Travel-Friendly Makeup and Skincare: What I Brought for my Holiday

If you've been following me on Instagram or on Twitter, you'll know that I recently went to the north part of Vietnam for a holiday! And I figure that perhaps some of you may want to know what beauty items did I pack along with me for my week-long holiday?

Travel-Friendly Makeup and Skincare: Here's what I packed!

The weather in Vietnam was good, ranging from just above 10 degrees Celsius in the mountainous areas at night, to a good mid-20s degrees Celsius in the city areas during the day. We expected it to rain when we were in the hilly paddy areas of Sa Pa at some point, but it didn't, so that was great! The next thing you know, though, it started snowing (a rare occurrence for that area) once we left the area, so there you go, the weather can be unpredicatable. But for the most part I brought along my usual staples when it came to skincare. And for makeup, it was a mix of usual staples, as well a "cheap stuff that I won't cry over if it gets lost/gets broken/get banged up and that does not suck". So without further ado, here you go!

FOTD Fail: Attempt at the Christina Aguilera Golden Globes Look

I hate celebrities. Remember when I blogged about how NARS and Christina Aguilera were ganging up against me here? Well, someone told me that she wished there was a tutorial on this look. And that sparked off an idea. I may not have the makeup skills of NARS, and I may not have the gorgeousness of Christina, but what the hey, who's to say I can't attempt to dupe her look?

And so I did. And the result was a moderate FOTD success, but an major dupe-the-look fail. And this, of course, is why I hate celebrities, because they'll always look better than us minions who don't have money, time, personal trainers, diet planners, and (in my case, at least) a willingness to sweat. And they sell tons of products promising that you'll look like them, but of course there's no way I'm going to look like them, even if I try.

Nevertheless, I'm sure you're curious to know how the results turned out.

The key to this look is the eye. I know NARS India Song and one half of Cordura was used, but India Song, although a practical duo, isn't very unique - it's actually comprised of a very dupable creamy beige, and a dark brown that has golden sparkles (however I've read reviews that when you actually wear the brown, the sparkles don't show up on your skin, so you're left with just a blah brown). Easy enough to dupe. And the side of Cordura used for her lower lash line was just a bronzey brown. So, I thought, this can't be too hard. I have billions of beiges and billions of browns, I can find something similar. And her eye makeup isn't actually very dark. It looks more like a brown with a hint of taupe, more than a dark brown. And goodness knows I have plenty of taupes and browns.

And the cheeks were also similarly dupable. I know the description uses at least 3 products, the blush being Mata Hari, but Mata Hari is a bright lilac-purply-pink, and looks nothing like what it looks like on Christina, due to the layering of blush with bronzer and highlighter. The end result just looks like a nude blush. Easy enough to dupe, too.

And of course the lips were easy. Nude pink lips? Check.

So with that in mind, I assembled my dupey look colours, and began work on the eye. Of course I had to modify placement of some colours (like crease colour) to adapt the look to my tiny, hooded near-monolided little Asian eye. It turned out like this (ignore the brows, by the way):





Eye:
Milani Snow Frost for the highlight, Bourjois Brun Nylon for the Lid, NYX Iced Mocha for the crease (just a little) and outer V, and Urban Decay Bourbon 24/7 liner for the lower lash line. And Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara for the lashes (I know, I know, it's drying up and I need a new tube.)

So I didn't really look like Christina. Oh well, nevermind. Maybe with the blush and the lippie?



Cheeks: Stila Peony Convertible Colour
Lips: Jane BePure Mineral Lipbalm in Amber (I thought it was nude enough, but of course my lip colour was trying to stay in the spotlight that day. I should've used a more nude nude.)

OK, fine, Christina, you win. And that's why I hate celebrities. Obviously I look nothing like her, and will probably look nothing like her even if I bought everything she used. LOL. But that's my adaptation of the look for a simple girl.

And did I say, a really nerdy simple girl? (For the record, I really love my specs. I don't know why. I've never felt a desire to get contacts.)



But anyway, that's my FOTD Fail for the day. Although it didn't quite live up to it's lofty dupe-the-look goal, I don't mind it, actually. It's probably as close as I'll ever get to looking anything like a celebrity, considering that I have to get up at 7.30am and slap on my face in half-darkness while still in snooze mode.