23 days to go and it’s officially Christmas, as twitted by Sta. Claus. Okay, the unofficial St. Nicholas who has over 100k followers, moi included. I wonder if I am on his list, you see I’ve been good 23/6 364 days (1 hour and 1 day of meanness won’t hurt, eh?). Seriously, don’t you just love the holidays? As a self-confessed makeup junkie fanatic, I like this time of the year because I have an excuse to go gaga with shimmers- something I intentionally avoid lest I’d be a walking canola oil (shimmers emphasize oily face & pores). But my Sasha Fierce (alter ego ala Beyonce) constantly nags me to ditch this shimmerphobia.
Too Faced On the Prowl ($26, Sephora) is a four-piece gift set that includes Leopard Complexion Perfection Kit (bronze, blush, brighten), lipstick, travel-size primer, and flatbuki brush.
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| Ahh, too dainty to be swatched! |
I bought this set mainly for the face trio. The uber-fab leopard print is screaming Kathryne. As this is a value set, expect to see Too Faced best-seller products in deluxe sizes, all at 2.5 g each.
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| L-R: Bronze, Blush, Brighten So how do you use it? |
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| Face guide for the shimmer-dummies, ouch! |
Peach Leopard (cocoa/peach) is the bronzer, the semi-matte of the three. The application guide is quite unusual- “for a healthy and natural bronzed glow, sweep over face, neck and decolletage”. Honestly, I’ve only used bronzer for contouring. So instead of my pressed powder or mineral veil routine, I brushed this on top of my foundation using the flatbuki. Candy Leopard (pink/buttery gold) is for the cheeks. It is shimmery but not too overpowering. For a more lifted look (awakened face), I swept it from my cheeks up to my temples. Pink Leopard (golden bronze/golden pink) is the brightener or illuminator. It’s supposed to enhance cheekbones, T zone, and around eyes. To cut the story short, I followed everything to a T.
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| Top to Bottom: Peach Leopard (Bronzer) Candy Leopard (Blush) Pink Leopard (Brighten) |
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| A Flatbuki is…. …. not domed. It’s soft and the size is ideal for travel. |
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| Lipstick > Cougar (dark frosted brown) |
The accompanying lipstick is a love-hate to say the least. Imagine dipping your lips in cocoa and adding frost in the process. It is not universally flattering, especially among light or fair-skinned beauties. But if you apply a lighter shade lip gloss on top (think nude or mauve), it can work! Ooops, I almost forgot that this set includes a tiny sized Primed & Poreless primer. Too small to even mention.
Gift-meter: 4/5 Must try. The palette is a steal. The bronzer can be used as an over-all face powder for medium-skinned chickas. I like the shimmer blush and brightener. But realistically speaking, go easy on the shimmers. It’s like one or the other because it is meant to accentuate a certain portion of your face. Also, don’t over-do it if you are genetically greasy (ouch for the second time!). Dewy look works best for dry or normal skin, so skip the T-zone if you must. Be creative with this cocoa-shade lipstick. You can tone it down by applying nude lipstick or lipgloss on top to achieve a friendlier-than-thou aura. The flatbuki is a new lingo to moi. Lastly, these are not tested on animals, yay!
Only for the purpose of demonstration, I used all three from the palette & lipstick. As in usual, be my fab judge…
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| At mid-day, this illuminated T-zone turned into a greasy pot . |
