My staple products of late

It's been quite a while since I last shared my staple products. One of my resolutions for 2013 is to blog more, and here I present to you my staples for the past 2-3 months:

First row:

Chanel Joues Contraste in Narcisse

Chanel Sculpting Veil for Eyes and Cheeks in Notorious

Burberry Pale Barley eyeshadow

Kosmea Rose Hip Oil (Certified Organic)

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy EDP

Second row:

Ettusais Pressed Powder

Canmake Cover & Stretch Concealer UV

Jill Stuart Eye Pencil in 01 Lush Black

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream

Burberry eyeshadow in Pale Barley – My go-to eyeshadow when I want to do a mono-color lid, which is pretty much everyday. It brightens up and adds luminosity to the eye lids in a subtle way. I have made a tiny dent in the product ever since I got it, I like to build up the intensity of the shade on my lids and certainly it scores very high if you want just a light wash of color, too. If you haven’t tried it, you definitely should, as the color is rather foolproof but works extremely well in all aspects.

Canmake Cover and Stretch Concealer UV – this is my second tube. Loved that it has SPF and comes in a tube with wand instead of a squeeze-tube or a screw-top jar. Consistency is a perfect balance between gel and cream. It used to never crease on me but I think ever since I got those fine lines under my eyes, virtually every concealer I use would settle in my under eye area, so I just stopped looking elsewhere and come back to something I know will not fail (apart from my fine lines).

Jill Stuart Eye pencil in 01 Black – this full sized liner pencil came in the holiday coffret this year. It’s matte black, creamy and glides on with ease, which I did not expect. Does not smudge either. I used to use black liners only on special occasions (they tend to look harsh and fierce on me) but I’ve been reaching for it every day regardless of the effect. I guess every office welcomes a sharp-looking face so it didn’t bother me much that I’m going for blacks than browns.

Chanel sculpting veil in Notorious – this is a freak buy. I tried it on my eyes and it looked dirty on my skintone. On second thoughts, I returned to the counter and tried it on my jawbones (after reading so many rave reviews on the blogosphere), I picked it up. After a week of using, a colleague asked if I had got slimmer since my cheekbones were higher than before, and there you have it. Afterwards, a few more people had been asking me what I had been doing because my face looked much slimmer. I wasn’t even on a diet / facial massage that sort of thing. Chanel Notorious therefore, is a secret between you, my dear reader, and me.

Ettusais Pressed Powder – I really can’t remember the proper name for this product, but it’s a pressed powder. I enjoyed using Ettusais’ loose powder (the one with a silver jar lid, extremely good oil-control and coverage). Got this on a whim a year ago, didn’t think much of it. But it seems I’ve had better luck with pressed powders than loose powders lately. This pressed powder provided medium coverage to my badly broke-out face lately and I had been dipping the puff applicator to it religiously, hence the pan showing in front of you. I still prefer their loose powder in the silver lid compact nevertheless for its matte-ness and coverage (that one is long gone I think). I’m surprised to have hit pan on this pressed powder so quickly.

Chanel Joues Contraste in Narcisse – Being a blush fiend, would it take you by surprise that I don’t own a single Chanel JC blush? For some weird reasons, they hardly show up on my cheeks so I didn’t bother to buy any. Lately the lovely Ann surprised me by a mystery package which included this blush – and I’ve been using it daily since then. Allow me to repeat, DAILY. It’s a fool-proof soft pink color and gives me that baby glow once applied. The sheer-ness of this blush also meant I could dab a bit more than what is required for a normal blush, say from NARS. I’m not a huge fan of the heavy rose scent though – but I think I’m getting to the bottom fast with this one, with such a frequent uses. I’m not won over by the JC formula either, so just one JC blush in my stash will do.

Here's a pic of Chanel Narcisse: the dome of the blush was pretty much non-existent when gifted to me from the lovely Ann <3 but="but" by="by" dome="dome" flattened="flattened" further="further" intensive="intensive" months="months" or="or" over="over" past="past" span="span" the="the" two="two" uses="uses" was="was">

If there's one blush in my stash hitting pan, I'm damn sure Narcisse WOULD BE IT.

KOSMEA organic rose hip oil (middle) – it may sound frightening to put oil on your face but this little bottle does wonders to my skin. I came across and used this oil a few years back then during my teenage years, when I applied just one or two drops on acne sparingly. Did not think much of it back then as a skincare staple. A few months ago my face started breaking out badly, virtually nothing can calm it down or soothe the irritation. I clicked and remembered this multi-purpose oil and the lovely Michelle from Cosmetic Cupcake had kindly helped me get a bottle. It was then become my skin saviour. I use 3-4 drops of this oil and rubbed it between my palms and press on my face gently. Next morning I woke up with radiant skin, and the scars/marks left behind by breakouts were significantly lighter. The skin tissue also repaired quicker when I use this oil. I recommend using it at night after toner, you can add moisturizer after using this but I did not feel the need to. My skin drinks up the organic goodness of the oil and acne marks have become lighter and less visible in appearance. It also gave me smoother skin the next day. I’d pick this oil over anything any day, its existence is simply incomparable by other moisturizers, by any standard. I alternate this and the Kiehl’s cream below.

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream  – so they say it’s the best-selling moisturizer from Kiehl’s around the world, and I believe they knocked on the formula correctly. After I finished two 7ml samples of the UFC in a row, my skin clearly loves it and cannot live without it. It’s not too emollient, not too thin either. It does the moisturizing job at its best. Makes my skin supple, glowy and calm by the next morning. A 7ml sized sample lasted me 2 weeks (I apply every night when I’m not using the Kosmea rose hip oil). I loved UFC so much I’ve stocked it up! It might sound a bit of a sole-function product to some (a fairly basic moisturizer without whitening/tightening/anti-aging etc properties) but it gives the amount of moisture to my skin as mine is running pretty dry and flakey at times. UFC had taught me to keep it nice and simple.

Viva La Juicy EDP by Juicy Couture – I kid you not when I wrote earlier in this post that I’ve been spraying it everyday ever since I got it. Viva La Juicy is sweet playfulness with a crisp mischievous twist. When it comes to scents, I like it unique. Viva La Juicy never fails to lighten up my mood.

What products have you been loving lately? What products do you always turn to and rely on over the years?