La Mer Skincare Collection Reviews Prelude

Hello dearies!!!!

So where do I go from here?

I have almost the full collection from La Mer!

So what is it about La Mer?

You can find the story here: https://m.cremedelamer.com/brand-story It’s the Miracle Broth!

I got curious when they first came into Singapore in the early 2000s (in my memory) with their first counter at Tangs and there were some tabloid news that a famous 80s pop diva was using it. And it immediately caught my attention because she is my idol!!! I went to the counter and I got myself the Eye Balm and a small sample of the renown Creme de La Mer. I never looked back since then.

I was hooked and amazed by the results of using it religiously for years. I’m in my late 30s but my skin probably is like a minus 10 years. I do not have much lines, I do not have crows feet nor do I have saggy skin. I do have some light dark circles but not something that can be helped because we use our phones, computers etc and all these rays are hitting us slowly…plus Singapore is also nicknamed as the “Sunny Island” (uv rays in excess can be bad for skin) and we all know we can use sunblock on our skin but we can only wear that much sunnies to protect our eyes. 😎

Ok lets start off by getting a quick snapshot of my skin first:

Combination – dry/normal/oily/sensitive. Why do I have so many combos? (It’s complicated) 😑 Well, being a woman, that’s the reason why – we have our periods to deal with! Due to hormonal changes, my skin changes with it. About 7 to 10 days before my period, my skin will start to get sensitive and redness especially around my nose and chin areas with an occasional zit popping up. During my period, my skin will become easily irritated and flares up easily – super sensitive. After my period, my skin will be normal with oily T zone or dry with oily T zone depending on the climate that I’m in or how well hydrated I am on that day. This is the reason why I use so many products but I do not use all at one go. Being a La Mer fanatic user for over a decade, I’ve learnt which product works for me and I’ll mix and match according to my skin condition everyday.

I’m a true believer that good skin starts from good habits and skincare. Luxury skincare is my kind of thing but this does not mean that luxury is the only way to go. More importantly, if it works for you that’s something worth investing. I enjoy using skincare and I treat it as a de-stressing technique twice everyday as part of my pampering routine. I hope you can start your own journey of finding your favorite skincare routine and I wish you a beautiful lovely skin ahead. 😘

I will be categorizing these La Mer products by cleansers, toners, essences, serums, eye creams, moisturizers, masks and specialists so stay tune!

Cheers

Xoxo

Serinstashes ❤️

La Mer Cosmetics, Swatches and Reviews (Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation; Luminous Lifting Cushion Foundation; Loose Powder; Sheer Pressed Powder; Foundation Brush; Powder Brush; Concealer; Cheek Tint; Bronzer)

Hello dearies!!!!

It’s La Mer time!!!!!!! This is one of my HG brand from the skincare category. I have used their products for over 10 years now and I’ll be sharing my thoughts on their cosmetics line.

Here we have the following products:

1. Foundation Brush (SGD 120)

2. Soft Fluid Foundation – 03 Creme (SGD 190) 21 Shades but I think SG does not carry all shades.

3. Cheek Tint in Coral and Pink Sands (SGD 105 each)

4. Luminous Lifting Cushion Foundation – 12 Neutral Ivory (SGD 160) 12 or 15 Shades (I’m not very sure 😬)

5. Sheer Pressed Powder – Translucent (SGD140) 4 Shades

6. Concealer – Medium (SGD 120) 4 Shades

7. Bronzer (SGD 135)

8. Powder Brush (SGD 150)

9. Loose Powder (SGD 170) – only one shade

First we look at the Foundation Brush:

This is made of synthetic hair and La Mer advocates this with the soft fluid foundation as they were launched at the same time. I used it with this foundation and a few other liquid foundations that I own and it gives a natural coverage. What I like is that it is easy to reach areas around the nose and inner corners of the eyes as it’s tapered at the tip but roundish and not overly pointy. It does not prick the skin like some other synthetic hair brush does. However, you do need to use it with a light hand because if you press too hard, it does makes your foundation slightly streaky. I prefer to use this with their cushion foundation as it has a higher coverage and not the liquid one as it has a thinner consistency. The brush somehow seems to thin out the coverage till a very sheer finishing. It’s not quite friendly to build coverage with this brush either. I’ll recommend some other foundation brush in the near future when I share my collection of brushes. 😜

Next we have the Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation:

I believe you can tell how “fluid” this is with just half a pump on my wrist. Creme (03) is the lightest shade for warm undertone. They have 21 Shades in total from the official site (https://m.cremedelamer.com/product/5817/40984/skincolor/the-soft-fluid-long-wear-foundation-broad-spectrum-spf-20/face-foundation-makeup#/shade/03_Creme) I’m sharing the US site as the SG site does not have enough info. Please do go to the La Mer counters to have your shade match as they might not have all 21 shades. This foundation feels very comfortable on the face and provides a very sheer natural coverage. There is a fragrance to it upon application but that would fade off after a couple of hours of wearing. As for it’s claim on being long wear, this does not work well on me as I have combination oily T zone and SG weather is humid most of the time. This wears off quite quickly around the T zone area say after about 3 hours where it starts to slide off. I tried it with a few primers and it still starts to slide off around my T zone area within 4 hours max. I think it would work better on dry skin in my opinion and do note that this oxidizes just a slight tinge at the end of the day. 😶

Next we have the Cheek Tints in Coral & Pink Sands:

These were limited editions and they may have sold out by the time you read this so I will not say too much. These tints can be used on the lips as per advised by the SA (sales associate). It feels soft and taste minty when applied on the lips with super sheer color. When on the cheeks, it looks very natural but somehow feels tacky. Maybe you did not miss much even if you are not able to get these now. 😖

Next is the Luminous Lifting Cushion Foundation:

The color that I’m using is shade 12- Neutral Ivory which is a neutral undertone. They should have around 12 to 15 shades and I think SG carries most of the shades. Please note that these shades are fairer than its fluid foundation so please go to the La Mer counters to try it on your face. It starts from 0 which is the fairest to 4 or 5 which is the darkest and then the second digit represents the undertone, 1 for cool, 2 for neutral, 3 for warm. I picked 12 which is light neutral but not the lightest which they have in 02 as it’s too whitish for me. So please try it before getting one if you are interested. I read somewhere that this was inspired by Korean beauty trend where cushion foundations started. Thus I think that’s why the shades leans toward the fairer end. If not mistaken, these are only available in Asia.

First the packaging, housed in a very lovely in a rose gold tone (classy)! But mind you it’s a fingerprint magnet 🤣 I wipe it after each use cos I have OCD (joke – but I do like to keep my products clean and neat). It’s like most cushion foundations that comes with a sponge applicator and a lid to close the cushion inside the box with a click. When applied using the given sponge, you do not need to press hard into the cushion as it picks up quite a bit of product easily. Using patting motions on your face, this goes on very easily. The coverage I say is medium-high. It was able to mask my pimple that I had previously with just one pat and for light dark circles, you do not need a concealer! With a full face using this, I think I look “masked-like” which I’m not a big fan of. So the SA advised me to try it with the foundation brush and I did just that. I love the finish with the brush as I look more natural. My skin is usually pretty alright so I prefer light to medium coverage max. I also tried it using my BB (beauty blender) and the results was also lovely. I prefer not to use it with the sponge applicator provided. But if you do like better coverage, you will like the applicator. This finish I get with the brush is sheer glowy and with the bb it’s more velvety. This is more long wearing than the fluid foundation and it seems to have some oil control properties. It held up nicely on my face for for at least 5 hours before my T zone starts to shine a little and I did not use any primer. Overall it’s a lovely foundation which I think it’s good for normal to combination to maybe even oily skin types. It’s also very convenient to bring out for touch ups if needed and you do not need to set this with powder and it does not oxidize. Quite a winner!

Next is the Pressed Powder:

This comes in 4 shades and I got mine in Translucent. I usually prefer my powders colorless as I use these mostly for touch ups or setting or finishing so I rather it not make any further adjustments to my foundation/concealer/blush etc. The three other colors are light, medium & medium-deep. You can go to the counters to get some comparison. This finishes off as a matte and I like it over my T zone and not full face (I like to keep other parts of my face dewy). It works very well in keeping my T zone shine under control & at most I would use this one more time if I’m out throughout the day. The compact is quite flat and I think the cover is a magnetic closure. A good powder to have for oilier skin types but I won’t use it full face.

Next is the Concealer:

This is also housed in a lovely rose gold metal case which is very classy! I got mine in medium and it works for my under-eyes with slight dark circles. It comes in 4 shades and medium seems to have a slight peachy undertone that works better for dark circles. The lightest shade is probably better for highlighting use or if you are really super fair, otherwise I would not recommend as you would look like you have some white rings under your eyes instead 🤓 This concealer is creamy and very easy to blend. I do like it but the lasting power is averagely around 4-5 hours. If I set it lightly with powder, some fine lines will start to show up around the same time. This works if you are gonna bring this out to touch up (at least twice for one full day) but not for a lazy person like me who does very little touch ups when I’m out. I think there are better ones out there…😬

Next is the Bronzer:

This one is a winner! It’s so pretty when you swirl it all together. I use it as a blusher instead of bronzer as you can see it’s hard to reach just the Browns in the pan. Love it! 😍

Next we have the Loose Powder:

It’s housed in a very heavy glass jar which makes this look very elegant and nice on your dresser. It’s very finely milled and so hard to swatch. It has some fine specks of glitters in it but it does not show up on your face like a disco ball 🤣 I use this as a finishing powder and not setting powder as it does not finish up matte nor does it helps to control shine. It’s pretty colorless on the face. Nice to have 😆

Last but not least is the Powder Brush:

This is also made from synthetic hair but it feels so fluffy & luxurious! It’s a big baby that does not prick your face! It’s so super soft you gotta feel it for yourself! I’m amazed by the quality. It picks up powders perfectly well and feels so good on the face. Please go grab one like now! 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏽‍♂️You won’t regret it.

I hope I did not bore you with these many products but I wanted to put these all together into one category.

Stay tune for my next posts on La Mer Skincare – sneak preview:

Cheers

Xoxo ❤️

Serinstashes

Tatcha Review Part 2 – The Essence

Hello hello!

The second product that I want to review is The Essence

This is sold for SGD135 in Singapore Sephora. This is a resurfacing skin softener with Japanese superfoods for a youthful radiant look as it’s described on the Sephora online site. This claimed that in just 7 seconds, the skin’s natural moisture content is boosted to reduce dryness and battle the pesky signs of aging.

Sounds good! So I bought….

After opening the cap, it has this silicon mouth that controls and direct the product to drip a small amount each time you give it a good shake (like ketchup 🤣).

This design is indeed very user friendly unlike some others that has a huge opening and each time you waste some products when using (either you poured too much or you spill some). 😕

The content is just like water, no smell to it and it’s clear looking. You are suppose to pour some onto your palms and pat in onto your face. This gets absorbed pretty fast and what I do like about it is that it has no smell at all. It gives me a feeling that the content seems kinda pure in that sense.

After constantly using this twice a day for two weeks, I must say that my skin feels & looks plump! So far so good!

As for it’s other claim that it’s suppose to help all other skincare products after this to absorb better, I cannot attest to it but to believe that it does.

I would conclude that if you are looking for a hydrating Essence, this is it!

Cheers

XOXO

serinstashes ❤️

Tatcha Review Part 1 – Silk Canvas Protective Primer

Hello everyone!

It’s Tatcha time!

Most of Tatcha’s products flies off shelves the moment they hit Singapore’s Sephora stores. I searched high and low and finally managed to lay my hands on a few items but it’s a pity I’m not able to get the highly raved about mist!

Tatcha Silk Canvas Protective Primer

This is sold for SGD72 at Sephora. It contains silk that is suppose to smooth & preserves the look of makeup.

Comes in a twist cap round container like this:

It comes with a disc that helps you pick up the right amount:

You are suppose to scrape the primer with the disk gently until it reaches the line that is marked on it but in my opinion, a little goes a long way!

This is sufficient for your whole face 😁

See how easily it spreads?

Viola! All smooth!

This primer indeed lives up to its name of smoothing! My makeup glides on top of it and it seems to adhere pretty well I would say!

One thing to note though, this is not a oil control primer, hence my T zone got oily as the day goes but I still like it because at the end of day after I removed my makeup, my skin does feels soft and still smooth as it’s suppose to protect and probably sealed my skincare that was underneath.

I would recommend this for those looking for a smoothing primer with skincare properties!

Cheers

XOXO

serinstashes ❤️

Serin’s Stashes

Woke up today and started playing my game on my phone and noticed that my friend had not been online for a week so I started texting her. I realized that I’m the only person on earth who is not busy. As I should have been working. Been spending 6 weeks on YouTube, mobile games and online shopping, whatnot since I have all the time in the world! After much YouTubing and encouragement from my friends, I’ve decided to launch my own blog and I will be sharing my stashes of skincare and cosmetics in hope for some PR boxes to be sent over! I’m inspired! Let’s go!

PS – All products are paid by myself and not sponsored. I’m also using my phone most times to take pictures so no fancy displays or photo editing. All simple truth! My reviews, comments, opinions are solely mine and not in anyway meant to be promoting or discriminating.

Cheers

Serinstashes 😍