot if the pencil was sharp. I start from the beginning all the way to the tail. This is where I determine how long my eyebrow tail should be.
4. To shape the arch, I use my brush with eyeshadow left on the bristle to blend the eyeshadow on my arch all the way to the tail. (see the difference in pictures no.3 and no.4). Basically, on daily basis or if you're in a hurry, you can stop at this step. But if you want more definition, continue to the next step.
5. Frame the brows with white eyeliner. I use MUFE Khol Pencil in 2K. And then blend the liner, heading out from your brows. Don't blend into the brows otherwise you'll ruined the color you've applied earlier. This step is to give highlight to your eyebrows.
   
6. Done!
   

So that's my current eyebrows routine. I know it seems like a lot and takes a lot of time. But I love the result and I don't always do the whole steps, anyway. Hope this helps.

Make Up Tips from David Arbid

Hey guys.

After a previous fun post, let's move on to a bit more serious topic. In this post I’m going to share with you what I got from Meet & Greet with David Arbid. You might find this post kinda boring since there'll be too many writings and not much pictures, which is totally the opposite of my other entries.

Honestly, I’ve never heard about David Arbid before. Little did I know, he is actually the international brand ambassador for Make Up Forever HD line. His job includes traveling from one country to another, presenting about MUFE HD line, tutoring make up artists or common people who are interested about make up, which includes bloggers. He works together with Dany Sanz, founder of Make Up Forever. If you are familiar with MUFE products and their HD line, I’m sure you have heard about their no-retouch campaign. David Arbid is actually one of the make up artists who worked for the advertorial. If you go to mufepro, which is Make Up Forever official youtube channel, there’s this video of David doing an interview about HD products. So that’s pretty much how big of a make up artist he is.

You see the red haired girl with a cheetah next to her? David did her make up.

The line itself has been around since 2008. In my opinion this event mostly is to share more information about makes up basics, in general. And also to learn more about their HD line.

The event started with Ina Balasong, Make Up Forever General Manager, welcome us. She was very glad to see how enthusiast the bloggers are. There are two events that were held on the day. The earlier session is for media and the later is for bloggers. I think bloggers here represent common people, who are not professional make up artist nor poeple who works in beauty industry, and later going to write and share stories about the products just because they like or dislike it.

First, David Arbid told us a little bit about the background of this line. Make up for cinema has come a long way, from those days where television can only provide black and white, where make up doesn't really play a big role, to higher and higher pixels cameras that accentuate all the flaws on your face and even unnatural make up. MUFE HD line was designed to deliver flawless looking skin and yet still look natural. Even now, camera is pretty much everywhere. Almost everybody has pocket camera and, not to mention, smart phones. People can take pictures anytime, anywhere. So HD line works not only for high definition camera, but also pocket camera and smart phones so you can look good anytime.

The are 3 steps.

• Step one is hydration and smoothing the skin. This is where you prime the complexion using elixir and primer. You can use both or just one of those.
• Step two is to add coverage for your face using foundation and concealer.
• Step three is finishing step using blush and mineral powder.

Step One.

While working on the model, David used a regular foundation brush and a mixing palette. He started by applying elixir on the model's face.

He uses the brush the apply elixir that works as base for your make up and also moisturize your skin. It provides long lasting hydration to the skin, about 520% after 15 minutes and helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles on your face. You can keep the elixir in the fridge.

Step Two

The foundation works for any skin type. This oil-free foundation gives you a medium coverage with natural glowy finish. Again, he applied the foundation with the foundation brush. He told us to apply your foundation all the way to the neck to make your foundation looks well blended. Now, here's how he does it kinda differently. Well, at least different than how I usually apply my foundation. David applied a little product along the jaw and the neck and then, using his palm, he gently blend the foundation on the neck area.

David really emphasized the fact that foundation only works to cover. Which means, you have to have a good base and that is healthy skin. Make sure you take good care of your skin properly on daily basis to get the best result from your make up. Remember that foundation is not skincare. It's something you wear to accentuate what you already have, not something that will magically change you. Apparently this is an important point even David actually told us, "Please write this down on your blog" and that's what I'm doing. lol.

Concealer is applied after foundation. I know there are mixed opinion about whether you should apply your concealer before or after your foundation. But here's the logic, when you apply your foundation first, you can see areas that will need more coverage or not. If, with your foundation, you can already cover your under eye area, there's no need to apply concealer there. Therefore, you'll use less product on the face.

Another way to use the concealer, other than to conceal the imperfection, is to use it as a highlighter. That is, if you prefer a matte highlighter. Or if you want a shimmery finish, you can use their recently launched HD Uplight.

Step Three

HD blush has a matte finish. It works not only for your cheeks, but it's also safe to be worn on your lips as well as on the eyes.

This blush looks very natural and rather foolproof, it's almost impossible for you to fail wearing this blush. But, if you think your blush it too pigmented on your cheeks, all you have to do is dab a thin layer of foundation on top of the blush. If you think the blush is too matte and tacky, you can mix it with primer. And if you want shimmery finish, you can also mix it with Uplight.

The powder is what you use to set the whole make up. HD powder is a finely milled silica based powder that comes in one universal translucent shade to match all skin tones. Using MUFE kabuki brush is highly recommended to apply the powder.

David did mention ab0ut pictures of celebrity that came out few time ago. I'm sure you've seen pictures of Eva Longoria and Nicole Kidman with white cast all over their face. Well, that's the result when you don't use the powder properly.

Once the powder set on your face, remember to always sweep the excess powder from your face so you won't end up with white cast.

While the make over is in progress, the whole process was being recorded using video camera and being aired directly to an HD television, so we can see the result in real life as well is on TV. Honestly, in real life, I didn't really see the difference on the model's face, considering she has a flawless complexion already. But on TV I can see how glowy her skin looks. Really gorgeous.

Okay, I think that's all that I want to share with you about some tips from David Arbid. Excuse the super long post. Hope that would be helpful for you.

Anyway, here's what I got from the goody bag. Really can't wait to give them a try and I'll report back in this blog.

MUFE Blogger Event Meet & Greet with David Arbid (Picture Heavy!!!)

Today Make Up Forever is having an event, which is a meet and greet with their international make up artist, David Arbid who is currently visiting Indonesia. They sent out an invitation about a week ago, stating that this is an event for beauty bloggers and I'm allowed to bring friends to the event.

I was really really excited. I have received some invitations from Makeup Forever before, but sadly the timing was never right. Imagine how happy I was when I received the invitation, knowing that this time I can actually attend the event. It's ecstatic!

The event was held at Diagonale Lounge, Plaza Senayan. Apparently, the whole place was booked for the event. So we had the place, just for us to have fun. Since I was allowed to bring friends so I asked my friend, Hanny, to come with me.

Pardon me because this is my very first time attending a meet and greet as a blogger so I was kinda unprepared. The only thing I have in my mind is to carry my camera without remembering how a blocknote and a frickin' pen would be essential! Oh God. I had to borrow a pen from the waiter and also asked him if he has a piece of paper. Speaking about rookie. Ugh!


Thankfully I had Hanny with me. I asked her to help me write down what David Arbid said, while I was busy taking pictures. She also helped me taking pictures with other fellow bloggers. So nice of her. I also asked my sis to come, unfortunately she was unavailable due to her hectic work schedule.

When we arrived at the lounge, the place was decorated with some MUFE products on display and also makeup station.


Ina Balasong, General Manager of Make Up For Ever Indonesia, is giving a small talk before the demo started.

David Arbid and the model before makeover.
Products used during make up demo.

Taking pictures with David Arbid. It was David's idea to pose as if he is doing make over on us. So we are sitting on the chair, with him next to us holding a brush. Everyone was doing the same pose, until Hanny stepped in. She really cracks me up sometimes.

Stella and Priscilla doing an interview for their blog.

My very first time meeting the bloggers. Imagine being surrounded with people who has the same passion as you. It was a blast. And they are so nice too! So glad to meet you, ladies.


Make Up Forever team with David Arbid. Thank you so much for the opportunity. More event like this, please?

Beauty bloggers with David Arbid. We definitely love this guy!
The bloggers from left to right: Priscilla, Desy, Nisa, Stella, Hanna, Susi, Me and Franky

Goody bag!

That was a real great experience to have a meet and greet held by a brand as big as Make Up Forever. And in my opinion, really is a great way to support local beauty bloggers as well as introducing their products to common people. After all, we bloggers, are not expert or whatever. We are just a bunch of people with passion and interest for make up.

So, thank you Make Up Forever Indonesia for holding this event and the adorable David Arbid for the time tutoring us, sharing tips, tricks as well as experience about make up. I'm gonna post David Arbid's tips and advice about make up in separate post. Because otherwise this is going to be a very long post. For other bloggers who wants to have the pictures without the watermark, please leave me a message and give me your e-mail address so I can contact you.

And a special shout out to our fellow blogger in Jogjakarta, Fifi. We are all agree that this event would be much more exciting if you were here. So, next time maybe?