This review is a request from a reader, Jessie of Beauty Loves, who wants to view actual swatches of Benefit’s Dandelion and Georgia. I’m not the first person to review the very popular face powders, but I hope it helps. Here it goes.

Benefit Georgia

Description:

Dust this peaches and cream powder lightly all over your complexion then brush on the apples of your cheeks for a warm, happy glow. The sheer peach blush looks beautiful on all complexions, and the delicate peach scent will leave you radiating sunshine! The powder also looks great dusted on the eye lids.

Tips and tricks: Sweep the brush across the powder a few times, then tap off any excess. Brush lightly on to the apples of your cheeks in an outward motion. For the final touch, lightly brush all over your complexion.

I got the Georgia as a gift from my aunt in the US (well, I asked her to get it for me, in which I would reimburse her for, but she just asked me to keep it as a gift. Sweet!). Just like the Dandelion, I thought the packaging was really cute, and the description of the peach powder won me over.

The reason I wanted the Georgia was that I thought it was a peach blush, and I wanted one. Since Benefit wasn’t available in Penang, and I wasn’t in KL at that time to test the colour, I took a blind shot and asked my aunt to get it for me. My bad for not checking it out first, because in actual fact, it’s not a blush, but a face powder *smacks forehead*.

No matter how much of the Georgia I applied on my cheeks, the colour would not show. In the end, I just used it as a face powder. It does smell peachy (pun intended) 😉

I swiped a bit more of the powder just to show you what it looks. I didn’t show it on my face as you probably wouldn’t tell the difference with or without Georgia on.

I think this would work well on those with very fair skin, to give you that glow when highlighting the cheeks. For me, not so much.

Benefit Dandelion

Description:

Start your day the “perk-me-up” way, and keep them guessing how you look so pretty this early in the morning. Dust on our soft, pink, perk-me-up powder for instant radiance and a youthful appearance. It’s the perfect shade of pink that brightens everyone’s complexion without looking powdery or chalky.

Tips and tricks: Sweep the brush across the powder a few times, then tap off any excess. Brush lightly on to the apples of your cheeks in an outward motion. For the final touch, lightly brush all over your complexion.

Ahhh … the very popular Dandelion. Y’know, I’ve wanted this blush ever since I saw it in a magazine when I was a student in the UK six years ago. As I wasn’t much into makeup then, I didn’t think I could justify the heavy purchase. When I started working, I stumbled upon the Dandelion once again, and I did not hesitate buying it.

I have a bit of a lukewarm relationship with this blush. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. The blush is not very pigmented, thus it doesn’t show on my cheeks unless I use a lot of it. That’s the part which I do not like; I don’t like too much gunk on my face. But when the blush does show, it gives my cheeks a very lovely pink glow. Now that, I like very much.

The photographs below are taken during the day, without flash, with Dandelion on bare skin.

The included brush works well in contouring the cheeks. I like using the Dandelion on my lazy days; little work, good results.

All in all, it’s thumbs up for the Dandelion, and, err, middle thumbs (??) for Georgia.

Benefit’s Dandelion and Georgia retail at USD28 each, and RM129 in Malaysia. I highly recommend buying Benefit products from the Benefit website as the prices including shipping and handling fees would still be lower than the prices in Malaysia and Australia. You can share with family members and/or friends when shopping online, as shipping is free for international customers with purchases over USD100. Share and save! :p

What I like about it:
Georgia – I love the smell of this one.
Dandelion – Gives me a lovely pink glow on my cheeks.

What I did not like about it:
Georgia – It doesn’t work as a blush for me as it doesn’t show. Could work better for those with fairer skin.
Dandelion – Have to use a lot for the colour to show.

After blogging about the Borjouis and Too Faced makeup haul I got from Cyberemporium, I figured I’d do a proper review of the Too Faced eyeshadows, with photos of the eyeshadows on my eyes and all.

Note: For this post, the eye shadows are applied on bare face (to show you what the eyeshadows are like, I omitted eye liner and mascara). Please excuse the unkempt brows; I have a lot of grooming to do in that area. Photographs are taken during the day, with a fluorescent light on, without flash.

I don’t like this one (I Know What Boys Want) as the colours are far too sheer. I can barely see anything on my eyes after application, unless I use a lot. I had to dig hard into the powders just to get the colours to show on camera for the review.

The pink in this combo is so light that it can barely be seen. It just looked like I was wearing green eye shadow on one half of my eye lid, don’t you think?

Of all the Too Faced eyeshadows in this set, I like Fantasy Island the most. I really like the turquoise and gold combination, although I’d spruce it up with a turquoise eyeliner to give it better definition since the colours are pretty sheer.

After testing these eyeshadows out, I’m sorry to say that overall, I’m pretty disappointed in them. The shadows aren’t as pigmented as I’d like them to be. The eyeshadows are very sheer and shimmery. I Know What Boys Want colours were far too sheer for my liking. I had to use a lot of the shadow for the colours to show. This is a bit of a waste of eye makeup to be using so much eyeshadow when so little colour shows up on the eyes.

In terms of staying power, the powders do not stay on long before they start creasing. After four hours out of doors, the colours faded and left crease lines on my eye lids. Although this could be due to the fact that I did not apply any eye primer before the eye shadows (I do have oily eye lids). I’ll give the Too Faced eyeshadows the benefit of the doubt in terms of staying power for now.

The eye shadows are not as compact in their cases as I’d like them to be. The powders are pretty loose; a lot of the shimmer gets dislodged and creates a mess if the case is shaken.

Would I buy more of these eye shadows by Too Faced? I don’t think so. I don’t like the quality of the powders, and even though I can get them cheaply on Cyberemporium, I’d rather spend the money on something else.

Too Faced eye shadows are available at the Too Faced section at Kit Cosmetics counters at Myer, or Kit Cosmetics stores. I can’t really remember how much they retail at (will update when I find out). They’re currently still in the clearance bin in Cyberemporium for AUD15 per set (which comes out to AUD5 per eyeshadow).

What I like about it: The colours of Fantasy Island are quite pretty. Other than that, I’d give this a meh.

What I did not like about it: Colours are too sheer, have to use a lot of the powders for the colours to show.

Note: This is a picture-heavy entry. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Inspired by Geekchic to do this post, I’ve finally taken pictures of my entire makeup collection and posted them here. My current makeup collection you see here is half of the actual amount of makeup that I own; the rest are still in Malaysia, which I couldn’t bring with me due to baggage space and weight restrictions. Note that this was a draft I came up with a couple of weeks ago. As a makeup addict, there have been new additions to the “family” since then.

My makeup collection is very mismatched. I do not have the latest collections of anything, nor are they expensive. I don’t buy makeup from just one or two well-known brands as I love to try anything and everything.

Most of my makeup are of drugstore brands, because I don’t believe in spending much on a single makeup item (the money is spent on skincare, which, in my opinion, is far more important than makeup). This is with the exception of foundation and primers; these are barriers that protect the skin from makeup, so I’d prefer to spend more on better quality ones. Having said that, there are a lot of gems in drugstore and cheaper brands for these too.

“Huh? She calls herself a beauty blogger? Look at all the cheap stuff she uses!”

Bear in mind that I’m not even close to what Paris, Geekchic, Jojoba or other beauty bloggers out there have, so don’t be disappointed when you see my humble collection. I’m just a girl who likes my makeup 🙂

This is my dressing table. Nothing fancy, no mirrors (no need for one, as our built-in wardrobe has a mirror which is from ceiling to floor), just a chest of drawers from IKEA. I’ll be doing a post on the skincare products I use in the near future. For now, we’ll stick to the makeup.

This is where I keep my makeup. I don’t keep them in a train case simply because I don’t have one. Have been itching to get one for a very long time now. It’s a pity that train cases are so expensive. For now, I keep my makeup in small plastic drawers for the ones I use regularly, drawstring bag and makeup bag for those which I seldom use. The drawstring bag was actually a lunch bag used to store lunch boxes which I bought in Japan. The makeup bag was a freebie from Kanebo.

Foundation and Powder

1. Liquid foundation – MAC Studio Fix Fluid (NC30)
2. Mineral foundation – Loreal Bare Naturale Mineral Foundation
3. Loose powder – Estee Lauder Lucidity Translucent Loose Powder
4. Concealer – Estee Lauder Maximum Cover Lightweight Makeup
5. Two-way foundation – Maybelline AngelFit Flawless Affinity Foundation

Mineral Makeup

My current interest – mineral makeup. I have reviews on each of my mineral makeup haul coming up, so do stay tuned for that.
6. Everyday Minerals foundation in a mix of Light Olive and Olive Fair
7. Silk Naturals foundation which I mixed to get my skin tone.
8. Lumiere mineral foundation
9. 10g jars of concealers and blushes from Silk Naturals, Everyday Minerals, Signature Minerals and Lumiere.
10. Mixing scoops from Signature Minerals
11. Silk Naturals foundation and eye colour samples from Silk Naturals and Signature Minerals.

Eye Pencils

12. Elianto Auto Eyebrow Pencil
13. Kose Visee Dual Pencil Eyeliners
14. Silkygirl Funky Eyelights pencils – I love these; they glide on my eyelids so smoothly.
15. Maybelline Line ‘n Design Eye Liner
16. Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil
17. Jordana FineLiner (liquid eyeliner)

Eye Colours

This is where my mismatched concept comes in. As you can see, I don’t have sets of anything.

18. Elianto 3D Eyeshadow Cubes (Jade Green and Gold Brown)
19. Kanebo Testimo eye colours (gold and lilac)
20. Sportsgirl Shimmer Palette
21. Loreal ColorAppeal (Real Silver)
22. Lavshuca eye colour (PU-1)
23. The Face Shop Jewel Powder (YL701)
24. Pop Beauty Glow and Highlight Pressed Radiance Powder
25. Canmake Dual Sparkle Color
26. Rimmel Metallic Cream Shadow (051 Soho)
27. Anna Sui Eye Glitter
28. Silkygirl Duo Eye Shadows (Marine Apricot and Smokey Spark)
29. Wet ‘n’ Wild Duo Eye Shadow (Cool Chic)
30. The Face Shop Black Label Eyeshadow (Apple Green)

31. Silk Naturals’ Bobbi Brown Stonewashed Nudes Palette clone – Basalt, Bone, Slate, Quartzite, Terra, Aztec and Moonstone

32. Tokidoki for Smashbox (Modella) – I got this on eBay for AUD15. Don’t you just love amazing finds on eBay? :p

33. Elianto eyeshadow palette, with self-customised colours.
34. Another Elianto eyeshadow palette.
35. NYX 3 Color Eyeshadow palette (Beanie/Red Bronze/Red Bean)*
36. Red Earth All Round Concealer
37. Kanebo T’estimo Frame Impact Eyes in 01
38. Lancome 6 Mini Color Focus

Mascaras

39. Dramatical Eye Base (a mascara base I picked up in Japan)
40. CoverGirl Volume Exact waterproof mascara
41. Rimmel Glam’ Eyes mascara
42. Maybelline Sky High Curves waterproof mascara

Blushes

43. Benefit Dandelion
44. Benefit Georgia
45. NARS Exhibition A
46. Clinique Fresh Bloom Allover Colour
47. Muji shimmery cheek colour (picked this up from the Muji shop in Japan)
48. Jane Blushing Cheeks*
49. The Face Shop Black Label Blusher (Pastel Pink)
50. Lumiere mineral veena blush (Terra Cotta)
51. Everyday Minerals mineral blush (Sunday Brunch)
52. Silk Naturals mineral blush (Climax)
53. Silk Naturals mineral blush (Flirt)
54. Signature Minerals mineral blush (Desiree)
55. Signature Minerals mineral blush (Roseberry)

56. Scott Barnes Chic Palette

Lip Balms

57. L’occitane Cherry Blossom Lip Gloss
58. CoverGirl Wetslicks Fruit Spritzers
59. Vaseline Lip Therapy
60. Softlips lip balms
61. Nivea Watering Lip

Lip Glosses

62. Agent Provocateur Titillation Lip Balm (it comes in a set with a *ahem* nipple balm :p)
63. Fasio Create Magic Lip Lip Gloss and Lip Pencil Duo
64. Chanel Levres Lumiere Intense (Vibration)*
65. NARS lip gloss in Babe
66. Naked Minerals Gloss by Jemma (a free gift from a magazine – rubbish lippie)
67. Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss in Pearl Plum (my favourite lippie of the stash)
68. Maybelline Water Shine Gloss (Berry Shiny)
69. Face of Australia lip gloss (Glossy Honey)

Lipsticks

I prefer lip gloss to lipstick, hence the pathetic amount of lipsticks I own.

70. Avon Ultra Moisture Rich Metallic Lipstick (Metallic Pink)
71. Revlon Renewist Lipcolor (Juicy Apricot)
72. Kanebo T’estimo Clear Memory Rouge (PK-230)
73. Kanebo T’estimo Serumdrape Rouge in RS-233*
74. ZA Lip Aqualish (011)

Makeup Brushes

75. Elianto makeup brushes
76. Assortment of makeup brushes from The Body Shop, The Face Shop, Elianto, etc. Makeup brush case from The Face Shop.
77. Kabuki brush (bought at Beauty Impact)
78. Lumiere travel-sized makeup brushes

Miscellaneous Items

79. Elianto Dashing Lashes (bought this on a whim with Beetrice at Genting Highlands)
80. Beauty Essentials (Priceline) eye pencil sharpener
81. Bonjela Teething Gel (I mistook this for the ulcer gel when I grabbed this off the shelf. Works just as well though)
82. Garnier Pure SOS Blemish Pen
83. Nail clippers
84. Eyebrow scissors, tweezers and Shu Uemura eyelash curler
85. Muji eyebrow brush (got this in Japan)
86. Metal eyelash comb (only 100yen in Japan :P)
87. Everyday Minerals long-handled kabuki brush
88. Kanebo T’estimo eyebrow pencil

So there ya go, that’s my current makeup collection. Not very impressive as you can tell. But I’m pretty proud of it. I shall be updating this from time to time when I do a review of any of the above makeup items. And also maybe a part II, when I build the collection up.

This isn’t a tag, but I’d love to know what your makeup collection is like. Go on, take some photos of your makeup and share, share, share! 🙂

*These makeup items are courtesy of the lovely Paris B 🙂