Category: Lip Products

Product of the Week: MUFE Aqua Creams

I’ve been wanting to do this review for the longest time, and finally I have the chance to do it! If you are looking for a cream shadow or a base that is smudge-proof, crease-proof, water-proof, sweat-proof, tear-proof and everything else (you get the idea), this is the products for you! The aqua cream has a great range of colors, which is definitely one of their assets in this era of cream shadow. I’ve been using this line since 2010, and have never looked back.

What is Aqua Cream?

From MUFE website:

The Aqua Cream is an ultra-pigmented, long-lasting waterproof cream. Highly concentrated in mother-of-pearl pigments, it provides an immediate color intensity with a luminous finish.
Its long-lasting formula will not crease or smudge under the most extreme conditions.

Available in 22 shades, the multipurpose Aqua Cream can be applied on your lips, cheeks and eyes.

Shades #5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are formulated for the Lips & Cheeks.
Shades #1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22 are formulated for the Eyes & Cheeks.

Formula:

Volatil oil
Filmogen polymer
Synthetic Ester
High concentration of mother-of-pearls and pigments
Kaolin mineral powder
Paraben free
Dermatologist and ophtalmologist tested

MUFE Aqua Cream

Pros

So, I owned 6 different colors (top-bottom, left-right):

  • #1 Anthracite – gunmetal with a silver sheen. The color is leaning towards dark grey than black. I love using this as a base for smoky eyes.
  • #15 Taupe – metallic medium brown with warm undertone. This will look dark brown on lighter skin tone, and light on  darker skin tone.
  • #11 Gold – metallic golden yellow.
  • #12 Golden Copper – rich copper with red undertones.
  • #9 Coral – light coral pink.
  • #8 Red (for cheeks and lips only) – red with orange undertone (think fire trucks). I feel that this product has a golden sheen to it.

Don’t mind the crack in some of them. I had to travel with it a few times (Canada-Jakarta-Bali etc).

Longevity

For all of them, I’d say they (all except #8) lasted a good 8 hours on the eyes. I’ve used this mostly on brides and photoshoots. Once it’s on, it stays ON. This product once it’s on the eyes, it will not move. Like I said, it’s crease-proof, water-proof and smudge-proof.

For #8, I used it for 4-hour and it stayed put throughout. However, when I tried to remove it, it stained my lips pretty much the whole day. It has a velvety finish to it when it dried, so if you prefer a glossy finish, you can apply a clear gloss.

Finish

Out of the 6 that I owned, 4 has a metallic finish (#1, #15, #11 and #12). #9 has a gold shimmer and #8 has a golden sheen to it.

Coverage

You can apply this as a wash of color, or you can build it up in layers.

Packaging

Plastic container with a screw on lid. Very light, made it very easy to travel with.

Price

The product cost CAD$28 for 6 gram in Canada (Sephora). In Jakarta, when I bought #9, it cost me Rp. 250,000 for 6 gram. It’s cheaper in Jakarta than in Canada..(that’s a first!). Since it is cheaper in Jakarta, I might go over and buy a few more colors..hehehee *update as of June 2, 2013* MUFE Indonesia is selling their aqua creams at Rp. 300,000 each. Now, for price-wise, it’s similar to the Canadian counterpart.

Cons

Again, I’ve to repeat this: work fast with this product and in thin layers. The product dries very fast and once it dries, there’s no way of blending it. If you apply this product too thick on your first few layers, you might see a build-up of products on the skin. There’s no way of re-blending it once it becomes lumpy.

Also, for that price, you are better off buying Maybelline Color Tattoo 24-hour gel shadow which cost CAD$6.95! However, the color range might not be as much as the Aqua Cream. On top of that, the color tattoo line is not available in Indonesia.

I’m giving the Aqua Cream 4 winks out of 5!

p.s.: for tutorials using the aqua creams, please check the links below:

Unboxing Beauty Treats Indonesia!

After a long wait for my first Beauty Treats package to arrive, I finally got my hands on it! Today’s box was quite late because apparently they were changing their courier service, so there was a delay. Also, just to let you guys know, if you did not input the special code given to you for payment confirmation, they will not notify you that there’s something wrong with your payment. You do have to contact them if you have issues with payment and subscription, don’t expect them to contact you.

Anyhooow, let’s get to the good stuffs! The package arrived safely. I love the little “sshh…it’s a secret!” slogan. I think it’s cute. Inside the package, there’s a little “thank-you” note, and I find it very lovely that they handwritten my name. I think it’s a nice personal touch.

Beautytreats indonesia

You will find a booklet explaining which brands and products are inside this month’s box. The booklet also contain the full description of each item and their original price should you be interested in buying the original size. I heard that they will be releasing a new section on their website where you can buy the full-size products online. On the last 2 pages, they included makeup tutorials, which you can also find on their Facebook page and website.

The beautytreats package comes in a pretty pink box, with black ribbon tied around it. I’m keeping the box, and probably will use it as an organizer or to keep my stuffs inside. It’s pretty sturdy! Inside the box you’ll find vouchers and booklets from the different brands that are partnered with beautytreats. Beautytreats indonesia

So, what’s inside this month’s box?

1. Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural lipstick – test set.

2. Rudy Hadisuwarno Hair Intense Repair Serum – real size!

3. Hada Labo Gokujyun Alpha Ultimate Anti-aging, Shirojyun and Gokujyun Ultimate Whitening – 15ml/bottle.

4. Travel-size Skin Aqua moisturizers (super cute!) – 15ml/bottle.

5. Face on Face Nourishing Blush on Blooming Rose – real size! (as big as an eyeshadow..so adorable).

6. Acne Pore Strip – 1 sachet.

7. Masami Shouko White Puff with Black Fabric – real size.

8. Koji Eyeliner Pencil – sample size.

9. D’eyeko lashes – real size.

Other subscribers might receive the following products instead of the Masami Shouko White Puff:

  • Biokos Derma Bright Set, or
  • Caring Colors BB Cream Fair White, or
  • Caring Colours BB Cream Everlast, or
  • Caring Colours BB Cream Luminizing, or
  • Lioele 3D Lifting Mask.make up for ever indonesia

Update: as of July 2, 2013, I’m very disappointed with Beauty Treats Indonesia. The June box arrived in July 2, the products as well as the amount of products inside the box were not up to standard. 

OCC Lip Tars – swatches

As promised, here’s my OCC Lip Tars collection. I didn’t swatch the black and white lip tars cause obviously it’s just white and black 😛

So the black and white lip tars are called True Black and True White. The purpose of those lip tars are to darken (True Black) and to lighten (True White) any lip tars. Vintage, as mentioned on the previous post is a deep-true burgundy colour.

The lip tars below are purchased from Sephora at Eaton Center. I believe if you buy the lip tars from Sephora’s website, they also come in the little pouch with a lip brush.

OCC lip tars

In the pouch, there’s a little instruction on how to apply the lip tar, which is nice. I might get the OCC Clear Lip Tar next time I get the chance to. 😀

OCC lip tars

So you’ve seen the other 3 lip tars that I’ve bought during IMATS. No, they don’t come in the little pouches, so I just have to use my own lip brushes to apply these. Anyways, from the L to R: Vintage, Queen, Stalker and Strumpet.

Queen is a Bright Coral Pink, Stalker is a True-Red and Strumpet is a Deep-Red Burgundy.

OCC lip tars

You just need a teeeensie-weeensie dot of the lip tars and wa-lah (read: voila)!

OCC lip tars

For Vintage and Stalker I’ve done tutorials on it 🙂

OCC lip tars

I cannot say enough how much I love these lip tars!

Pros:

  • Reasonable price – for $16 (sephora and occ websites) you get 0.33oz.
  • Very pigmented
  • A little bit goes a long way
  • Long-lasting
  • Vegan
  • Contains peppermint oil – which has a great smell
  • Not drying
  • Comes in a range of colours
  • Lip tars can be mixed to create your own colour.
  • Comes in a squeeze tube which is great for the kit and also hygienic.

Cons:

  • Can only be bought from OCC website for International locations as far as I know.
  • Might stain your lips (or other stuffs) since it’s super pigmented.
  • Can’t be used on the eyes (due to the peppermint oil)

 

YSL Rouge Pur Couture & YSL Pure Chromatics

As promised, here’s the 2 things that I bought from the YSL eventthat I attended last week! I bought the YSL Rouge Pur Couture in no. 17 and YSL Pure Chromatics in no. 7. As always, click on each picture to enlarge it 😀

YSL Eyeshadow Quad
YSL Rouge Pur Couture & YSL Pure Chromatics

The lipstick – YSL Rouge Pur Couture in no. 17 is a coral lipstick. You can apply this sheer almost like a balm or you can apply it as a lipstick. It has a satin finish, very moisturizing and has SPF 15. I’m not a big lipstick person myself, but I’d have to place this second on my favorite lip products (my no. 1 favorite lip product is Tarte Lipsurgence). This lipstick cost around Rp. 350,000 if I’m not wrong (about $35).

YSL Pure Colour Satiny Radiance
YSL Pure Colour Satiny Radiance no. 17
YSL Pure Color Satiny Radiance
YSL Pure Color Satiny Radiance
YSL Rouge Pur Couture
YSL Rouge Pur Couture no. 17

The eyeshadow – YSL Pure Chromatics in no. 7 is actually the Spring/Summer 2012 collection that was just recently released in Indonesia. There were several quads, but I was attracted to this quad the most, I think due to that beautiful gold and copper-red eyeshadows in the palette. This quad cost Rp. 600,000 (about $60) in Indonesia. The eyeshadows can be used wet and dry.

YSL Pure Chromatics
YSL Pure Chromatics no. 7
YSL Pure Chromatics no. 7
YSL Pure Chromatics no. 7

As you can see from the swatches below, the colours definitely are more intense when it’s wet (wet is on top, dry is at the bottom). The 2 light colors are way too light for my skin-tone if I use it dry, it’s a pretty highlighter colors nevertheless. The gold and copper-red colors look gorgeous dry or wet. If only they make these shadows in the singles/monos, I think I’d definitely buy it 😛

YSL Pure Chromatics no. 7
YSL Pure Chromatics no. 7
YSL Pure Chromatics no. 7
YSL Pure Chromatics no. 7