Watsons Sightings: ZA Impact Lash Mascara!

Dropped by Watsons to check out the new ZA Impact Lash Mascara after all the hyped up advertisements on CLEO October 2011 issue. You can’t blame me, I was the BIGGEST fan of their (now old) ZA Cutie Curl Mascara (as reviewed previously here). I am obviously obsessed with ZA because it’s the first brand of makeup I had purchased from. It’s been 7 long years and I’m still a fan of their 2way foundations and mascaras. Same can’t be said about their skincare and eye shadow ranges though because they totally failed me.:(

In the past 7 years, I am proud to see ZA grow in terms of their product ranges and marketing directions that the company had taken.

As such, when they first advertised their new Impact Lash Mascara on CLEO, I knew I had to RUN OUT and get it so I could compare the new and old in terms of performance.

Here’s sharing some pictures from the brochure for the Impact Lash Mascara:

Some pictures from the new ZA display stand at Watsons (sneakily snapped with my phone so apologies for the bad quality):

testers

current promotional set (ZA Impact Lash Volume + Eye & Lip MU Remover 30ml)

New ZA Ever Brow liners

From Watsons’ in house “Simply Makeup” catalogue where they compiled the recent new cosmetic offerings:

Found this really interesting brand of falsies – PaperSelf (first saw it on sephora.com but now it’s here):

For $23.90 they seem a little steep but the designs of the lashes are really interesting and cute! I can’t wait to see them in stock! I love the peacock design ones 🙂 They are retailing at USD19 on the Sephora website so $23.90 is not exactly all that marked up.

Also spotted some Candy Doll items:

Bebe Poshe:

I am quite impressed with IMM Watsons because they seem to carry most of the goodies featured. Other outlets include larger ones like those at Ngee Ann City, Bugis Junction and Jurong Point. And I’m very happy with the direction Watsons is taking in Singapore, it’s time they realize that there is a huge market here with more local women getting into makeup and a little bit more variation (apart from the usual Revlon, L’Oreal, Maybelline) won’t hurt 😉

Lastly, these are what I picked up today:

ZA Impact Lash – Volume & Long ($17.50 ea)

ZA Eye & Lip MU Remover 30ml (free with Volume mascara)

Also bought 2 x 18ml bottles of Biore Eye & Lip MU Remover at $2 each, these are perfect sizes for travelling!

I will do a review soon on these new ZA babies as soon as I get around to it… It’s a little hard especially when I have 13 mascaras unopened and am currently alternating with 4 😦 I have some serious compulsive buying issue

Drugstore Series: ZA Cutie Curl Volume Mascara

I haven’t done a mascara post before, so I thought it’d be nice to introduce my favourite drugstore mascara. I haven’t tried many counter brands because I really cannot justify paying $40 for something that I’d have to throw out in 6months max.

This is not a new product but ZA Cutie Curl Volume Mascara is one that I had repurchased many times over. Besides their 2way foundation, ZA makes impressive mascaras too:)

It comes in a sleek plastic black tube with a metallic teal label and measures a wee bit more than 10cm.

It has a regular conical wand with plenty of short stubby bristles like teeth distributed evenly all round. This makes it super easy to reach even the shortest lashes.

 

The mascara has successfully volumised my pathetic asian lashes at the base but it might be clumpy if you are not careful. It’s important to comb out any clumps with a old clean mascara wand to achieve that long-lashed look.

My Thoughts:

To get my lashes to show up as visible on camera is no mean feat so this mascara makes me very happy! Also, it holds curls really well so no fear of floppy lashes halfway throughout the day. On its own, it doesn’t really curl lashes much but it does a fine job of volumizing. However, be careful with the clumps as this could get really clumpy in 3 coats or more so avoid piling on more than you need.

A good time to get this will be during Watsons’ 20% sales which happen quite frequently. Sometimes these mascaras come in a bundle pack with ZA’s own eyelash curler which I have tried and loved. Definitely a star product but highly underrated 🙂

 

FOTD ft. EDM Blush in B&B + NOTD

I went through a blusher phase last month when every day all I did was think of what different colours I could buy next to increase my blusher stash. (Thankfully, that phase is now over!) I ended up with way too many blushers (have stopped counting at 50) and realized this is going nowhere and I really. Need. To. Stop.

I am also very fortunate to receive a love package from my dearest CC buddy Christine, who offered to send me some of her EDM blusher samples since she knew I was keen on EDM then (albeit a little late). Therefore, I ended up with MORE blushers than my poor cheeks could handle because she sent me like.. 20+ samples.

As such, I have decided to wear a different blusher each day and keep a log so I won’t repeat. This actually helps me to keep track and to keep unnecessary purchases at bay. Besides… The blusher phase is now over for me 😛

This is Day 1’s FOTD  featuring B&B blush from EDM:

It is an orangey coral (actually more like burnished copper) that is very pigmented and can look a tad dark.

How it looks when worn:

This is HIGHLY pigmented as can be seen in the swatch above so the trick is to use a light hand. What I did was tap my flat blush brush into the pigment, swirl it around the cap and tap it on my cheeks barely touching the bristles to my face. It does lend a very pretty and natural glow which I totally love.

Products I Used:

Face: ZA True White Plus Instant Brightener, ZA True White Plus 2Way Foundation, Bobbi Brown Corrector & Concealer

Eyes: Kanebo Kate Diamond Cut Eyes (only highlighter shade), Bobbi Brown Gel Liner- Black, Clinique Lash Power Curling Mascara

Cheeks: EDM B&B Mineral Blush

This is a look I do most of the time, guess I am already past the phase of doing full eye makeup because I think it is too time-consuming and since I spend most of the time either at home or in school, I like to go for a quick and simple look that I can complete within half an hour (sleep is essential!!).

The ZA products are new, and I am still in the process of test-driving them so I won’t do a full review so soon. However, the results are pretty good as of now and I’m quite pleased.

I just want to end this post with a NOTD!  It was a horrid time for me over the past few months because my nails were peeling, splitting and breaking like crazy. I don’t want to jinx it by saying my nails are perfect now, but at least they are recovering from the constant use of Nailtek and OPI Original Nail Envy.

China Glaze FYI (2 coats):

Base Coat: Nailtek Xtra + OPI Natural Nails Base Coat, Top Coat: Nailtek Xtra

Taupish nude. Supposed to be holographic from online nail swatches BUT I DON’T SEE IT IN MINE 😦

And this colour looks awful on me indoors, totally regretted getting this. Colour discrepancy aside, the formula of this lacquer is fantastic. It goes on buttery smooth and is at least 80% opaque on first coat. I used 2 out of habit. Love the brush too, I find that CG’s slim brush works better for me than OPI’s because it is not as fat and wide.