NicaBell: Quick Post!

Hey y'all!

I was surfing the internet yesterday and found this amazing website full of pictures! 

I found many amazing pictures that gave me storage ideas for my makeups, beauty tricks, makeup looks, hair tricks, etc! 

You have to check it out! Pinspire.com! 

I bet you will love it! 

That is all! 

Update 21 August 2012: Another picture pinning website that brings great ideas to me is the Pinterest.com!

xoxo

NicaBell

Nicabell Is Born On A Lucky Dragon Year 1988

Happy Lunar New Year everyone!

It is a new Dragon year! Wish that this Dragon year will do us all good! Weeeee~

Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year is celebrated by the Chinese people as it is the first day of a new year in Chinese Calendar. This is the day when The Chinese will wish each other with "Gong Xi Fa Cai" which means "Wishing You Many Prosperity" in Mandarin. 

This is the most anticipated day that the Chinese had been waiting. It is a glamorous day for the Chinese because we will decorate everything in our house in RED color! Red does not mean dangerous in Chinese community. It simply means prosperity. YES! We Chinese are obsess with money and prosperity. No we ain't. I was just joking! But everybody do wish to have a comfortable life. 

It is crucial to remember to not clean the house on the New Year's day especially using broom! Broom is always associated with bad omen in Chinese old folktale. There is a term in Mandarin saying Sao Ba Xing translated Broom Star which means Unlucky Star. It is kind of a nickname toa person who is said to bring bad omen or unlucky circumstances to anyone near him/her. 

Mandarin orange is the main fruit for the occasion. I don't understand much about it but I like 'em! 

There is another folktale regarding the Lunar New Year which has something to do with firework/firecracker! I hate firecracker but I love it when I was the one who lit it! LoL! Well the story goes in the ancient time, a lion-like monster from the underworld would come to the earth to eat the children. Thus, the people gives huge feast like offerings so the monster would not harm the human. But the feast were never enough. The monster would still devour the children to satisfy its hunger. Therefore, a wise man made firecracker, and lit it on the Lunar New Year when the monster came. The monster was so scared of the firecracker, it ran away! Thus the reason why the Chinese lit firecracker every Lunar New Year. Though the monster might not be seen in the present days, lighting the firecracker becomes a tradition. 

This post show how beauty of my Chinese tradition. I am so glad to be part of the Chinese community. I am a Sino-Kadazan - Part Chinese Part Kadazan. Both part of my ancestors tradition is beautiful. I hope that it won't vanish from the face of this world. 

xoxo

NicaBell

NicaBell Review: The Body Shop Face & Body Brush

Wassup guys!

I will be making another review for my favorite brush!

I bought this brush the same time I bought my M.A.C 187 brush. I got my yearly bonus at the time so I got all excited to buy good quality brushes.


I have always been a big fan of the TBS. I love the fragrance, the body butter, the lip pot, the nail buffer, the body scrub, etc. I love their make up even though I cannot wear them because TBS's make up is usually very shimmery and glittery. My face is too oily to add more shimmer to it XDDD

So when the brush was launch here in KK, I was excited but I cannot afford to buy it! Its quite expensive for me who is a student at the time. Then, I remember another friend who love the brushes told me: "Even OPRAH gives thumbs up to the TBS brushes!

As a young OPRAH fan from Malaysia, I got much more excited! It got me thinking, if OPRAH said they are good, then it must be very good then!

It cost me around RM 80++ and I didn't get the whole range too. The reason is because I didn't really need the rest. Well, at the time lah! Now, I think I really need to buy the other brushes into my collection^^

I learn that the bristles are made out of bamboo which I think the most amazing thing about the brush! I am actually okay with animal fur, but I would try to get vegan product if I get the chance.

I say that it is amazing not just because it is vegan, it is amazing because bamboo trunks are hard! The fibres are not suppose to be as soft as this bristles!

This brush is:-
1. Wide tapered brush
2. Very soft, no density
3. can cover the whole apple of the cheek.
4. Would not hold a lot of product during application
5. Could be used with wet and dry product.
6. Never shred even from the first time I wash and use it.

I love using this for applying loose powder to set my make up. The fact that it only pick up a little product helps a lot in the application.

I only have 2 minor issues about this brush.
1. The huge handle eats up a lot of space in my storage. The person who came up with the design might have the ideas that users will leave the brush by making it stands on its flat bottom. But I don't do that. Leaving brushes like that will only let dust, germs and bacteria to sit on the bristles easily.
2. It is quite burning for the wallet just to buy this brush. I feel like I am paying the price of it being a TBS product instead of a brush! And a friend had told me that TBS brushes are quite expensive for synthetic brushes.

Comparing the size with the M.A.C 187 brush. Look at how huge the handle is comparing to the 187 brush!!

No matter what, I still love this brush for what it have done for me. Good job TBS!

xoxo

NicaBell

NicaBell Review: M.A.C 187 Duo Fibre Brush

Hey-Yo! 

I am so happy that my best cousin had deliver her first child!! Her baby girl was borned on the same day and month with my brother and weight about 3.4kg. Baby girl have her daddy face, very chubby!! I was unable to visit her as I was busy with the preparation for my brother birthday party and prayer, to thank God that he was able to have a quick recovery from his accident. 

Back to the title, YES! I am going to give my opinion on the M.A.C 187 Duo Fibre Brush! Yay!! 

Known as the stippling brush and the skunk brush, this brush gives what its promise; airbrush finish!

The bristles is so fine, stippling with this gives an airbrush & flawless look!

It was called duo fibre because the bristles were made out of 2 types of fibre which are black goat fur and synthetic white fibres; nicknamed the skunk brush for its black & white bristles; and also known for stippling brush for the awesome method people usually use with it. 

It is a flat top brush with a metal feral and a black wooden stick. The brush is dense and that would help when you are stippling. 

I use it as my foundation brush and covers foundation all over my face with stippling motion. 

This brushed was introduced to me by Enkore through his EnKoreMakeup YT channel (He is so FAB!!) saying stippling  will help to give a flawless airbrush finish and he show the 187 brush as one of the most popular option for stippling. I was fascinated by it and saw another video (which I forgot the channel's name), she has quite a lot acne scars and I swear, her face look flawless after stippling the foundation with the 187 brush!! It gives me a thought: I MUST GET IT NO MATTER WHAT! 

It cost me about RM180++ (here in KK) and that is very expensive. But I never regret buying it because it really deliver what it promised. 

I have been using it for a whole year last year and I love it! I only have use it with liquid and gel foundation though. I personally thinks that it is a good brush if you are using foundation that has liquid texture. Gel foundation dries out fast so stippling it with this brush smell like a disaster to me. My face looked cakey and patchy because I can clearly see I cannot stipple it evenly as it already dried up. Gel foundations are not bendable with stippling method! 

If you  were to use it with swirling motion or stroking, you will not get the airbrush finish like it suppose to be. I have tried it, and I can see few streak here and there. 

For me, this brush is not a necessity to have in your make up bag. It is kind of a luxury item. It does gives a flawless finish which you can also get with primers and concealers. However, my reason to invest on this brush is because of my curiosity and it is hard to find good primer here. We don't have Sephora or UD here either. All we have here is M.A.C, TBS, SaSa, Watson, Guardian, Clinique, and other high end brands that I don't think have produce primers that I think worth investing. <<-- IDK. May be that is just me. So, suggest a good one for me puh-leeeeaaassse! 

I read some blog saying this brush sheds like craaayyyzzzaaayyy. Hell no! It does shred but it was minimal! I was it before I used the first time, it shreds like 3 or 5 bristles. Wash the second time, it shreds 2 or 3 bristles. And by the third time I wash it, there are no more shreds. 

Comparing the size with the PaperMate retractable ballpen.

If you haven't own one or going to get one, please give it a deep thought. IT IS EXPENSIVE!! But if you are such a curious cat, having one is a good anyway. Just make sure you have some money left till your next pay check! 

Till then! 

xoxo

NicaBell

NicaBell: What is STIPPLING?

I was thinking to make my review on the M.A.C 187 Duo Fibre brush and I know there are already many reviews out there about it but I just want to make mine too! 

But before that I would like people to understand what stippling actually means! 

The bristles like the skunk brush bristles for example are very fine and stippling with it gives an airbrush finish which is similar to the airbrushing technique; spraying the foundation onto the skin where the small particle of the product forms small dots onto the face. So, tapping/ stippling the foundation onto the skin gives a fine/micro foundation dots. Those fine/ micro dots gives a flawless finish without using too much product.

Many people have misunderstood what stippling is. 

Most people think: 

1. pour/pump the foundation 

2. tap/dip the flat top surface brush on the foundation

3. tap on the surface of the skin 

4. swirl to blend the foundation 

The actuality: 

1. pour/pump the foundation 

2. tap/dip the flat top surface brush on the foundation

3. tap on the surface of the skin

4. and tap tap tap 

5. keep tapping until your face covered with foundation. 

If you tap and swirl, that is not stippling. There are possible for you to get streak marks with that too. 

People who have acne scars, pores, freckles, uneven skin tone and blemishes would definitely fall in love with this technique!

It is a remarkable technique anyone could try. You doesn't necessarily have to own a M.A.C 187 brush. Just a regular but dense flat top brush will do. And make sure it is synthetic because natural bristles tend to absorbs more product! 

Till then! 

xoxo

NicaBell

NicaBell Fave: Top Five Beauty Favorites For 2011

Happy New Year everybodday!!!

2011 has gone and we welcome 2012 with full f hopes and dreams^^

My nieces kept remind me of the end of the world which I think is preposterous. I am a optimistic person, and I don't believe that the world will not end this year. It will end eventually but definitely not now.

Moving on~

I have never made any monthly favorite ever! So I decided that I am going to wrap it up for my 2011 favorites! Yay!!  Lets begin!

REVLON PhotoReady Foundation

I started using this amazing foundation early this year. And I AM LOVING IT! I highly recommend this to anyone.

Though I should warn you to use the right application method while using this foundation or you will look like the Cullens!! (No offence Twilight fans!!) This foundation contain a LOT of fine shimmery dust. Therefore, if you use sponge or regular foundation brush, you will definitely get the Cullen effect.

I always use my MAC 187 dual fiber brush and I stipple this foundation onto my face. It gives the airbrushed look and gives full coverage without using too much product. It also lessen the shimmery look. 

What I like so much about this foundation is that it is affordable and it gives a good coverage and weightless. I don't feel like I am using any foundation on my skin with it. My face would not looked ghastly white while taking pictures with flash. I definitely gives thumbs up for this product.

M.A.C 187 Duo Fibre Brush aka Skunk Brush

I bought this around the last quarter of 2010 I won't say this is a must have brush in everyone's collection. But I would say this is a luxury item. And it is expensive (but worth every cent!)

The black bristles are natural hair while the white ones are synthetic. Thus, given the name Duo Fibre brush.

I was told that this brush can be used as foundation brush, blush brush or powder brush. But I prefer to use it as my foundation brush.

I stipple my foundation on my face to get that airbrush look. Stipple/ stippling motion is meaning where you kind of tap your brush on the foundation and then tap lightly onto the surface of your face. Gradually cover the entire face with foundation with stippling motion not only gives the airbrush look, it also helps to give a flawless face.

My boyfie was kind of mad when I bought this skunk brush because it cost me around RM180++ here. He only approved me to buy this when he saw how good this brush do to me. If you have acne on your face, this brush will certainly help a lot!



BIORE Cleansing Oil

I have made a review on this product here. And it is definitely my fav! I haven't try other brand yet because I am quite satisfied the result I got from this one.

Even the waterproof Maybelline NY gel eyeliner washed off with this.

It certainly affordable. I think it is around RM20++ but less than RM30 for sure! 3 to 4 pumps of it is enough to clean the whole face. Please be reminded that using on wet skin may leave make up residue. I have not much to say but a thousand thumbs up! Totally recommendable^^





ROSKEN Skin Repair Dry Skin Cream

I have used moisturizing lotion/cream from The Body Shop, NIVEA, Vaseline, etc. Nothing can beat this. Boyfie introduced me to this and I am loving it!!!

The texture is more like lotion than cream. It doesn't feel oily or sticky after application. It does cost a little bit more than NIVEA and Vaseline and doesn't smell as good as TBS.

But the result it gives me it so great, I promised myself to purchase a larger bottle next time^^ 

NEXCARE ACNE PATCH 3M

This stuff is certainly addictive. Not many would know this but it certainly help me a lot with my acne problem.

Pustules and cystic acne will certainly be cured away with them as the patches absorb the puss from the acne. It also helps to prevent bacterial infection after squeezing acne.

Put on top of the acne and wait till it turn white. The white you see is the puss that absorbed by it.

Make sure to wash your face before use and put it on before applying any of your beauty regime. Not recommended when using make up.



Showing off my favorites products is so much fun! I will try to show my monthly favorite from now on^^

Till then!

xoxo
NicaBell