daffnee: mascara

december favourites 2015.

29.12.15

December was quite the month for me - I was sick (again!) for the first couple weeks and then I had the time of my life when some of my favourite people made it to Taiwan for the pre-holiday season. The holidays itself was relatively settled down as there isn't a big festive spirit on this Eastern Island, but I still got a lot of quality time with some of my closest friends.

I wasn't sure if I was going to do this post after doing my annual favourites, but there have been some exciting bits that I've thrown into rotation the past month. So I've decided to do a quick roundup of my favourite products from the past 31 days.
Winter isn't as lacklustre here in Taiwan as it is in London, but I've still been all over the highlighting trend to add some glow to the face. I was gifted the NARS Illuminator (£23) in Copacabana by my lovely Korean friend as she apparently thought 'the colour was pretty' and that I 'would know how to use something like that'. I am forever in awe of her thought process but I'm not complaining here. Anywho. I love the soft halo glow this peachy pink highlighter gives when used under foundation, or mixed in with a matte base. It's also gorgeous when applied over foundation. I also love the tube packaging - much more convenient than my potted cream highlighters.
I don't think I've spoken about the Essence Lash Princess Mascara ($4.99) as much as it deserves on the blog. This has been pretty much the only mascara I've been using the past 2.5 months. It's a curved bristle brush with a slightly drier formula that clings to the lashes exceptionally well. This inexpensive mascara really bulks up the lashes and doesn't smudge throughout the day - even if it is depressingly drizzly and humid outside.

I've been reaching for my eyeliners again and this time around it's the banila co Triple Wonder Auto Gel Liner in Deep Brown. This is the first makeup product I've tried from this Korean brand (also gifted to me by my awesome friend that needs to stop giving me things) and I'm intrigued by what else this brand can offer. I'm not sure what the triple wonder is referring to but this is quite a wonderful liner - it literally does not smudge nor transfer throughout the day. I've worn this for up to 14 hours with slight fading as the only trace of time. I haven't exactly tried it on the waterline yet, but I have a feeling this will hold up.

Of course, what would a favourites be without an excessive amount of lip products? I'm still not over the purple lip trend and my newest obsession comes in the form of MAC Lip Pencil (£12.50) in Heroine. I never quite understood why people liked to use lipliners until I tried out a MAC lip pencil. Nothing like the traditional wooden hard lip pencils, the MAC offerings are creamy and easy to apply. Heroine is currently the only one I own but I have a feeling that'll change. Anywho. Back to the actual product. Heroine is a straight up bright purple lipliner that is absolutely gorgeous. I like to wear this on its own on the days when I'm feeling particularly bold and crave for something different - it's also surprisingly wearable once you get used to not having the 'traditional' colours. But I also like wearing it under other lipsticks to boost up the purple - like MAC Up the Amp or MAC Flat Out Fabulous. It also works really well in adding a purple tinge to non-purple shades - such as MAC All Fired Up. It's a shade that looks like it can't do much, but it's actually quite versatile if you're one for bright and bold lips.
Last but not least, I think I've finally found a liquid lipstick that I can wear on a day to day basis. Actually, I'm hesitating to call the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream (£5.50) liquid lipsticks as they're more of a mousse-y texture. The texture makes it really easy to apply without feeling like you're a 3-year old let loose in a box of markers. I've been particularly loving the shades Zurich, a warm-toned natural pink with a tinge of peach, and Prague, a muted wine red (YUM WINE*....sorry.) They last for a good 5-6 hours without drying out the lips. They dry down to a matte finish after the first couple of seconds and there's absolutely no sign of transfer after that - my kinda lip product. I've heard that these don't hold up well to meals, but I've had noodles and sandwiches just fine. I'm supposing that this won't hold up to a good burger, pizza, and fried chicken session though. That said, if I know I'm going to have fried chicken and pizza, I probably wouldn't be applying lipstick in the first place.
I've had quite the adventure in 2015 and I'm quite sad to wave goodbye to the past 12 months. I'd like to think that 2016 will be a blast though. What are some of the products that you've been enjoying in the last weeks of 2015? With Love, Daphne x

*it's currently 13:30 as I type this...I think wanting wine at this time of day is a slight problem. Welp!

Where to Buy in Taiwan: NARS - selected Sogo department stores; Essence - selected Watsons, essencetaiwan.com; MAC - selected department stores; NYX - beautyjoint

slightly disappointed: three mascaras

23.11.15

I'm not particularly picky with mascaras as well, let's face it, I don't generally have hopes for any mascaras. With a basically non-existing performance standard, it's not that easy for a mascara to leave me disappointed. But after testing out mascara after mascara for the past several months in a desperate hail Mary attempt to get out of my rut, I'm yet to find one that excites me but I have come across three that left me slightly disappointed.
You know what I just said about not having hope for mascaras? Scratch that for this one as I did have hopes for it. Not too many expectations, mind you, but I had upped the standards with the hype surrounding the Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara. I was hoping for some volume and maybe a tiny bit of drama, but nothing drastic nor life changing. I'm sad to say that the hyped up Maybelline didn't even fulfil the little expectations I had. The formula didn't cling to my lashes at all, or the little amount that did ended up smudged all over my face after a couple hours. So, technically, I guess you could say there was some drama, just not the kind I would've preferred.
Now this one might be slightly unreasonable. I'm not too fond of waterproof mascaras as they are, pardon what's to come but, a massive pain in the butt to get off. But I've tried my fair share of mascaras and most mascaras are able to stand up to a tiny bit of water before going all 'Blank Space' on me. But not the L'Oreal Voluminous Black Mascara. This stuff is like cheap toilet paper when it comes to water and will instantly smudge without remorse. It's a good mascara but it doesn't deliver the voluminous results I was expecting. It's a nice everyday mascara when you want a natural look, but it fell short against expectations and claims.
Last but not least, I was once all about the L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara, so I purchased the L'Oreal Miss Manga Black Angel this time around with the anticipation that it would deliver the results I once loved. I don't know if this formula is different to the original one, or if my taste in mascara has changed, but the Black Angel's effect on my lashes was neither black nor angelic. My lashes were darkened, but no more so than any other regular black mascara and this formula seemed to be more clumpy and 'weighing down to hell' than 'angel wings lifting to heaven'.
Mascaras are a personal and quite peculiar product. They're also quite easy to fall into a rut as they're probably the one product that cannot be tested out in stores. I'm sad to say that I've been disappointed by three offerings when I didn't have much hope for them in the beginning. Have any lash coatings disappointed you lately? With Love, Daphne x

an essence haul.

18.11.15

It's rare I go batshit crazy buying a small reserve of products from a brand that I've barely tried before. However, it happened when I stumbled upon an Essence stand some weeks back. Um, hello? The most expensive thing still cost less than a sandwich so how could I not?? ~~I also did not know that you could now get this brand in Taiwan.~~
I've only heard good things about the Essence Lipliners and priced at £1, I might have grabbed more than I needed. I initially only wanted to get 15 Honey Berry, a berry shade that has a tinge more purple. But like I said, I'm not one to turn down a good bargain and also picked up 06 Satin Mauve - a dusty mauve (duh) - and 07 Cute Pink - a doll-like pink. I'm still testing these out so I can't give a full review on them just yet. But so far, the colours are beautiful.
Staying on the page of lip products, it wouldn't be a Daphne lost control ~~again~~ haul without buying a couple of lipsticks. The Essence Longlasting Lipsticks (£2.30) caught my eye as they seemed to be the only pigmented line as the others ran more sheer. I have the shades 07 Natural Beauty - a mauvey pink that has already taken up residence in my handbag, and 14 Adorable Matt - a pink-toned red that reminds me of a creamy version of MAC All Fired Up. Both of these have cream finishes and last about 2-3 hours on my lips, will transfer when it comes to coffee sipping but will leave behind a slight stain.
Last but not least, having been previously pleasantly surprised with their mascaras before, I also picked up the Essence I Heart Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara (£2.80). I've heard a lot of good things about this one, plus the fact that it's actually affordable will bump this mascara top of my drugstore 'must try' list if this lives up to the claim. I'm impatiently tapping my fingers, counting down to the day I finish up a mascara so I can finally test the Essence offering out.
With the drugstore prices inching up to match mid-level brands, it's nice to see some brands still offering good quality products that really won't break the bank. Have you tried anything from Essence? What do you recommend from this affordable brand? With Love, Daphne x
where to buy in Taiwan: essence Taiwan and selected Watsons