Preserving Memories - Adoramapix photobook review

Dineish enjoys photography and recently made a photobook of our trip to India. After much research and reading reviews, he decided to go with Adoramapix to create our album.

Adoramapix is an online photo lab catered for not only the professional, but anyone regardless of their photographic expertise can create masterpieces. The image finish is of high quality and photobooks are made with Fuji Archive paper, not print. So not only is your album looking very stylish on the coffee table, but the images are amazing.

The cover was very thick and had a metallic sheen. 

 

The paper is of high quality. The pages were extremely thick and sturdy, and again had a nice sheen to them. There is a slight texture on the page, which can take away from the photo finish.
Some of the images were not edited to the best standard, so next time we would go back and correct and brighten before finalising.



As AdoramaPix uses real photo paper. You cannot see it here, but finger prints can be picked up on darker pages.



Spread

 

Page thickness

Crease down the middle of page and between a full page spread - image is not lost.

Photobook laying flat and spine.

Book dimensions: 10"x8", 14 pages
Software: Very easy to use. There is an option to either choose from their standard layouts or customise your own (as we did).

Paper quality: Archive paper in professional lustre finish, so these memories are forever! The pages were very thick and durable, and have a nice sheen finish (not glossy or matte). There is a slight texture, which take away from the sharpness of the image.

Print quality: Really good. I think next time I would invest a little more time in ensuring that the photos we use have been thoroughly edited to ensure that the finish is clean.
Cover quality: Very thick with a metallic sheen finish.
Prices: This book (without shipping) costs $32.95USD. Check their website for pricing, shipping, sales and delivery time (ours took a little over 2 weeks to arrive).
Overall thoughts: The book is perfect and I love flicking through the pages! Since making this album, we have bought both our families a copy to keep - it's a really great gift idea :)

Hopefully I will be making one very soon of our honeymoon!

xS

Benefit Boi-ing & Watt's Up! review

I'm starting to take my makeup skills to the next level and decided to go out and buy a concealer and highlighter to play with. After several visits to Sephora and the makeup counters at Robinsons, I narrowed down to Benefit Boi-ing concealer (shade 3) and Watt's Up! higlighter, hope you enjoy my review!

Boi-ing concealer in shade 3

I have mainly been using this to brighten my under eye area and a little to conceal any blemishes. It has a creamy consistency and is really easy to apply and blend. It builds well to cover those stubborn marks. However if you apply it a little too heavy it can look cakey. Considering that it gives really good coverage, I recommend you use a little and go over with some setting powder. I am using shade 3, which is slightly ligher than my skin tone but not too light that it looks ashy. I have tried it on several times now in the humid Singapore weather and it stays well for almost 6 hours, but I might need to blot/touch up with powder.

Concealer shade 3 which I use as a under eye highlight (sorry for the really bad lighting)

Unfortunately I am not a fan of the price at this stage, at $34SGD it isn't the cheapest concealer out there but it is the best one I've tried. I will definately be using Boi-ing for a while in the future because a small amount goes such a long way and I love how it brightens the areas where light hits the most! Hopefully I can start playing around with it a little more and get those Kim K contours!! 

 

Watt's Up! highlighter

I've been struggling to find a good highlighter that suits my skin tone and was excited to try this out when I came across it! Highlighters, in my opinion, helps accentuate your features in even the dimmest of lighting :) When you start contouring with bronzers and concealers, you need something to bring back the dimension!

Watt's Up! comes as a stick which is designed for easy application with one hand. I like it because there is no brush applicator (no dipping and wiping off the excess liquid) or powder flying everywhere, just a simple double ended stick. The packaging looks like a light bulb (hence the name 'Watt's Up!') with the highlighter at one end and a transparent plastic cap revealing the 'soft glow blender' on the other (which I haven't really used). I feel like it's smudges the foundation/concealer underneath so fingers are so much better and sometimes the best tool. 

The highlighter blends well, as the formula is creamy. The champagne color sits well with my brown skin tone and the glow/pay off isn't over the top.

 

You can also apply to wherever the light naturally hits your face. It can be worn alone or on top of makeup.

 

Again, the price was a little steep at $48SGD :( But because I have finally found a highlight that I can see on my skin, this one is a keeper!

 

If anyone can suggest another highlight, please please let me know as I am keen to try more out. In the mean time, I'm gonna tweek my highlighting and contouring skills :)

xS