Baking Makeup Technique: What, How To, and FOTD

Baking Makeup Technique: What, How To, and FOTD

Zelens Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Just when I thought I had the hang of strobing and highlighting, the trend changes to "baking". What next, the stir-fried makeup look? Or the parboiled one?
So what is the baking makeup trend? No, you don't stick your head in the oven. There are different ways of "baking" or cooking your makeup out there, but the majority of the beautysphere, particularly on Reddit, follows these steps:
1. After makeup, you apply a tonne of powder. Some recommend baby powder, but you can also use any old pressed or loose powder, or setting powder in your own shade.
2. Then, you proceed to dunk your face in a basin of water. Some do this by liberally spraying on a face-mist, but I find that leaves most of the powder on the face and actually combines with the powder "to create a sort of blancmange".
3. Post-dunk, pat your face dry - gently, please.
Fans of the trend claim your makeup will be set, matte and long-lasting. Let's see what happened when I "baked" my mug.

Scroll down for the lowdown on the baking makeup trend, and for a "baked" FOTD using the Lorac Pro 3 Palette and more. 

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Cargo Cosmetics Land Down Under Eye Palette Review, Swatches

Cargo Cosmetics Land Down Under Eye Palette Review, Swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, May 19, 2016

Cargo Cosmetics Land Down Under is the second eyeshadow palette I bought this year. Shocking, innit? I have a strict limit of six (ideally five) palettes this year, and, with seven months left, I might actually meet that target.
The moment I saw this on Cindy's blog, Prime Beauty, I knew I wanted it. For starters, it is Cargo and I always love the colour choices in their palettes. For another - Aussie theme! I made a bunch of Aussie friends at uni - whose sense of humour was the best - and we've had some amazing times together. Cargo has been doing location-themed palettes for a while now. We have seen Paris, Shanghai, NY, Venice, and now this.

Scroll down for the review and swatches of Cargo Cosmetics Land Down Under Eyeshadow Palette, and my EOTDs.

2015 Favourites: 8 Top Foundations and BB/CC Creams

2015 Favourites: 8 Top Foundations and BB/CC Creams

Too Faced Cosmetopia Digest   Saturday, January 02, 2016

Happy New Year, people! I hope we all have an amazing year ahead in which happy memories are made, goals are accomplished, dreams come true, and life is mostly pleasant and hassle-free.
In 2015, I was lucky to find my HG foundations - full coverage, matte finish, great staying power. Both drugstore and higher end. About five of them are HG, each serving a different purpose, as you will see. 

Scroll down for more on my favourite foundations of 2015 and why I love them.

2015 Favourites: 10 Best Eyeshadow Palettes

2015 Favourites: 10 Best Eyeshadow Palettes

Urban Decay Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, December 31, 2015

Happy New Year's Eve! I am staying indoors for the first time in years because the breakout I thought was acne is actually an infection I caught after travelling to flood-infested areas three weeks ago. My GP did a swab and culture - I'm running a temperature and have withdrawn from public life for the next three weeks.
This was one of the most difficult posts of 2015 for me - narrowing down my favourite eyeshadow palettes of the year to just 10. I had to leave out some favourite staples such as Cargo Cosmetics Summer in the City and MUA Spring Break.

Scroll down for the list of my 10 favourite eyeshadow palettes for 2015.

Disclaimer: Favourites lists are entirely subjective. What may be an awesome product to one person may not work at all for another.

Cargo Cosmetics Venice Enchantment Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatches

Cargo Cosmetics Venice Enchantment Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, November 12, 2015

Cargo Cosmetics' Summer palette, Summer in the City, reviewed here, was a big hit with me, with its antique gold and bronze shimmers. Naturally, I wanted their Autumn '15 release, the Venice Enchantment eyeshadow palette, featuring 12 Venetian tapestry-inspired shades. This, along with IT Cosmetics Romantics (all mattes), reviewed here, and Lancome Auda[City], reviewed here, is one of my top three favourite palettes for Fall 2015. Find out why.

Scroll down for the review and swatches of the Cargo Cosmetics Venice Enchantment Eyeshadow Palette.

Burnt Orange Fall Makeup With Cargo Venice Enchantment and HD Foundation

Burnt Orange Fall Makeup With Cargo Venice Enchantment and HD Foundation

Smoky eye Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Recently, I had the worst breakout of my life, with large, painful cystic acne that left behind bad pigmentation. Cargo Cosmetics HD Picture Perfect Liquid Foundation is one of the few makeup products that actually covers severe cystic acne. To see how bad my acne is without makeup, go to this post. 
I am also obsessed with the Cargo Cosmetics Venice Enchantment Palette, their Fall 2015 release. Apart from a silver, I have been using every shade in that palette. I will review it in detail sometime next week.

Here is a Fall Makeup Look featuring Cargo Cosmetics Venice Enchantment Eyeshadow Palette and HD Picture Perfect Liquid Foundation.

Scroll down for deets on products used and more photographs.

Cargo Cosmetics Summer in the City Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatches, EOTD

Cargo Cosmetics Summer in the City Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatches, EOTD

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, August 31, 2015

Despite the name, this is one year-round neutral palette. From the external box, I expected the Cargo Cosmetics Summer in the City palette to contain summery oranges, warm beiges, ruddy browns and a bright or two. Wrong. It is a very gold-centric palette and the packaging reflects that as well.
The Cargo Cosmetics Summer in the City palette contains 12 shimmery neutrals ranging from goldens, browns and coppers - and a duo of lavender and purple. The palette was not on my radar at first. I visited the counter to buy the Shanghai Nights palette, but ended up buying Summer in the City instead because, as Thomas Gray said, "What female heart can gold despise?"*

Scroll down for swatches of the Cargo Cosmetics Summer in the City eyeshadow palette, and for an eye makeup I did with some of the shades.

Cargo Cosmetics Let's Meet In Paris eyeshadow palette review, swatches

Cargo Cosmetics Let's Meet In Paris eyeshadow palette review, swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, April 07, 2015

My first experience with Cargo Cosmetics eyeshadows.

I was thrilled when one of my favourite online shopping destinations, HQHair, gave out the Cargo Cosmetics Let's Meet in Paris eyeshadow palette as a gift with purchase with orders of £50 and above. I bought a Micro-Pedi for my Mum and a NARS foundation for myself to get the Cargo palette.
The palette they sent out, Let's Meet in Paris, is definitely Winter-friendly and belongs to the Holiday releases, but that doesn't stop me from loving it. These things are perennial; there are no rules or laws. If they are still available for sale and companies are sending them out to people, then we can drool all over them. Or not, as the case may be.

Check out my swatches of the Cargo Cosmetics Let's Meet in Paris eyeshadow palette.