L is for Liners! :)

Hola Beauty Enthusiasts!

If there is just one thing I would recommend for an edgy & high-fashion look, it would be eyeliner.

However, eyeliners that smudge and run are a big beauty no-no unless you were really aiming for a morning-after look or aspire to be a sweaty rockstar after a sold-out show.

Bloop's Gel Eyeliners are great for a stay-put look.

Rub it as hard as you like and it still won't budge.

However to clean it, use an oil-based remover and its all easy-peasy (baby oil works fine, too!). Every purchase comes with a nifty slanted brush.

In Cleo magazines October 2010 (M'sian Issue), they highlighted in their Beauty A-Z segment on eyeliners and they drew 3 lines, exactly the colours of Bloop Gel Eyeliners!

I was so stoked to write a blog about how to wear these colours (as suggested by me, of course, although there are a million ways to wear these coloured liners!)

Bloop Gel Eyeliner in BROWN.

SMOKY FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED!

Instead of the normal black-grey smoky eyes, do a brown smoky eye.

Its a softer version of the classic smokey eye.

Brown eye colours looks awesome with grey contact lenses.

Keep the rest of the face natural.

Bloop Gel Eyeliner in Blue

HOT AND RETRO NIGHT!

Blue eyeliner is super-retro, but this look is highly polished and not trashy.

Blend the upper lid line with a little blue eyeshadow.

Wear a bronzer or brown blusher to contour the cheekbones.

Wear a neutral high-shine gloss on your lips

Bloop Gel Eyeliner in Maroon

MINIMALISTIC WITH A TWIST!

I love this for a fall-winter look.

Line the eyes and coat your lashes with mascara.

Wear a blusher that is pink (as it harmonizes with the eyeliner, and later, lips).

Apply that colour to the apples of the cheeks.

Apply a deep berry lip colour. Beautiful :)

This look goes FANTASTIC with brown contact lenses!

Get The Kate Moss Early 90s Look With Bloop

Hello Beauty Enthusiasts,

If you are a Cleo reader, then you'd know what I'm going to talk about. In one of the segments about beauty looks A-Z, my eyes landed on N for Naturally Nude... "...the nude we're seeing is "early '90s Kate Moss - all about fresh skin and a reddish brown gorgeous eye..."

Below is a picture of the segment in the magazine.

Here I wanted to re-create the look using Bloop products, and I found the perfect product! I adore Kate Moss style, especially her grunge look with a not-really-there expression to match; and this eyeshadow colour is pretty edgy.

Bloop Mineral Eyeshadow in Rich Ground is a reddish-brown colour with a gorgeous hint of shimmer. What I like about it is that its mineral, so it uses natural ingredients and is suitable for sensitive skin, and you can vary the application from dark to light, depending on how much product you use. And also, this eyeshadow is WATERPROOF :)

I updated the look to look less washed-out and grungy; I glammed it up with black eyeliner and fake eyelashes. Keep cheeks and lips naturally flushed (but with a colour more to coral/brown rather than pink). For this look, there is no need to darken the eyebrows, just a pluck and a pat down will do.

Bloop Cosmetics came up with their range of good quality fake eyelashes in a variety of density, length and design. Below is my own personal favourite, because of its inconsistent arrangement, it looks more natural than other types, yet still glamourously lush because of its maintained length.

Love the created look? Do drop us a comment :) Btw, you can send an email to scentiments121@yahoo.com for orders of products. The mineral eyeshadow range is RM39 and the fake eyelashes and glue are RM18.90 respectively (can be sold separately).

XXX,

Karen Eva Chin

Business Developement Manager & Makeup Enthusiast

Depression Awareness Month

Hello Beauty Enthusiasts,

As some of you may already know from the previous blog entry, October is also a month of Depression Awareness (as brought to my attention by Nisha of Nail Galore) besides Breast Cancer Awareness which usually overshadows most other things.

The colour for Depression Awareness is green, and I was quite surprised when Nisha told me about such a campaign. While I had some experience working with psychiatric patients before, I never knew such a campaign existed.

I myself had a troubling battle with depression (I was diagnosed with Moderate Depression) in my early 20s and I was deeply confused about whether I needed medical help, or needed to snap out of it (or even just needed to 'grow up' as some well-meaning friends advised but only to make matters worse). From reading up a lot, I learned a little more about myself and how to manage depression.

From experience, I know that a lot of people battle depression, regardless of whether its short or long term, or whether it is caused by an incident or whether its source is intrinsic or biological.

Depression is a disease (and it is different from being sad, although feeling sad is one of the symptoms), and some people do not get help because of shame or they think its just life and just go through life depressed, some even feel so hopeless that they eventually end their lives (all the while not knowing that 'hopelessness' is a symptom of depression that can be treated with medication or therapy).

Anyways, sounds like a pretty serious blog entry, and I am glad to say that we shouldn't be ladies into beauty without brains. If you know of anyone (or yourself) who might be battling depression, do direct them to the correct source of help. Some of us may think its nothing some pep-talk can't do, but sometimes its really out of our control.

Anyways, GREEN is the colour and here we go with the swatches!

'Bipolar' is a dark green colour with subtle glitter inside (the dark colour representing depression and the glitter bits represents the MANIA). It is more like a creme-y colour with a glossy finishing.

Bipolars have episodes (depressive and manic phases); hence the name, and this can leave family members confused and distressed on the apparent mood-swings of their loved one. Not many people know about this disorder, so do read up on Bipolar Disorders.

Some famous people with bipolar disorders are Beethoven, Vincent Van Gogh, Robin Williams, Jim Carey, Ben Stiller, Sylvia Plath, Mark Twain and many others.

'Apathy' is a gorgeous creme-y dark (slightly bright) green. I think that it quite suits the teens with the 'scene' fashion (bright and quirky styles); however for the more mature ladies, this can go on the toes for a surprise peek-a-boo colour :)

Apathy is one of the many symptoms of depression, basically meaning absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.

'Hopelessness' is a dark green with a pearly sheen, a bit emerald-like. It is seriously a gorgeous colour for those with a green nailpolish obsession, this is one of the colours you should go for. I named it 'hopelessness' because the pearly sheen reminds me of the state of looking glazed-eyed when you are so lost in your own world and thoughts. But don't look too much into the name, its just to create an awareness for depression (symptoms to spot for).

'Dysthymia' is a creme formula dark green which is quite similar to 'Apathy' but slightly lighter. Its slightly lighter nature is what inspired me to name it 'dysthymia' because it is a mood disorder that falls into the depression spectrum but with less severity that major depression.

I'm sure most people have not heard of this but once you read up on dysthymia, you might recognise some of the traits in some people you know. Some people get annoyed with 'depressed' people because they seem attention-seeking, but attention-seeking is already a psychological disorder in itself.

Whoah, ladies, I had fun writing this and felt it was a little intense, but I hope you enjoy reading it nevertheless, and once again, I would like to thank Nisha for the swatches, do visit her website!

Remember, speak up about depression, don't suffer alone!


Cheers and take care,
Karen Eva Chin
Business Development Manager
scentiments121@yahoo.com

Time To Touch Your Boobs!

Hi all Beauty Enthusiasts!

Sorry about the blog title, I just thought I needed something catchy for us ladies to remember to give our 'bosom buddies' a check every now and then. I've heard stories of woman who, just like many of us, thought that, "Nah... this can never happen to me..." but were eventually diagnosed with breast cancer because they failed to notice a lump slowly growing in their chest.

Nisha (she runs a nail polish review website, called Nail Galore, and its fantastic!) came over to visit Scentiments the other day to do some swatches, and we decided to go for the pinks and the greens. As Nisha and I both have our roots in the medical line, we decided to have the pinks for Breast Cancer Awareness and greens for Depression Awareness (both in October, but the latter receiving much less publicity).

So enough babbling, here are the pinks:

'Pink Is So Me' is a true pink in a creme formula (it actually makes me think of Paris Hilton and her chihuahua), hence its perfect for original girly-girls with an unsatiable appetite for all things pink :)

'Veiled Emotions' is a very light and sheer pink (almost white); it is named so because essentially, like a veil, you can still see what's underneath. It is perfect for those who don't normally wear colours on their nails, but just want a more professional, polished and dressed-up feel for their nails to complete their look. A warning for those with yellowish nails like mine, better put on a blu-ish base coat first)

'My Pink Sword' is suitably named so to honour all the strong women battling cancer. Through their endurance and strength, they come across as our modern-day warrior, a fine example to the other women out there who are also handling tough times through life. The colour is light metallic pink (reminding me of a sword and armour). Girl power!

'Pretty As A Peach' is a truly pretty colour. I don't call it 'beautiful' because it is just PRETTY. This colour is usually overlooked at our outlet, but when it is painted on just for a try, you can see girls' faces lighting up and saying, "Oh my... this colour is SOOO pretty..." This colour is perfect for ladies with fair and peachy complexions.

These are only 4 of the many pinks Bloop de Paris Nail Polish range has... and seriously there are a lot! All of the nail polishes are RM10.90 each, and if you aren't situated in Kuching (our outlet is at Green Heights Mall), we do have postal orders :)

Just send us an email at scentiments121@yahoo.com

Here are some information on breast cancer, taken from wikipedia:

October is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month by the media as well as survivors, family and friends of survivors and/or victims of the disease. A pink ribbon is a symbol of breast cancer awareness. It may be worn to honor those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Every woman should know how to do a simple self-examination... it could save your life!

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to check out Nisha's website... these pictures are from here btw, thanks so much!

Warmest regards,
Karen Eva Chin
Business Development Executive
scentiments121@yahoo.com

Nail Colours For Fall 2010

Dear Beauty Enthusiasts

I don't know about you, but I felt really excited when fall kicked in and fashion blogs everywhere started highlighting all the richer, darker shades for the 'in' thing to wear on your nails.

Commonly, as the west approaches their fall and winter seasons, colours tend to go darker as opposed to summer and spring. We, in Malaysia, have hot, humid and wet weather all year round, but it is still fun to follow these lovely trends.

Bloop Nail Colour in 'Sparkling Grape'

Formula: 80% creme, 10% shimmer, 10% glitter

Coverage: One coat is enough for good coverage, two coats for a perfect one! :)

Purples are headlining everywhere even on clothes, eyeshadows and lip colours. Choose a deep almost-black purple for a glam yet vampy look. The colour above is Bloop Nail Colour in H201 'Sparkling Grape' and I must say this should be a staple colour in your nail varnish collection because of its always-trendy colour, AND it has the tiniest glitters in it as well.

For those who prefer a sheer colour, and nothing that screams 'GOTH!', try this one instead (below) Bloop Nail Colour in H568 'Absolutely Sheer Purple'. Because of its sheer formula, this is so easy to apply and its quick-dry. Perfect for the office or for a glam night out!

Bloop Nail Colour in 'Absolute Sheer Purple'

Formula: Sheer and sparkly

Coverage: Two coats and you can still see-through to the nail bed

Bloop Nail Colour in 'Great Chunks of Purple Glitter'

Formula: Sheer and super-glittery

Coverage: Sheer (recommended to wear a coat of creme nail colour underneath)

This Bloop Nail Colour in H547 'Great Chunks Of Purple Glitter' is more like a topcoat suited for those who loves to 'bling' themselves up or just love the disco look. You know what, these are totally party-perfect nails, and its bound to attract lots of attention.

These formula comes in lots of different colours, and the best, I should say is the silver one, because it goes over ANY colour perfectly (as the base varnish is clear). I will do a swatch on all of them soon!

Bloop Nail Colour in 'A Touch Of Glam'

Formula: Sheer and Sparkly

Coverage: Thin, two coats and its still see-through

As Bloop Nail Colour in H562 'A Touch Of Glam's name suggests, this last colour I'm going to feature in this post is definitely a 'touch of glam'. A 'touch', meaning its sheer, and 'glam' because of its classic maroon-red colour.

Perfect for mature ladies (I say this because a lot of more matured ladies usually look for colours like this at Scentiments), but as I have lately experimented these sort of colours goes REALLY well with the latest fall makeup looks, browns and reds, or brownish-reds or reddish-browns, regardless of your age! Ha-ha!

We ladies have an endless array of colours to play with when it comes to fashion and beauty.

Until the next post, take care and leave comments!

Warmest regards,

Karen Eva Chin (as seen here wearing fall-appropriate nail colour :P)

Business Development Manager for Scentiments & Fellow Makeup Enthusiast