The Other Side of Me

Gmarket Haul Jan 2012

2012-01-21T09:24:00.002Z

Sorry for being MIA for a while now! I have been crazy busy at work and usually I am dead tired after that and I just want to recuperate on weekends.

Anyhow, a belated Happy New Year! This is the first post in 2012 and it's a haul from Gmarket! I am extremely happy with this haul. Received the huge parcel within a week of order and every item turns out perfect and of amazing quality as always from Gmarket.

Let's get on with the haul.

Look at the humongous box! I could barely hold it properly with my arms due to the size although it was not that heavy. The huge box was due to the pair of shoes and bag that I ordered which I love to death. You'll see why below. :)

The loot inside the box

The 4 packages which I opened with thrill!

Everything out from the box - 2 tops, 2 skirts, a handbag and a part of shoes.

First top is this thick burgundy jumper. It feels extremely soft and I love the leopard print collar.

Second top is a hoody with leopard-print ears. How cute is that?!! When I saw it, I knew I had to add it to the cart. Again, thick and extremely well-made.

Third piece is this skirt with bow slim belt which looks really pretty but unfortunately, it's a tad too big for me. I picked size M like I usually do for Gmarket sizing but seems like I should have gotten size S instead. Since returning is not an option now (not worth the shipping cost!), I'll just try to make it work with the belt. At least the length is alright. It's just too big on the waist.

Next is this polka dot skirt which is extremely pretty on. I believe this is free size and it fits perfectly!

I tell you, this pair of shoes is totally gorgeous. One of the two favourite buys this haul. It is of suede material and chunky heels and extremely well-made. Looks really good with black tights. OOTD featuring this anyone?

And finally, is this Celine inspired handbag - another favourite of mine. I was so excited when I saw this. I've been seeing this a lot lately and of course, I can't afford the original Celine. This is huge and of very good quality. I am so happy with this purchase!

That's all for this haul. If you would like to know the links to any of these items, feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks for dropping by. :)

Beauty Haul - Clinique & J'adore Pink Cookie

2011-12-31T21:55:00.000Z

I was being cheeky again and went to pick up a couple more stuff from the sale. I couldn't resist, not especially when I saw the price for the Clinique 3 Steps System. I have been wanting to try this out but keep procrastinating due to its price and also I simply have too much products to go through!

The two sets I picked up - Clinique 3 Steps Skincare for Combination Oily and the J'adore Pink Cookie Set

J'adore Pink Cookie - Comes with a tube of body wash and shimmer lotion. Haven't tried this before and I just randomly dropped this into the basket. Any of you have tried this before? How do you like it?

Now my favourite buy - Clinique 3 Steps Skincare System for Combination to Oily

Comes with a huge pouch. Great for travelling!

The goodies inside the pouch - a full sized set and a travel sized set.

All for £39. Now, does that spell BARGAIN?? How could I resist! The full sized ones are huge. I think this will last me forever!

I am starting this new routine tomorrow and I hope I would agree to the amazing reviews I've heard so far! I think I might still add a serum in though. What do you girls who are familiar with this routine think? Is this advisable? I am just feeling very insecure if I leave the serums (morning & night) out. Let me know please?

That's all for the short haul. Hope you like it. :)

Boxing Day Haul - Clothing

2011-12-27T21:53:00.001Z

Hello! This is the second part of my Boxing Day haul. You can find the first part on beauty items here.

Let's get started!

First, from New Look.

White mule, white fleece hoody jacket, pleather shorts and fur coat

Both the shorts and fur coat had sold out size 8 and 10 so I had to get size 12 which was the smallest available size. I was contemplating really hard weather to leave them behind but decided not to with such great bargain. The fur coat is gorgeous and looks ok on, do you think so? The shorts look slightly too big but I think still acceptable though. I'm definitely keeping the coat but will think about the shorts. Let me know if I should keep or return it?

From Berskha

Red fur collar cardigan, leopard print dress and denim jacket

Super love the denim jacket and red cardigan! Again, I was worried about sizing when I picked the cardigan up. I saw it in the store and fell in love but ONLY size L left! Surprisingly though, I put it on and it actually looks flattering! Only the sleeves are slightly too long which is ok, considering this is an outer wear anyway.

From Topshop

Dress coat, skinny soft jeans and collar necklace

Love the coat a lot. I have been looking for a dress coat for ages and finally found it! The fur collar is detachable. The skinny jeans makes my thighs look so slim. LOVES! Lol.

From H&M

Blue shirt, green washed blouse (picture above), front fur jacket and brown skirt

The skirt is too big on me so I will be returning it. I'm still thinking about the blue shirt. It is short in front and long at the back. I don't think it looks flattering on me.

Finally, from Jane Norman

Just a red bag!

That's all for my clothing haul. Hopefully I will not be adding anything into the collection anymore as I have been spending wayyyyy too much! Lol.

Let me know what you've got on Boxing Day! :)

Boxing Day Haul - Beauty + Swatches

2011-12-27T11:32:00.001Z

Hello! Did you manage to grab all the deals you have in mind yesterday? I went to Westfield Stratford City and Oxford Street yesterday and came back with goodies! Not as much as I expected though. Most probably due to the humongous crowd which I am not a fan of. It was IMPOSSIBLE to enter Next at all and everything in River Island was in a big mess when I entered - not a pretty sight. Eeeeks.

Anyhow, I decided to split my haul to two separate entries - one for beauty and another one for clothing. This post as the title says, is for the beauty items that I manage to picked up. :)

*Swatches to follow at the end of the post*

First up are the goodies from Boots.

2 nail polishes, a lipstick, 3 lip glosses and a lip liner

From Rimmel - Colour Show Off Lipstick in 140 Kiss Me, I Love Lasting Finish Nail Polish in 030 Double Decker Red and Lasting Finish Lip Liner in 011 Spice

A lot of REDS going on here for the festive season! I don't own any red lipstick nor nail polish and I was very inspired to do bright lip look and so I got them. :)

From Collection 2000 - Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in 3 Fairy Cake, 1 Cotton Candy and 2 Powder Puff

I saw this from one of the haul videos by StyleSuzi and I was hooked! They look so gorgeous and I knew I had to get them. I am not a matte lip person but this is not drying at all and look very flattering on. Plus, Boots was having 3 For 2 sale across all Collection 2000 products so I grabbed three!

17 Fast Finish Nail Polish in Revenge

Next up from Superdrug.

Only two items from Look Beauty - Lipslick in 5 Peaches and Nail Pop in 13 Flamingo

Both are matching colours!

And then I went to House of Fraser and pick up the item that I am MOST excited about!

The Benefit Boxing Day Beauty Gift Set. Look at the gorgeous packaging!

Opening the box reveals the goodies inside.

Hoola Bronzing Powder (full size), Some Kind-a Gorgeous Foundation in Medium (full size), High Beam (sample size) and Bad Gal Lash Mascara (sample size)

This is a total bargain! The two full sized items retail at £23.50 each and this gift set was priced at £29.66. I grabbed it despite not being entirely sure that the foundation shade matches me. However, after speaking to the SA and she assured me that it should match and she wears the same shade too so I could get some idea. I am not a big fan of Benefit just because of its price which is on the expensive side and now I can try these babies out! :)

Swatches for the lip products (all without flash).

Left to Right - Rimmel Colour Show Off Lipstick in 140 Kiss Me and Rimmel Lasting Finish Lip Liner in 011 Spice

Left to Right - Look Beauty Lipslick in 5 Peaches, Collection 2000 Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in 3 Fairy Cake, 2 Powder Puff and 1 Cotton Candy

That's all for the Beauty haul. Do share with me what you've got. :)

Winter Lookbook #1

2011-12-23T12:51:00.000Z

I was browsing through all my photos and noticed a lot of photos which I have not posted, so decided to do a lookbook entry.

#1 - Department Christmas Dinner

Little Black Dress - Gmarket

Tights - Primark

Boots - Gmarket

Coat - H&M

Purse - Gmarket

#2 - Shopping in London on a cold weekend

Scallop Top - Primark

Faux Leather Skirt - H&M

Drape Cardigan - Forever 21

Thick Chunky Cardigan - Gmarket

Tights - Primark

Knee-length Socks - ASOS

Boots - Primark

Purse - Gmarket

Leopard Print Scarf - H&M

Necklace - H&M

Alternative views without all the crazy layering and this is how the scallop top looks like. Love it!

#3 - Outfit to work

Stripe Jersey Top - H&M

Jumper - H&M

Legging - Gmarket

Ankle boot - Primark

Purse - Gmarket

Ring - H&M

Lastly, some camwhore pictures of me! :)

That's all.

Hope you like it! :)

Gmarket Haul & Remington Curling Iron

2011-12-20T21:35:00.002Z

Two parcels arrived today for me! *Happy dance around the room*

You girls shopaholics out there must understand this excitement of mine. :) Packages make my day hands down and especially one from Gmarket. They rarely disappoint. Whenever I receive an order from Gmarket, I usually cannot wait to rip it open!

So yes, I cheekily placed yet another order. I've lost count really. I have been hauling like crazy lately with all the sales and great deals going on. And I can't help it. Autumn/Winter is my favourite season to shop!

Let's get into the haul, shall we?

I have a complain this time though - LOOK AT THE STATE OF THE BOX!! Not Gmarket's fault. I believe UK custom opened it. This is the first time such thing happened to me out of the countless times I shopped from Gmarket before! Luckily there are separate packaging for the items and they are not in any way harmed. Or else I would indeed be very unhappy.

Only three sub packages. :)

I picked up only leggings and a bag this time basically. To be more specific, many leggings and a gorgeous bag. :)

Here are all the six leggings I picked up - faux leather, thick winter leggings and a jegging.

The winter leggings are really thick, all fleece lined and perfect for the cold weather now. And the faux leather ones are my favourite of the lot! I've been spotting this everywhere this season but somehow couldn't find one which suits me size and cost wise. When I was browsing Gmarket earlier, I saw these and immediately added them to the cart.

Leather leggings - seller link
Thick leggings & jegging - seller link

Now comes my utmost favourite purchase - the bag.

See how well it is packaged!

I picked this up as I realised that despite having so many different colour bags, I do not own any in black! Can you believe that? So I got this - something classic, basic, suitable as an everyday bag.

Sorry for the blurry picture. But this bag is absolutely gorgeous and not to mention such good quality!

This honestly feels much much more expensive than how much I actually paid for it. I am so happy with this purchase! Would definitely check out the same seller again in the future.

This is how it looks on my hand. It's huge. Great for a person like me who dump all sorts of junk into the bag. I can definitely see myself carrying this very often. And I know it will last quite some time. :)

Now on to the second parcel I received today.

The Remington Curling Iron from the Tribal Collection.

Leopard print handle. HOW CUTE IS THAT? When I saw this on Superdrug, reduced to £9.99 from original £24.99 (currently £12.49 on the website which is still a big bargain!) AND free delivery, I had to get it! And it comes with a pink pouch and mirror! I had no time to research for reviews before I purchased this so I'm not sure if this will suck or not. Any of you girls tried this before? Care to share your experience please?

Currently for hair curling purposes, I own the Babyliss Professional 30 Piece Roller Set and Babyliss You Curl Curling Iron. I have extremely long hair (although just chopped off a few inches two months ago) and both still take way too long for me to curl my hair on a daily basis. Well, maybe I won't be doing that every single day but I need something that is easy and fast enough for me to style my hair often. Let me try this out and see if it works!

That's all for this haul now. Hope you enjoy reading it! :)

OOTD: Featuring ASOS KARLO Leather Boot

2011-12-17T10:27:00.000Z

Hello lovelies! Here's a quick post on how I style the Asos boot I got earlier. Totally in love with it and have been wearing it almost everyday! Heel length is perfect and my feet doesn't hurt a tiny bit. This is definitely one of my feel good shoes. ;)

Look #1

Black shirt - Primark

Cream vest - H&M

Jeans - H&M

Skinny Belt - Primark

Boot - ASOS KARLO Leather Knee High Boot

Look #2

Jumper - Primark
Faux Leather Skirt - H&M
Thick Brown Tights - Gmarket
Boot - ASOS KARLO Leather Knee High Boot

I wore the second look to work yesterday and I wanted to wear the leather skirt since it's a Friday! But it is still work so to make it more office appropriate, I paired it with a jumper and it immediately soften down the edginess the skirt brings. Good decision to wear the jumper which kept me warm as when I stepped out the house, it was sleeting and turned into heavy snow not long after!

I'm working on a haul entry and should be up soon. Stay tuned. :)

Review: Etude House O2 White Vitamin C Capsule Cream

2011-12-13T16:37:00.000Z

I purchased this when I was back in Malaysia in October. I haven't been keeping myself updated on most Korean brands and boy, was I overwhelmed with the amount of new products I saw! I hauled a lot of them back here - a luggage full of Etude House, Skin79, Beauty Credit, Pure Beauty, etc. 99% of them skincare. So I have a lot to go through. :)

I have been using this moisturiser as part of my night routine since I returned so it has been more than a month now. Good time for a review.

It comes in a jar with 50ml of product. Now, as usual, jar is not the most hygienic packaging for skincare but a plastic scoop is provided as well which I don't care about. How many of you actually use those scoops that come with products? For me, they usually go missing and if not, I don't find them any cleaner than using my fingers! Honestly, before I apply anything on my face, I always wash my hands first and with those scoops left lying around, I don't see the point. If I use the scoop, I'll have to clean it afterwards, place it somewhere clean, yadda, yadda. I just don't bother.

Anyway, yes, I use my fingers with this. No problem with that so far. :)

Although it's called a cream, it is actually a lot lighter than it sounds. It's quite runny and more gel like. As you can see from this picture, it's clear and contains bits of which apparently are encapsulated Vitamin E to nourish the skin.

I apply this after the serum and as this is quite light especially for the cold winter now, I need to add on another moisturiser after that. Some people may find that troublesome but I have no problem with that since I have too many products to finish anyway!

Now, do I like it? Well, yes and no. It doesn't wow me nor does it break me out big time. One thing I do dislike about it though is its smell. It has this very similar smell to Vicks nose decongestant. I don't mind Vicks in my nostrils and in fact, I quite enjoy that when I catch a cold but not on my face!! Am I the only one who thinks this smells like that? Let me know what you think please?

I guess to conclude, I can do without this product and so, not a re-purchase for me. Let's see if I am even patient enough to use this up before jumping to another product.

Hope you find this helpful and let me know what Korean brand products you love!

New Addition & OOTD

2011-12-12T17:23:00.000Z

Literary just arrived today. How gorgeous is this baby. I ordered this from ASOS yesterday on 50% off and free next day delivery. How awesome.

100% leather. Knee-high. Chunky mid-length heels. Polished finish.

I am totally in love. :)

Half-zip detail

The view from the other side.

This is how it looks on me.

Side view.

I am very tempted with the tan version of this boot now. I need to get hold of my self-control. ;)

And finally, today's outfit.

Knitted dress - New Look
Skinny belt - comes with the dress
Black tights - Primark
Boots - ASOS KARLO Leather Knee High Boot
Ring - H&M

H&M Haul, Outfit & FOTD

2011-12-11T12:14:00.001Z

Hello! Another haul. Yes, I know, I'm ashamed. To have spent so much hauling recently. :P

The hubby went for a badminton game with his buddies and we had dinner plan right after his game. After a round of discussion, it seemed like the most convenient plan is for us to go out together and me hang out at the city centre for a couple of hours while he's sweating out. Else, he would have to go back home to fetch me later. So, as a result, you know what happens when you let loose a shopaholic alone in the city centre. :)

To be honest, I didn't have any 'craving' on my mind yesterday and planned to just look around. But, somehow, when I walked into my favourite store this season aka H&M, the leather (albeit faux) and furry stuff just suddenly jumped up to me and I had to have them after trying them on.

Here goes the new addition to my wardrobe.

Only four pieces really, three of which I can't wait to dress them out. Totally gorgeous. :)

There has been some kind of craziness going on with leather pieces lately in the youtube and blog land. And when I saw these, I had to try them on and fell in love immediately. I got the jacket in UK12 to have some room for layering and the skirt in UK10. Both fit perfectly.

This is another favourite buy of the day. This cream fur waistcoat is gorgeous when put on. The price tag is even better at £12.99. Bargain. Enough said. :)

Finally is this ivory scarf from the sale section. 50% off and it looks nice, so why not?

Here are some snapshots of the pieces on.

Can't wait to wear them out! :)

Here's the outfit I wore out yesterday. Sorry, the lighting sucks.

Jumper - H&M

Chunky knit cardigan - Primark

Tights - Gmarket

Ankle boots - Primark

Snood - Primark

Purse - Gmarket

I tried the new Integrate gel pencil eyeliner from this haul yesterday. Omg, instant love. Smooth, creamy and black. Glides on easily and doesn't smudge. :)

Base - Skin79 Diamond BB Cream & MAC MSF Natural

Eyebrow - Cyber Colors Powder Eyebrow Pencil

Eyes - MAC Painterly Paint Pot, Integrate Gel Pencil Eyeliner, MAC Smoke & Diamonds to soften out liner, Fairy Drops Volume Burst Mascara (waterproof)

Cheeks - Coffret Dor Beauty Sharp Designer Face Color to highlight & Milani Powder Blush in Luminous on cheek bones

Lips - Nothing except lip balm

Okay, that's all for this post. Hope you like it and thanks for dropping by. :)

Small Haul: Adambeauty and Sasa

2011-12-10T09:10:00.001Z

I placed a small haul on Adambeauty and Sasa recently and both packages have arrived now so I thought I would do a blog post about it. I love to read haul entries, do you? :)

Just a few items this time! The reason I had to split them to two different online stores is because I couldn't find what I wanted from Adambeauty in Sasa and vice versa! Plus, Sasa was having free international shipping promotion so I thought, why not? So I cheekily checkout. :)

First up, SILK WHITIA Whitening Essence Mask. Sasa was having buy 1 get 1 free promotion for some Silk Whitia mask and I snapped this. What a great deal, isn't it? With the discount, the per piece cost works out to be almost the same as the other cheaper masks like My Beauty Diary which I use more often. I wanted the anti-aging one initially but it ran out of stock. Link to the item here but it is OOS now! I'm sure they will re-stock later.

This is the other item I got from Sasa - THE FACE SHOP White Tree Snow Clarifying Booster Toner. Both my morning and night toners are running out soon so I had to stock up. I browsed through the site and decided to try something new. This is more expensive than the toners I usually use so I hope this will turn out good! Link to the item here.

Next comes the Adambeauty haul. This is the BIORE Marshmallow Bubble Face Wash. Yellow is for moisture and pink is for smoothening. I have been using this for some time now and I love this stuff to death. Honestly, since I started using bubble face wash, I would never go back to the others now. I've tried quite a few bubble wash from other brands like Aquamoist, Sana and Hana Labo and they are all good. I use this day and night so they run out quite quickly. This is why I got two of them!

Last item from Adambeauty is the INTEGRATE Gel Pencil Eyeliner. I believe this is quite a new product and as usual, I am tempted to try out. Gel pencil liner - how convenient that sounds? I have high hopes on this. If this turns out well, I suspect it will push all my other pencil liner back to the 'neglected' drawer. Lol. Any of you have tried this? Let me know your thoughts please?

That's all for the small haul. Hope you like it and thanks for reading. :)

PS: If you would like to see a review on any of these, do let me know!

Autumn/Winter 2011 Boots Haul

2011-12-04T12:12:00.001Z

Hello lovelies! I have a sudden urge to write about the boots that I've purchased for this Autumn/Winter season. I love boots and I practically live in them throughout the colder weather. Not only they keep me warm and comfy, they are extremely versatile and easily paired with different types of outfits to create various looks. The most worn look that I usually go for would be the easiest long top with leggings and pair with a pair of boots, be it ankle or knee high ones. They look good either way.

Without further blabbering, here are the boots which I've hauled so far since late September or so.

Only 3 pairs! Am I good or what. :)

Well, I didn't say that's all for this year. :P

Let's go through each pair.

This is my latest purchase; just got it yesterday from Primark actually. You can see the tag is still on. I went shopping (again) yesterday and had a huge clothing haul from Primark, H&M and New Look. Perhaps I should do a post on it.

I was looking for a pair of tan/brown ankle boots (or chelsea boots) actually but the tan version of this has sold out my size. That's what I dislike about Primark. I would find something I really like only that there's none left for my size! Shoes are not too bad but clothing is a pain. Unless I visit the store when the new stocks are just in or I will end up looking at all larger sized ones, UK14 and above!

Okay, I digressed again. Back to this little baby. I ended up with the pair in black anyway after I tried it on and it looked so damn cute! Exactly what I am looking for albeit the colour. It's flat which is what I usually go for and comes with soft fur lining for extra warmth. These are not chelsea boots but oh well, they will do. Best part is its price - only £15. Bargain!

This second pair is a suede wedge boots I got last week from New Look (here). I have tons of shoes but this is my first wedge-heeled one. Pretty high at 3" for my standard but this must be the most comfortable high heel shoes I have. I've worn once so far and I had it on the entire day and my feet did not feel the slightest pinch which I usually would for heels. At £34.99, it is pricier than Primark ones but this feels really good quality and I think pretty much justified. :)

Last one here is my favourite among all. The picture may look really plain but don't let it fool you. This pair of riding boots look darn cute on. I've worn it many times now and I've received plenty of compliments! Most of the time people were surprised when I mentioned I got them from Primark. I can't really remember its price now since I got it more than 2 months ago but I think it is not more than £20 (don't quote me!). I remember I was hunting for a pair of tan knee-high boots then and I couldn't find any suitable ones from all the stores I visited that day. I could find the style I wanted but they are just not in the shade I wanted. I found a few that I like on ASOS but they cost like £80 which is way out of my budget. Finally, when I almost gave up that day, I just thought let's try Primark and voila, perfect pair at such affordable price. Totally made my day. :)

Perhaps I should do some OOTD entries on how I style these. Let me know if you want to see them.

I have other older boots which I still wear. I think I have about 10 pairs of boots. Not sure since I don't count. I shall find some time to do a post on my boots collection.

That's all for this entry then. Let me know your boot essential this Autumn/Winter by commenting below. I am still looking for a pair of chelsea boots. Let me know if you have any good recommendations too.

Thanks for reading. :)

Skin79 Diamond The Prestige BB Cream

2011-11-28T11:23:00.000Z

Wow, it really has been a long, long time since my last post - more than a year now! I've never thought I would be away for so long but oh well, life happened. After I started working again following a year break to pursue a Master degree, my life just naturally fell into a routine; busy at times and during those which were not, I chose to relax!

And oh, the most important update is that me and hubby had our wedding ceremony and reception early this month. They went really well. I couldn't stop smiling each time I thought about the wedding. Definitely fond memories for life. Perhaps, I should do an entry on that. Let's see. :)

Anyway, I digressed. The title of this entry sounds nothing like the long introduction I've written so far.

During this long absence, despite taking a hiatus from writing, of course the shopaholic me did not stop hauling. How could I right? I always believe in retail therapy! Lol!

One of the babies I've acquired recently is the Skin79 The Prestige BB Cream from the Diamond collection. Oh boy, how I am loving this! I've been using this every single day since I opened its packaging.

Look at the gorgeous bottle! Looking all sleek and pretty. And its goodness does not just end at the outer appearance. The content inside is just as good.

Coverage is not full but sufficient for me. My skin condition for the past few months has been really good (well, at least I am more than happy for it) and so I don't need too much coverage. I've never been a fan of thick coverage anyway and would always prefer luminous and dewy base. During the time-of-the-month when I sometimes would get some spots, dabbing concealer after application does the job perfectly.

Extremely easy to blend. I just do that with my fingers btw. My poor foundation brushes have been sitting idle collecting dust for months now. :) What I do is one pump of product on my palm, dab them on my cheeks, forehead and chin areas and finally blend and smooth them out using my fingers. Super quick and easy.

What I love the most about this product is its finish. Leaves a dewy and natural glow on my face! Dusting a thin layer of finishing powder over it and my base will last for the entire day - a good 9 hours I would say.

This matches my skin tone well and as a guidance, I am a NC15 so yes, those with darker skin tone may not like this product.

This reminds me a lot of the other favourite of mine - Missha M Perfect BB Cream. The one distinct difference is Missha's provide a thicker coverage. Both gives the perfect finish which I like. If you ask me to choose between the two, I feel a little guilty as I think I am siding more towards Skin79's. Missha M Perfect has been my favourite for such a long time now that I feel guilty of letting it lose! Lol.

I am aware of the lack of photos in this entry and I apologize for that. This is because I have not taken any. But if any of you would like to see some, I am happy to add them. Just request by commenting.

With that, that's all for this returning post I guess. Thanks for reading if you happen to come by. :)

.I returned.

2010-10-10T12:44:00.002+01:00

Hello ladies! I know. I know. I have been neglecting this blog for a lonnngggg time now; 4 months!! A lot has happened during this period and I was just too occupied and tired to write any post at all.

Let’s see, some updates:

- I graduated. Yay to me! I finally completed my Masters here in Cambridge and to make it sweeter, with a Merit. =)

- I found a job here. Another big YAY to me! As in a proper full time job which will add colours to my CV and career. Oh btw, I am a Commercial Analyst now. =)

- And finally the most important of all, the biggest event of my life, I got married! We have registered and are still planning for the ceremony to be held somewhere next year. So I suppose, I will be addressing him as the Hubby here instead now onwards. =)

Doesn’t sound a lot? Well, despite being only three bullet points, but trust me, just the marriage alone could have driven me crazy. Extremely exhausting. Nevertheless, it is still a really sweet memory which I will remember forever.

On the beauty side (of course I cannot ignore that in this blog huh?), I have been hauling quite a bit lately, mostly skincare since I’m not sure why, my skin is reacting badly lately, with pimples popping out especially on the chin area! Urrggghh….I hate that big time. I am currently looking for a good cream to heal acne scars. Any suggestion anyone? I will really appreciate it!

On the hauls, I will try to find some time to take the pictures and post them up on a separate entry. Since I started working, I barely can have time for my personal activities. I am usually dead tired after work and believe it or not, I have been going to bed at 10ish every night. So, weekends are like treasure to me now, to catch up on the readings, blogging and dramas/movies. So entries will still be rather slow, perhaps 1-2 posts per week. But something is still better than nothing right? I’ll try my best. =)

That’s about it for a quick update. Thanks for dropping by.

Review: Somang Keratin Hair Aqua Essence

2010-06-15T23:10:00.004+01:00

This is going to be a random product rave as I completely did not expect anything from this. But you know what, this kind of surprises from no expectation feels 100x greater! Total satisfaction from an accidental excellent finding. =)

I added this into the cart during my recent Sasa haul purely to reach the minimum amount for free shipping. There was no lemming nor curiosity to try this out. Heck, I hardly heard of this product before. I was surfing haircare products since I ran out of skincare to buy in mind and I’m not a fan to purchase makeup from Sasa. Don’t ask me why, I’m just weird like that. =P

It was only US$3.10 then, so I thought, why not?

After the haul arrived quite some time ago, it sat on my shelf where I placed all my new un-opened stuff for quite some time too. I did not bother to open it and I even forgotten all about it! It was THAT insignificant.

Up until a week ago, the leave-in conditioner which I apply on my hair everyday after I wash my hair ran out, only did I remember I actually bought this. So I went on and spritz all over my hair and again, forget about it. It did not feel anything special then. I just needed something to put on my hair out of routine; I ALWAYS apply something on my hair.

Then come 2 days later, I was at the Boyfriend place and was too lazy to go back my own place to shower where I have my army of daily essential products from head to toe. I am at the Boyfriend place every single day, so you can’t expect me to lug along all those stuff everyday.

Now, the Boyfriend being the typical guy you can imagine, his bathroom has only a bottle of hair and body shampoo. Read: A 2-in-1 shampoo plus conditioner. A total disaster for my super long hair. I KNOW very well this is just a marketing gimmick and they are total rubbish for hair. You hair needs proper shampoo and another proper conditioner.

After washing my hair that evening, omg, my hair was dry, frizzy and flat. Just one wash and my hair went all ‘upset’!

The next day, after washing my hair again (I wash hair everyday =P), I spritz this all over again and guess what, the next morning, my hair was oh-so-heavenly soft! It was completely back to normal and even better than before! Just one spritz and it was like a quick treatment to my hair! Totally awesome.

My hair care routine is pretty simple really. After washing (shampoo + conditioner daily and occasional hair treatment mask), I usually apply a leave-in conditioner, a crystal repair oil on the ends and then blow dry. That’s it. Nothing else. Nothing like the string of products I put on my face. And I’ll NEVER apply anything on my hair when it’s dry. I just despise the greasy feeling.

However, since the leave-in conditioner has finished and the crystal repair oil is reaching its bottom soon (I can’t find replacement here as I brought the oil from Malaysia and the current bottle is the last one I have), I have been using the Somang Keratin Hair Aqua Essence ONLY these days. I just spritz this on after letting my hair air dry for some time, while it’s still damp. And it works wonders. My hair feels even better than using two other products. Soft and bouncy with just one product. What can beat that?

FINAL VERDICT: 5/5

Considering the price I pay for this too, no, I can’t find any fault. Just too darn good. =)

Okay, I intended this to be a short review but it turned out to be a long story telling! I hope I did not bore you out.

Hope you like it and thanks for reading. =)

PS: I did not include any picture of the ingredient list as they are all in Korean and I can’t understand a single word. Plus, the usage instruction is also in Korean, so the way I use it is purely based on how I would like to use it. =P

Summer FOTD

2010-06-13T15:47:00.002+01:00

It has been while since I last did an FOTD. So sorry ladies. I haven’t been putting on makeup much, given my crazy schedule and when I do, I always do a quick one using the same palette almost everytime! I am so in love with the Castledew Color Shot Eyes palette. It has been my most used palette for the past month! However, since it has only 4 colours and the created look is always the same, there’s no point writing an FOTD post out of them. =)

Anyway, I went out punting yesterday with a big bunch of friends with the great summer weather and finally I did a proper look. Here it is.

What I’ve used:

FACE
SANA Soy Milk Nameraka Honpo Makeup Base
Revlon Photoready Foundation in Shell
VOV Good-Bye Complex Dark Circle Concealer
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle (Highlight cheek bones)
MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink (cheek bones to temple)
NARS Powder Blush in Madly (apple of the cheek)

LIPS
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
MAC Lipstick in Fun Fun
MAC Lipglass in Underage

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
88 Colour Palette
Colour #1 all over the lid
Colour #2 layer over Colour #1
Colour #3 blend into the crease and outer corner
Colour #3 line the outer half of lower lash line
Colour #4 to highlight brow bones
MAC Grand Entrance on the inner half lower lash line and tear duct areas
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir
Dejavu Fiberwig Lash Knockout Mascara in Dynamite Black

It feels so good to do a proper full makeup after so long! =)

Hope you like this FOTD and thanks for reading. =)

Review: Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Anti-Shine BB Lotion

2010-06-11T23:39:00.003+01:00

Finally, here it is! The review that many has been requesting for and the review that I have been procrastinating. I have my reasons though. In fact, there’s only one reason – I hardly use this. Erm…that says a lot about this product isn’t it?

The fact is that I need pictures for reviews and I usually snap them when I actually use the product in one of my daily FOTDs. So for this product in particular, somehow, I am not very keen to reach for.

Okay, why not I just admit it right from the start. I do not like this. Not any bit. But I really wished I would. Sigh.

This is how it looks like with the packaging box. A considerably cute bottle with a pump and a plastic cap. Though it may seem to be a pleasing idea, the cap however fall out easily. So it basically serves almost no point.

It is described as shine control BB cream which supplies moist and flawless coverage complexion. Read moist. Read flawless complexion. In actual – none of these.

See how it fares on my hand first.

Can you even spot any difference on the left and right side of my hand in the last picture? Nothing. It looks like just any BB cream at first but upon blending in, it disappears. I fail to understand. It doesn’t even feel light as a cream. I have had runnier BB cream which feels a lot lighter but performed much better.

This is how I look like with the BB lotion on. Left picture is bare faced and right picture on. Can you see how powdery it leaves my skin is? Flaky, powdery is my number one enemy for any base makeup. I don’t mind lack of coverage, but NO powdery to me.

Further, it leaves a white cast on my skin. I am not even dark to start with and it manage to leave a white cast. I never have this experience with other BB cream before.

My Thoughts

Initially, it was the name BB Lotion which attracted me to add it into the virtual cart during my first Gmarket haul. I mean, logically, ‘lotion’ means lighter than ‘cream’ and anything that spells light attracts me. And, I admit, my curiosity level is higher than an average girl, so I had to try this. =P

I thought this would be great on lazy days and days when I want a light face out. When I say light, it still must at least have certain compulsory properties, i.e. even out my skin tone, looks natural like my own skin and looks luminous on my skin. This product however, like I said earlier, leaves a white cast which also means no natural like skin! Another point pointed out earlier – powdery which also means no luminous skin!
I almost always regret right after I put this on each time, thinking it might work this time. But it failed. It sucks to not like something which I have high hopes for at the beginning.

To be fair, if this is used as a lotion, as in NOT a base makeup, it will not sound so bad. After all, it does smell good like lotion! Perhaps, as the name indicates, it is supposed to be used as a lotion? I’m not sure.

FINAL VERDICT: 1/5

You can skip this ladies. =)

That’s about this review. Hope you find it helpful and thanks for reading! =)

Review: dejavu Fiberwig Lash Knockout Mascara

2010-05-23T10:13:00.004+01:00

I think I’ve just found another HG mascara. This. Stuff. Is. Simply. Amazing.

I’m not joking. =)

The Fiberwig mascara has been highly raved by many Japanese makeup lovers. And now I know the raves are not just a mere ‘overhype’.

Ever since I found my the other HG, Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara, I’ve failed to bump into one which could wow me at the same level. I buy mascaras quite often since its shelf life is only 3-4 months, so I get to try out many mascaras in a short period of time. Mostly drugstores though; I haven’t been able to justify yet to jump into the high end mascara bandwagon. You name it, Maybelline, Loreal, Bourjois, Majolica Majorca, etc. I have tried them.

I know a lot of beauty bloggers swear on Majolica Majorca mascaras. I owned two of them but somehow they don’t work as well for me. They lengthen but not volumizing enough and I need volume badly for my lashes as my hair (every single part of my body including my eye brows!) is super fine.

Okay, I’ve digressed enough. Come back to the star here.

This is how the wand is like. Just like any ordinary wand without anything special or different about it. I have to say though, the size is just nice for me. You know how some wand are just too huge that it mess out your eye makeup 8 out of 10 times you use it? This one does not. =)

What makes it different, I reckon is the formulation of the mascara.

The shade I got is in Dynamite Black. I usually will almost definitely opt for the blackest option available for any mascara. I haven’t tried any brown or colour mascara before. Maybe I should eh?

As you can see from the swatch on my hand, it is black. Really black.

Let’s see how it fare on my lashes!

One left eye with the mascara and the right without. Can you see how amazing it is? I’m not kidding you when I say my natural lashes are fine. I’m pretty happy with its length, though it is far from being the longest around. I am an Asian after all. =P

A more overview look. I am totally in love with this mascara. It surely gives me the fat and full lashes than I want. =)

To tempt you more, it doesn’t smudge. Not even after a whole day of wearing it on a hot sunny day. It’s summer now in UK, mind you.

If you’re not tempted enough yet, here’s another plus point. It’s not a pain to remove. Granted this is harder to remove than many drugstore mascaras, but this is a Japanese mascara. Japanese made mascaras are extremely well known for its almost-impossible-to-remove factor. Majolica Majorca is one good example which is notorious for that. But this one is fine with me. I have to soak my eyes twice with the remover, but I’m totally fine with it given the amazing result I get.

FINAL VERDICT: 4.5/5

Have I tempted you enough? =P

Thanks for reading! =)

My Blogshop

2010-05-22T11:08:00.002+01:00

I finally started one my own. =)

Not the conventional blogshop where I list stuff to sell (I might in the future =P) but a Custom Purchase service for you girls out there whom are lusting for UK products but can’t get your hands on them.

Please visit okay? Some great sales are going on right now. =)

My Blogshop

Review: Etude House BB Rice Set

2010-05-14T13:53:00.004+01:00

OMG, I’ve been neglecting this blog for one entire week!! Sorry girls…I have been just too tied up with work and stuff. I have 2 papers and 1 report pending. Hopefully all these madness will end in June and my life can be back to normal.

Anyway, let me squeeze in one review today. This is about the BB Rice set I purchased in my first Gmarket haul. I know, this is way overdue. =P

This is the set and its packaging. The set contains a BB Rice Cream and BB Rice Compact. The main reason I got this initially was for the compact. I wanted to try out a BB compact and when I saw this set, I thought why not since it was such a good deal.

Let me go through each item. First up, the compact.

This is how it looks like. Excuse the dirty state. This just shows how often I use it! I do. =)

It has a nice mirror and a puff. I won’t bother with the puff though, it’s completely useless. I don’t use most puff which comes with the product anyway. This puff in particular, cause the powder to be cakey on my face, which is eww. So I opt for brushes as usual. I usually swirl a kabuki or flat top brush on this and pat on my face lightly to set the BB cream, whichever I’m using on the day.

Now comes the BB cream. It’s a really small tube of 20ml, which also means great for travel. Let’s see how it looks like on my hand. Following pictures show the BB cream on my hand, spread out and finally blended.

And then how about on my face?

My bare face on the left and with the BB cream on the right.

This is how it looks like after setting with the BB compact.

My Thoughts

The BB cream is really light and runny. It reminds me a little of the Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream, only that this is a lighter version of it. Coverage is minimal, but still manage to even out my skin tone. As you can see, my pores are still visible on scrutiny. In the case of bad skin day with blemishes, I don’t think this will be enough to cover. So concealer will be required.

Like most BB cream, the swatch of this one on my hand shows pretty obvious that this is slightly too dark for my skin. But again, on my face, it blended into my skin tone one it sets into the skin nicely. So, the shade is not a problem for me.

Due to its lightness, it is really easy to blend. The easiest BB cream to blend so far for me. As usual for BB creams, I use only my fingers to blend. It gives a nice healthy glow on my skin which I like, even after setting it with the compact. But also because this is so light, at the end of the day, when I remove my makeup, there’s very little makeup base left on my face. Not entirely disappeared, but I definitely could see how little is left on my skin.

As for the compact, I don’t really have much to comment about other than it works just like any other ordinary compact. It makes the BB cream stays all day. Not this BB cream though since it is so light. But I’ve tried this with other BB creams and it does help them stay. Nevertheless, I have to say I still prefer to set foundation or BB creams with my HG powder, MAC MSF Natural. The finish this compact gives is still not as smooth as I like with the MAC one.

All in all, I like using this set when I’m rushing and on the day when I’m in the I-look-like-I-have-no-makeup-on mode. Nothing ground breaking about this product but for that price, I have no complain. =)

I got the set from Gmarket for 10,000 Won (US$8.90). Good deal eh?

FINAL VERDICT: 3/5

That’s all for this entry. Hope you like it and hopefully I’ll be back posting more often.

Have a great day and thanks for reading! =)

Huge Sasa Haul

2010-05-06T18:28:00.003+01:00

I placed an order on Sasa.com mid of April and finally I received them yesterday! I ordered quite a bit, so that I could get the free shipping. I put some items into the virtual cart and it was already almost the amount which qualify for free shipping, so I thought wth, why not just put a couple more stuff in and not pay the US$18.00 shipping fee! The haul was so huge that Sasa had to split them into two separate parcels. =P

I picked up mostly skincare stuff. I know, I’m in the ‘skincare’ mode recently. Crazy about skincare!

Everything nicely bubble-wrapped

The loot I ordered

BeautyMate Set with 18 pieces of masks and a body lotion - US$19.30

I can’t wait to try this out. I’ve been hearing lots of good reviews on BeautyMate masks and so I ordered this. Really a good deal to try out BeautyMate. =)

Bath Moment Musk Set - US$6.30

Contains:
Musk Moisturising Body Wash
Musk Moisturising Body Souffle
Body Mop

Another great deal, no?

Haircare stuff from left to right:

Essential Rich Premier Shampoo - US$4.30
Essential Nuance Airy Conditioner - US$4.30
Somang Keratin Hair Aqua Essence - US$3.10

I’ve also read a lot of good reviews on the Essential hair products. Will try this out after my current HG Aussie shampoo and conditioner run out!

Facial stuff from left to right:

Kanebo Naive Deep Cleansing Oil (Orange) - US$5.60
Sana Nameraka Honpo Soy Milk Cleansing Wash - US$8.10
Sana Uruoitashi Moisture Mist - US$7.60
Shills Aqua Crystal White Hydrating Treatment - US$10.60

Some eye makeup stuff:

Sana Extra Long Mascara in Black (top left) - US$13.90
Dejavu Fiberwig Lash Knockout in Dynamite Black (top right) - US$14.00
Koji Dolly Wink Eyelash Case (bottom) - US$4.50

The Fiberwig mascara has been highly raved by a lot of Japanese makeup lovers. So here I am trying it out too! =)

And finally, the ONLY one item freebie from Sasa =.=

Okay, that’s everything I bought from the haul. I mentioned in my last post that I have been crazy busy these days and that hasn’t change a bit at all! Sigh…I can’t wait to be able to have all the time I want to slowly blog. There are also lots of blog reading I need to catch up too!

Enough on the rant. I guess I should stop here now. Hope you enjoy the post.

Thanks for reading! =)

FOTD: Featuring Castledew Diacut Eyes Palette in M601 Platina Shinism & Swatches

2010-05-03T12:43:00.002+01:00

Sorry for being MIA for a few days! I was super busy (still am) with tons of things to do and just didn’t have any time to update. I have a list of reviews to write up and I hope I’ll have the time to write them soon! So for the time being, let me squeeze in a quick FOTD before I continue to bury myself with work. Yikes!

What I’ve used:

FACE
Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Dual Primer
Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Anti-Shine BB Lotion
VOV Good-Bye Complex Dark Circle Concealer
Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Finish Pact
Revlon Matte Powder Blush in Rose Rupture

LIPS
Etude House LuciDarling Fantastic Rouge Lipstick in #4
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Petal Peach

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Castledew Diacut Eyes Palette in M601 Platina Shinism
#5 blend the harsh lines into the crease
#1 on the outer corners and pull inwards in the crease
#1 to line the outer half of lower lash line
#5 on the tear duct area and inner half of lower lash line
Bourjois single shadow in 90 Blanc Diaphane (highlight)
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir
Loreal Telescopic Mascara

I realised ALL of the Castledew eye palettes I got from Gmarket recently are towards the neutral side! Lol. Hence, the FOTD I posted recently are neutral looks. =)

The swatches according to the numbering in the photo of the palette shown above. Great for everyday neutral look eh? I love this palette. I think among the Castledew palettes I bought, this one has the best colour payoff. Plus, it has 6 shades!!

Hope you like this entry! =)

Thank you for reading.

PS: I just realised I missed the swatch for the shade in a little hexagon shape situated in the midst of shade #5. But worry not, it looks really similar to #6! =)

FOTD: Featuring Kate Reflect Mirror Eyes & Castledew Diacut Cheek

2010-04-29T15:04:00.002+01:00

Here it is, the first FOTD featuring two of the many palettes I just acquired recently and a bunch of other new stuff. Like I said, I love Kate palettes including this palette. They are just gorgeous, if you like shimmer that is. Not chunky glitter though. In fact, the shimmer appears pretty subtle on the eye lid as compared to the swatches on my hands. You shall see later. =)

The overall look

What I’ve used:

FACE
SANA Soy Milk Nameraka Honpo Makeup Base
Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream in Shade 2 Sheer Glowing Skin
VOV Good-Bye Complex Dark Circle Concealer
Etude House BB Rice Compact
Castledew Diacut Cheek in C901 Planet Love Dia

LIPS
Etude House LuciDarling Fantastic Rouge Lipstick in #6
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Petal Peach

*All products in teal colour are new*

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Kate Reflect Mirror Eyes Palette in PU-2
#1 all over the lid
#3 blend into the crease, outer corner and line the lower lash line
#2 on the tear duct area
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir
Etude House Code B Strong Eyes Cream Liner in #1
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus Mascara

Next, the swatches.

Shades numbering is based on the picture of the palette above

The pairing of shade #1 and #3 is just simply gorgeous. #1 is a light taupe colour and perfect for all over the lid. This palette contains only 3 shades and so variety look creation will not be possible. But then again, who uses only one palette? You can always experiment with colour combination from other palettes! =)

That’s all for this post. Hope you like the look.

Have a great day and thanks for reading. =)

Collective Haul: Gmarket, Adambeauty & Ebay

2010-04-28T18:25:00.005+01:00

Wooops! Another haul(s)!! *Guilty*

I know, I know. I have been really bad recently. I don’t know, perhaps it’s just the job hunting stress or it’s just the ‘once you start, you can’t stop’ factor. After all, I haven’t been hauling that much since I came UK. Once I let loose the shopaholic side of me, I can’t be stopped!! Lol.

Okay, okay. Just kidding. I know myself. Hauling is always a seasonal thing for me. I can not haul for a lonnnngggg (maybe not that long =P), and then haul for some time and then stop again. You know what I mean? I’m just weird like that.

Okay, here are the stuff I got. Oh yeah, btw, my other Adambeauty package finally came in!! Phew…I was so relieved when I saw it the other day. Oh well, maybe I was just being paranoid. But it did take quite some time!

All the packages here. A collective haul from Gmarket, Adambeauty and Ebay. I know, another Gmarket haul within such a short period of time. But that place is just too addictive!! I was spending too much time browsing Gmarket and this is the outcome; a bigger haul than the first one. Anyway, I’ve stopped myself from browsing that site already. At least must stop for a while! =)

First up, the smaller packages.

From Adambeauty and Ebay

From left to right:

Adambeauty
Juju Aquamoist Collagen Moisture Milk - US$16.50
Kate Reflect Mirror Eyes Palette in PU-2 - US$13.00

Ebay (seller: alphabeautyuk)
My Beauty Diary Mask All-in-One 15pc Limited Edition Box Set - US$16.95

*All prices do not include shipping*

This is the first time I try Juju products. Have been using the moisturiser for a few days now. Will write a review when I’m ready. I ran out of sheet mask and I saw this limited edition box set from My Beauty Diary with 15 pieces of different masks and I grab it in no time! I’ve always preferred variety in my mask routine. I get bored if I stick to the same mask all the time! I just checked the seller’s Ebay site again, the box set is not available anymore. And I checked on Sasa.com as well, it is out of stock as well! Seems like this is selling like hot cakes! Sorry ladies, for not telling earlier.

Not that much right? Plus, the Adambeauty haul was a treat from the Boyfriend. Yay to bf who supports your love for beauty! =)

A close shot of the Kate palette. This palette is simply GORGEOUS!! Great for everyday neutral look. I’ve always love Kate palettes and this one doesn’t disappoint me at all. I’ve done a look using this once, will post it up soon. =)

Next up, the Gmarket haul. This time around, I picked up more Etude House stuff and some VOV/Castledew stuff. Mostly makeup with a couple of skincare products.

Inside the box of goodies!

The stuff and freebies from Etude House

From left to right:

Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Shine Finish Pact – 7,000 Won (US$6.48)
Etude House Sleeping Pack Pore & Oil Control – 8,500 Won (US$7.87)
Etude House Sleeping Pack Moist & Firm – 8,500 Won (US$7.87)
Etude House LuciDarling Fantastic Rouge Lipstick in #4 – 9,000 Won (US$8.33)
Etude House LuciDarling Fantastic Rouge Lipstick in #6 – 9,000 Won (US$8.33)
Etude House Code B Strong Eyes Cream Liner in #1 – 9,000 Won (US$8.33)
Mini Set of Total Age Repair – Freebie
Sample of Collagen Moistfull Cream – Freebie

Etude House LuciDarling Fantastic Rouge Lipstick in #4 (left) and #6 (right)

I was really disappointed with the freebies by Etude House this time. I bought so much more but the number of freebies shrunk so much more too!! -_-

Let’s move on to VOV and Castledew stuff. I was so excited for these babies! =)

What I’ve got:

Castledew Diacut Eyes in M601 Platina Shinism – 10,380 Won (US$9.30)
Castledew Diacut Eyes in BE901 Planet Diamond – 10,380 Won (US$9.30)
Castledew Diacut Cheek in C901 Planet Love Dia – 10,780 Won (US$9.70)
Castledew Color Shot Eyes in GD240 Mystic Gold – 10,600 Won (US$9.50)
VOV Good-Bye Complex Dark Circle Concealer – 8.900 Won (US$8.20)
Be’Be’Co Coenzyme Q10 Toner sample – Freebie
Be’Be’Co Coenzyme Q10 Moisturiser sample – Freebie
2 sheets of PureTree mask – Freebie
VOV Goodbye Complex Mascara sample – Freebie

You see, the freebies from VOV and Castledew is tons better right? 5 freebies for 5 items I purchased. I’m curious though, if the mask is for men since the model on the cover is a man? Lol. I can’t read Korean and there’s no English description. But the pictorial direction at the back used a female face! Oh well, at most I’ll just use it on the Boyfriend! =)

I can’t help but to take the group photo with all the Castledew palettes closed. Isn’t the packaging is to die for? They are absolutely pretty!! Up-close shots of these babies below.

Castledew Diacut Eyes in M601 Platina Shinism

Castledew Diacut Eyes in BE901 Planet Diamond

Castledew Diacut Cheek in C901 Planet Love Dia

Castledew Color Shot Eyes GD240 Mystic Gold

I’ve tried both the Etude House lipsticks and they are really creamy and pigmentation is great! Very similar to MAC’s cremesheen formula. I did my eye look today using the Castledew Platina Shinism palette and I so love it. We had a negotiation simulation in class today and the girl I was partnering with suddenly blurted out “I love your eye look today!” right in the middle of the negotiation. Lol!

Sorry for not providing any swatch in this post. They were so pretty when I was photographing that I didn’t have the heart to destroy their ‘perfection’. If any of you ladies want to see the swatches for any of the palette, do request okay? I’ll provide it then. Looks and reviews requests are welcome too. =)

That’s all for the long haul post.

Have a great day and thanks for reading!

FOTD & Tiny Revlon Haul

2010-04-27T15:56:00.002+01:00

This is a long overdue post. I was busy writing up a 4000 word paper for the past few days, thus the delay! I just submitted the paper this afternoon and I’m back into blogging now. =)

This was the makeup I wore in the Oxford trip here. Again, the 88 Colour Palette was used but there is no pictorial illustration of specific shadows used this time. Sorry! But I’ll describe the shades used. I believe for those whom are interested, the look can be easily re-created using similar colours from other brands. =)

What I’ve used:

FACE
Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Dual Primer
Revlon Photoready foundation in Shell mix with NARS Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc
NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
NYX Powder Blush in Taupe (contour)
MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle
MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink
Revlon Matte Powder Blush in Perfectly Peach

LIPS
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout
MAC Lipglass in Underage

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
88 Colour Palette
A lilac shade all over the lid
A purple shade on the outer corner and inner corner and line lower lash line
A dark purple to subtly smoke out the outer corner
A shimmery silver blend into the crease
A matte cream colour to highlight the brow bone
MAC Grand Entrance (tear duct area)
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir
MAX Factor Masterpiece High Definition mascara in Rich Black

During the trip, we randomly walked into Boots without having anything in mind to pick up. I went to the Revlon aisle and voila, saw the lipgloss that Lollipop26 raved about in her video. I swatched it and it looked so gorgeous that I had to get it. There was a 3 for 2 sales on all Revlon cosmetics and so I had to pick up another two items, right? So here’s the tiny Revlon haul.

From left to right:
Revlon Matte Powder Blush in Rose Rupture
Revlon Nail Polish in Pink Nude
Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Peach Petal

All three of them look really similar in colour, no? I own the matte blush in Perfectly Blush and love it to bits, so I picked up another one. I don’t have that many nude nail colour so I thought this looks really pretty and it went right into my basket!

Up close of the blush

The lip gloss is really pretty and it reminds me a lot of MAC’s Underage, only that this is a lot more wearable. If you dislike Underage because it tends to wash-out your lips, this is a great dupe without overly muting your lips. It has been in my purse all the time since I bought it!

That’s all for the FOTD and haul.

Have a great day and thank you for reading. =)

A trip to Oxford

2010-04-24T21:22:00.002+01:00

Two days ago, the Boyfriend and I had a one day trip to Oxford. Both of us are studying in Cambridge, how could we not visit Oxford right?

As usual, for a non-makeup post, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves okay?

As usual, camwhore in the train. Haha!
FOTD for this look will be a separate entry. =)

It was a beautiful day!
I was wearing the dress I got from Gmarket. I love!!

Wondering why I take photo with this building? That’s because I’m currently studying in the Judge Business School in Cambridge. =)

At the Christ Church College. This is a must go since Harry Porter was filmed here!

This was where Harry Porter had his meals. So small in real life.

Oxford University Library

I love flowers!

That’s all about the trip. We stopped by London after that and watched Les Miserables. Of course we took more photos than this but I didn’t want to flood my blog. This is after all a beauty blog! If you want to see more, please visit my Facebook page okay?

Thanks for dropping by! =)

Review: Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream

2010-04-23T21:36:00.002+01:00

Finally, the long awaited review for the Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream. I have been using it quite constantly for over a week now and am ready to write some thoughts about this product.

The tube I purchased from Gmarket here is in Shade 2 Sheer Glowing Skin. There is another one in Shade 1 Sheer Silky Skin which has better oil control and gives a matte finish. Now, I have combination skin with my T-zone more prone to getting oily and from what I’ve read, most other bloggers who has similar skin type as I do, usually get Shade 1 instead. So why did I pick up Shade 2 knowing it might not work out for me? Well, I love dewy finish in foundations. Anything that comes along the line of glowy and dewy usually will attract my attention, without fail. =)

This is how the tube looks like with its box. It has the usual princessy packaging that Etude House is well known for.

It comes with a pump, so hygiene is not an issue (please excuse the chipped nail colour!). However, there is one problem. During the first time I used it, the pump somehow wasn’t working. The product wouldn’t come out and I kept pumping for I think 5 minutes before the product finally squirt. Although it is just a one off mishap, but I notice that the quality of the pump isn’t so good as it is very difficult to control the amount of product I squirt, which defeats the purpose of having a pump other than to be more hygienic. I’m not sure if this is a common problem for this product or I am just unlucky to get a bad one. But oh well, this is not too big deal to me. I can still tolerate that as long as its main function which is to make my skin looks fabulous works. =)

What it claims:

UV Protection + Whitening + Anti Wrinkle

Compared to many other BB creams which claims to have at least 5 functions, this one however has only 3. Personally, the one that I would appreciate is only the first function, UV protection of SPF 30/PA++. Whitening, nah, I don’t think I need any whitening at the moment. My family and friends are complaining I’m getting too pale! And as for anti-wrinkle, this sounds great and I usually love anti-aging properties in product. However this is a BB cream and I use BB creams as foundation. I take care of my anti-aging regime in my skincare products. So, I won’t care too much on this particular property either. If it really works, it is a bonus. If it doesn’t, oh well, it’s alright. As long as it makes my skin looks fabulous remember? Lol.

So how does it fare? Let’s test it on my hand first.

And then on my face.

Top Left – bare face
Top Right – with BB cream
Bottom – BB cream + powder (lightly dusted)

My Thoughts

It’s quite obvious from the hand swatch that the shade of this BB cream is too dark for my skin (I’m MAC NW15 for reference). But, there is a property in BB creams which can self-adjust to suit your skin tone. Now, I know this does not work all the time and certainly not to everybody. I however, am one of those lucky ones, I suppose; as usually the self-adjusting function works for me. At least, so far the BB creams that I own which are too dark for me work.

The texture is quite thick and just like the other BB creams, I simply apply this using my fingers. I dab it on my cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead before smoothing and blending them out. I haven’t tried applying this using a brush, but I always reckon application for BB creams is best using fingers!

This reminds me of my favourite BB cream currently, the Missha M Perfect Cover BB cream. Upon application, it gives a grey cast to my skin, but once it blends and settle into my skin, it magically turns into something I call my second skin. It gives the glow on my face that I always look for. =)

Staying power is good enough for me. I wore this for about 8 hours before and it stayed intact. On oil control, I find despite not having as good oil control as its counterpart (as claimed by most bloggers), surprisingly it works fine with my combination skin. Just like most foundation, I’ll need to blot after 4-5 hours later which is normal to me. It doesn’t turn my face into an oil slick.

What about its coverage? You can see from my bare face that my main problems are pores and redness. For these, this product manage to cover the pores and even out my skin tone. I don’t have to use any concealer after that, not even for my under eye areas. So, I’ll say the coverage for this is pretty awesome - medium to full.

I get quite a lot of complements from people saying my skin looks good and glowy since I started wearing this. So I guess this should be the best indicator that this works great for me?

FINAL VERDICT: 4/5

*1 point off due to the faulty pump*

So this is definitely another great find for me. I got this from Gmarket for 13,500 Won (~US$12.40). For a 60g product, this is inexpensive and I’m guessing it will last me forever! =)

That’s all for today.

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading. =)

Lazy Day FOTD

2010-04-21T13:18:00.002+01:00

I haven’t been going out a lot these few days. The only time I went out was for meals and groceries and usually for only a short while, a couple of hours at most? So I’ve been really lazy on makeup. My daily makeup has been reduced to just BB cream, blush and the lippy of the day and I’m out! Nothing on the eyes at all.

This is how I look (almost bare =P) with this lazy day FOTD.

What I’ve used:

FACE
Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Dual Primer
Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream in Shade 2 Sheer Glowing Skin
Etude House BB Rice Pact
Milani Powder Blush in Luminous

LIPS
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Ambre Rose

That’s it. Ready in 5 minutes. =)

So it’s pretty obvious which part of makeup that is more important to me. Face of course! To me, having a flawless skin makes a lot of difference already. I’m a foundation and blusher freak! Cannot have enough of them.

And oh, today is good hair day! I love waking up to perfect (to me) hair. Bouncy, not too try, not too oily, not frizzy and straight. I’m usually lazy to style my hair; curl or straightening. I only do once in a while on special occasions so having good hair day is important to me! I’ve been pretty happy with my hair lately, all thanks to the Aussie shampoo and conditioner that I’ve been using. They give the same result as my all time HG Asience hair products which cannot be found here in the UK. So I’m glad to find a replacement. =)

So how’s your lazy day makeup like? I’ll love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.

Small Adambeauty haul & Rambling

2010-04-20T15:21:00.002+01:00

Gah…I’m quite pissed and worried at the same time now. I placed two separate orders on Adambeauty.com more than two weeks back, with the two orders about 5 days apart. Although Adambeauty dispatched the two parcels on different dates (he usually dispatches on the next working day after order placement), both parcels left Hong Kong on the same day (checked using the tracking numbers provided). So logically, I should receive both packages on the same day or at about the same time right?

So I waited and waited. The packages did not arrive after exactly 2 weeks and I started to get worried. I emailed Adambeauty yesterday but he said the parcels could be held at the custom so asking me to be patient and wait for a couple days more or contact my local post office.

So as usual, I went to check my pigeon hole today and I saw nothing. I decided to go check with the college receptionist to see if she might missed my parcels. After some searching, it turned out that she indeed MISSED OUT my parcel!!! And worse, the parcel was delivered 6 days ago. Omg, to think that I have been waiting all these while in anxiety? This is not the first time such thing happened to me already here. This is what got me very pissed.

So that’s one parcel. What about the other one? I searched for a while more in her office but couldn’t find any. The parcel I have received is from the second order. I am now worried if the first one has really gone missing. Anyone of you could advise me on what can I do other than contacting Adambeauty? I have already done that. =(

Okay, enough about me rambling. Back to the haul. Like I’ve said, I placed two orders on Adambeauty ~~recently~~ not too long ago. All are Japanese brands and mostly skincare. I wanted to combine both packages into one blog entry but since I cannot be sure what exactly happen to the other parcel, I’ll just post this up first. Plus, I am eager to try them out tonight, so I can’t wait for the other package for photography purposes!

A moderate haul of 3 items!

Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Lotion - US$16.50

This has highly raved by a lot bloggers and I’ve been wanting to try this out for ages now. Apparently, this is the top seller in Japan and it claims that 1 is sold every 4 seconds in Japan! Now even if that’s just a marketing gimmick, it definitely has caught my interest to try it out. And oh, before I forget, do not be fooled by the term ‘lotion’ for this product. It’s actually a toner. Apparently, toner is termed as lotion in Japan. =)

SANA Soy Milk Makeup Remover - US$12.00

My current Avene Milk Cleanser is running out soon and as usual, I like trying out new stuff! For your information, in my daily routine, I always remove my facial makeup using a milk cleanser and eye makeup using an oil remover before I double cleanse using a foam cleanser. =)

SANA Soy Milk Nameraka Honpo Makeup Base - US$11.00

No particular reason I picked this up. Just a random item since I want to try out SANA products.

Okay, that’s about my little haul. Will update once my other package arrives. *Cross fingers*

Have a great day!

Thanks for reading.

Review: Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Dual Primer (Important Update)

2010-04-18T13:29:00.006+01:00

IMPORTANT UPDATE: A kind reader pointed out to me that there are actually two parts of this product, a moisturiser and a primer. Turns out that the moisturizer is in the tube and the little cover of the tube contains the primer! I swear I tried unscrewing the cover the first time when I used it but failed miserably! Silly me, I should have figured out when I saw there are two separate ingredients lists! Anyway, I’ve updated on the moisturiser below.
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I tried searching for some information and reviews for this product online but weird though, I could hardly find any. So I thought it will be good if I write a review on this product because I think I’ve just found the BEST foundation primer ever!

Yes, you heard me right. I love this stuff; which is why I’m surprised at how little coverage it is getting so far. Perhaps this is a new product? I’m not sure. I can’t even find it on Etude House official website. I’m guessing this is a new product because when I sort the facial makeup product list by “Recently Listed” on the seller webpage, this is one of the products which appear on top of the list. So I am not entirely sure but anyone of you who knows probably can help to update me.

This is how it looks like. Comes in a tube and the packaging is a little ‘weird’ which you will find out soon. The design is also not as ‘girly’ as how Etude House usually is.

What it claims:

Moisturizing and pore coverage makeup primer improves foundation makeup expression and longetivity.

It has two separate long list of ingredients; the Moisture ingredients and Pore Cover ingredients.

Here comes the ‘weird’ packaging part which I mentioned at the beginning.

My Thoughts

When I first got hold of it, I was puzzled by the packaging as I have never seen such design before and I was wondering how was I suppose to get the product out. I tried squeezing but nothing came out. The product isn’t in liquid or cream form. I read the direction described on the box for a good 3 minutes to figure out how actually should I use this! It says to “dispense primer onto hands and apply to face” but how on earth am I suppose to ‘dispense’ the product?

In the end, I rubbed my finger onto the product and applied it onto my face since the instruction did say to use your fingers for application. Not the most hygienic way, but I’ve got no choice.

The weird packaging aside, the product itself is great though. It is quite creamy on first touch but when it transfers onto the skin, it turns into silky, powdery texture which makes blending extremely easy. It is rather light and my skin is smoothened out like no other and makes foundation application after that like heaven! The (weird) packaging has its advantage too as it prevents too much product to be dispensed for each application. So, this tube will last me for a long time.

This primer reminds me of the Loreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Primer which I often reach for too. The texture for both products is very similar, only that Loreal’s feels a lot heavier on my skin. And very often when I use the Loreal primer, it takes a lot of effort to blend in and if my skin is not properly prepped, my skin will be flaky when I try blending in the product. With the Dr. Oil primer on the other hand, I don’t face such irritating experience and plus, my skin is smoother after application compared to the Loreal primer. So that’s definitely a big plus.

It has a mirror on the cap which might be useful when I go travelling. And oh, I must mention this; it is OIL FREE and PARABEN FREE. Two thumbs up for this!

I got it from Gmarket from this seller for 9,500 Won (US$ 8.80). Pretty inexpensive for a 35ml product. For reference, the Loreal primer is only 15ml and my other primer, MAC Prep + Prime is 30ml. So a good buy indeed this is!

Final Verdict: 5/5

If you’re looking for a primer to smooth out your skin with slightly matte finish, I’ll highly recommend trying this out. Will I repurchase? Definitely, if I don’t have anything new that I want to try out then (I highly doubt so!).

*MOISTURISER UPDATE*

So this is how the product actually looks like! The moisturiser in the tube and primer in the little cap. Haha…I can’t believe I’m this silly.

The moisturiser has a very light texture and this is how it looks like blended out on my hand. It doesn’t leave any sticky and oily feeling on my skin. The tone of my skin is noticeably evened out as you can see.

With this new ‘discovery’, it definitely adds more positive points to the products! What can beat an inexpensive 2-in-1 product? And even more marvelous is that both works really well! =)

That’s all for today.

Thank you for reading. =)

FOTD: featuring Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream

2010-04-17T12:32:00.003+01:00

Hi all! It’s a sunny Saturday! And I have two papers to write up. Sigh….what a mood killer. But I’ll blog first. Papers come later. Lol.

Anyway, here is the FOTD I wore to the punting outing. On my face, I had on mostly Etude House products I picked up in the Gmarket haul. I’ll include a mini review of one of the freebies I received below.

Oops, please ignore the random strand of hair!

What I’ve used

FACE
Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Dual Primer
Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream in Shade 2 Sheer Glowing Skin
Etude House BB Rice Compact
MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle (highlight above cheek bones)
MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink (swipe from apples to temples)
Etude House Sugar Pink Lip & Cheek (on the apples)

LIPS
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
Etude House Sugar Pink Lip & Cheek

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
#1, #2 & #3 on the lid to create a gradation of colours from inner to outer lid
#4 to darken the outer corner
#3 to line the outer half of lower lash line
#5 to highlight the brow bone
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir (tightline)
Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink
Majolica Majorca Lash Gorgeous Wing Mascara (lengthen)
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus Mascara (volumise)

On my cheek and lips, I was wearing the cheek and lip ‘convertible’ which I got as a freebie from Etude House. I have never tried Stila’s one before so I can’t compare but I love this! It gives a nice flush of pink on my cheek and I could wear this on my lips alone, without any gloss. Here’s how it looks like and a swatch.

As you can see, it gives kinda matte finish on the lips with just a tiny sheen. I’m alright with it but if I want a plump glossy lips, I could just whack on some lip gloss. It doesn’t dry out my lips and staying power is okay. It feels really light that I don’t feel like I have anything on my lips.

The downside is I don’t think this is sold in their line of products as I can’t find it anywhere in their official website. I guess this is just given as freebie. Too bad though as it is a great versatile product to me.

On a side note, I’m in the midst of trying out the Etude House products especially the BB cream. So, stay tuned for the reviews. What I can say now is I am really glad with the purchase especially the Dr. Oil Solution primer. This is to me, an accidental discovery of a marvellous product. =)

With that, I end my rather long post today.

Stay beautiful and have a great day!

Thanks for dropping by. =)

Punting in Cambridge

2010-04-16T13:17:00.003+01:00

I went punting with the Boyfriend and a few friends yesterday. That wasn’t the first punting experience to me btw. I came here for holiday spring last year and being in Cambridge of course, one of the must do touristy activities is punting!

So anyway, yesterday we had a guest from Hong Kong and we went again.

Outfit of the day: I wore the skirt from the recent Gmarket haul. Love it!

Photos first while the rest went to rent a boat! Haha…

Btw, the red jacket cost only £5. Got it from Primark during the Boxing Day sales last year. Great isn’t it?

On to the boat

My favourite picture of the day. That’s King’s College as the backdrop. Gorgeous!

Ducks swimming in the river

The Bridge of Sigh

That’s all about the punting outing. I definitely had a lot of fun yesterday. =)

The FOTD of this look will be up next. I used mostly new products I just received recently. So stay tuned.

Thank you for reading! =)

How to Train Your Dragon & FOTD

2010-04-14T22:33:00.001+01:00

Have you girls watch the movie ‘How to Train Your Dragon’?

Picture source: http://howtotrainyourdragonmovie.blogspot.com/

If you haven’t, I urge you to go watch it! It’s totally awesome. I must say it’s the best movie I’ve watch recently. The animation was excellent and I love all the OSTs! So emotionally catching.

Anyway, this was the makeup I wore to the movie. Another 88 Colour Palette FOTD series! =)

What I’ve used:

FACE
Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream in No. 23
RMK Face Powder N P00
Cyber Colors HD Plus Mineral Blusher in 01 Rose

LIPS
Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Pink Pearl

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
#1 on the lid
#2 to blend out the harsh edges
#3 blend into the crease and outer corner
#4 to highlight the brow bone
#5 on the lower and upper lash line
MAC Grand Entrance on the tear duct area
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir
Max Factor False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara in Black

I have been ditching lipgloss and wearing only lipsticks these days. It feels great this way! No sticky feeling and my hair sticking on my lips when the wind blows. LOL.

That’s all for today. Have a great day!

Thanks for dropping by btw. =)

My 1st Gmarket Haul

2010-04-13T16:31:00.001+01:00

I just came back from a 2-hour interview in London and I saw a note in my pigeon hole saying I have a parcel to collect. I almost squeal in glee and dashed immediately to the college receptionist to collect it. As expected, my first Gmarket haul has arrived!!

This is the first time I used EMS shipping. Being the stingy me, I would usually opt for the cheapest option. I don’t usually mind waiting for a bit in order to save money! But since Gmarket has only one shipping option, EMS that is, so I had no choice but to pay more. But oh boy, am I glad with the ‘premium’ shipping experience! It’s super fast! It arrived 5 days after I placed the order. Mind you, that’s inclusive of the domestic shipping time to the Gmarket warehouse in Korea and the parcel travelled all the way from South Korea. How fast is that? Plus, I was charged 24,700 Won for the shipping and I saw on the box the actual charges were 33,500 Won! That means, Gmarket actually charged me lower than the actual shipping cost! How cool is that? =)

On to the loot.

Inside the box - All the items securely wrapped in bubble wraps

All the stuff I bought – a sensible haul of ONLY 6 items! =P

These are the freebies I received from Etude House! Gosh, look at them! I have read from many other bloggers who had ordered from Gmarket before that the Korean sellers are very generous with freebies. Indeed they are!! I ordered 4 items from them and I received 7 freebies! =)

What I’ve got:

A box of facial cotton – this is great as I find the facial cotton I buy in the UK tend to be on the rougher side. Too harsh for my skin.

A box of Maxim Arabica 100 coffee (contains 5 sachets) – great too since I’m a coffee lover! I need my cuppa every single morning. Is this Korean coffee? Hmm…good to try.

A mini set of Total Age Repair skincare by Etude House – contains a 25ml toner, 25ml emulsion, 5ml essence, 5ml wrinkle filler and 5 ml wrinkle cream. Omg, this is the freebie that excite me most!! Can’t wait to try this out. Hmm…how do they know that I’m venturing into anti-aging skincare now? =)

A decorative Flip Flap – I place it on my desk and the leaves can move on its own. Cute!
A pen – the lipstick look-alike isn’t really a lipstick. It’s actually a pen! =)

Sugar Pink Lip & Cheek by Etude House – This is similar to Stila’s Convertible Color. A cream product you can use on both the lips and cheeks. I think they gave me a full size one (I’m not sure, it looks full size to me) and it’s a nice pink colour!

A sample of Collagen Moistfull Cream by Etude House

A pretty impressive freebies here huh? Now let’s see the breakdown of the products I actually purchased.

Fashion first – a pretty spring-ish dress and skirt. When I first opened these, my first impression were, “oh no, these are too small for me!!” I went on to try them on and turned out pretty well after all! They fit me nicely, only that I would prefer if they are a little longer. Both are mid-thigh length, which are alright in fact. It’s just me; I will be more comfortable longer. I usually would worry about the size whenever I purchase clothing online but I thought Korean size should suit me well since they are generally larger than their neighbour, the Japanese. Never know they are tiny as well! Anyway, I’m not saying I’m fat or anything. Just that I’m pretty tall in Asian standard (170cm) so the length might be a problem. =)

Btw, the dress costs 11,700 Won (~US$10.40) and the skirt 8,900 Won (~US$8). Pretty good deal right? Yay! =)

All Etude House products (from left to right):

Precious Mineral BB Cream in #2 Sheer Glowing Skin– 13,500 Won (~US$12.50)
Dr. Oil Solution Anti-Shine BB Lotion – 8,500 Won (~US$7.90)
Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Dual Primer – 9,500 Won (~US$8.70)
BB Rice Compact & BB Rice Cream – 10,000 Won (~US$8.90)

I must say, Etude House in Korea is darn cheap! I am expecting the same applies to other Korean brands as well. My hands are itching for another order on Gmarket already. =.=

Btw, for those who do not know, Gmarket is basically the Korean version of Ebay where you find basically anything you can think of there. I haven’t explore the entire site yet (it might take me forever!!) but so far, from what I can see in terms of fashion and beauty sections, the selections are massive. The good thing of Gmarket over Ebay is that it allows you to buy from different sellers/stores, add items into the cart and get everything shipped in one single parcel as there’s actually a central warehouse where all the sellers send the items to be packaged and shipped. So that’s really neat and convenient. The downside of Gmarket however is that although the site is now available in English, almost all the sellers post items in Korean. So if you do not know Korean, it will take you some time to get used to and figure out how to shop for the stuff you want. I for one know not a single word of Korean and I took days to research and learn how to use that website. If you have any question regarding Gmarket, feel free to ask (comment or email), and I’ll try to help as much as I can.

With that, I guess I shall end my long entry on a small haul here. =)

Have a smashing day!

FOTD featuring 88 Colour Palette and a great sunny day out!

2010-04-11T11:49:00.001+01:00

This was what we did yesterday. The weather was awesome sunny, the sky was clear and we thought we shouldn’t put it to waste. After all, knowing how fickle-minded UK weather is, we should grab every sunny moment there is! So, we grabbed some food and snacks and went to the field for an impromptu picnic and sun bathing (minus the bikini!). Serious awesomeness and total bliss.

First up, the face of the day.

Spring look with the 88 Colour Palette

What I’ve used:

FACE
Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream SPF 20 PA+ Shade 1
RMK Face Powder N P00
Canmake Loose Cheek Blush in 06
*I just realised I have all Japanese and Korean products on my face!* =)

LIPS
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect in 457

EYES
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
#1 bright yellow on the lid
#2 soft pink to blend into the crease
#3 purple on the outer corner and outer half of lower lash line
#4 to highlight on the brow bone
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir
Bourjois Volume Clubbing Waterproof Mascara in Black Party

Some photos of us.

Me looking very glad =)

A good cheeseburger and an entertaining magazine is all I need! Btw, it’s the Glamour magazine April issue there. Bought it just because I wanted the freebie included. =P

Us!

The only thing I do not like with spring is the wind!! Look at what it did to my hair.

Last but not least, I have to include the picture of the Canmake blush I used. It’s so cute!

Look at the puff with a pink bow. How cute is that? Btw, the puff is actually functional unlike most brush included which are useless. This is soft and I actually like dabbing the loose blush on the cheek before blending it out.

That’s all for today and have a great day people!

Thanks for dropping by.

Tiny Haul(s)

2010-04-10T18:09:00.001+01:00

Wondering why there’s an ‘s’ in bracket?

That’s because I’ve been naughty recently and have been hauling! Not once, not twice. But multiple times. ;)

I’ve placed a few orders online and am waiting for packages to arrive. Meanwhile, this is the first part of my hauls, those of which have arrived. I wanted to wait for the rest before posting but I can’t wait to share with you girls and the other packages might take some time anyway. So, here it is!

Only 4 items!

Boots is having 3 for 2 sales on all skincare right? Initially I thought I’m going to haul big time but turned out, nothing really caught my attention when I went to the store. I just ended up with a couple of Botanics products ; something I’ve been wanting to try. I also picked up a bunch of pony bands. The black palette is not from Boots. Guess what it is?

Loot from Boots

Eh, it’s supposed to be 3 for 2 right? Where’s the other item? It is the Neutrogena spot treatment gel. Not in the picture as it’s currently at the Boyfriend’s place! =)

Next, the palette that I’ve been very excited about.

88 Colour Palette

I guess this palette is no stranger to most of you. It is very well known at Coastalscents.com. But I purchased it from Ebay instead at a much lower price! I own the 88 Warm Palette and I love it so much; such a great quality for its price. I’ve been wanting to get this palette for ages now especially it’s spring already and summer is coming very soon! All the colours are gorgeous and I can’t wait to create looks from this.

Okay, that’s about it for this tiny haul. Expect more hauls post coming up and FOTDs using the 88 colour palette.

Have a great day!

Review: Skinfood Black Sugar Mask & Quick Brand Introduction

2010-04-09T15:01:00.001+01:00

Hi all! I know I have been missing for a couple of days. I’ve been lazy and believe or not, what I’ve been doing these few days is just sitting in front of my laptop everyday and stalk all the online beauty stores and drool at the products! Haha…seriously, I need to get my life back.

Okay, back to the main topic here. The main star today – Skinfood Black Sugar Mask

Picture source: http://eng.theskinfood.com/

For those who do not know, Skinfood is a famous brand originated from Korea. It has large variety of products ranging from cosmetics, skincare, bodycare, haircare, etc. For more information, feel free to browse their website. Their website is really pretty and kawaii, I could look at it all day!

What I particularly like about Skinfood is its skincare range. My absolute favourite product so far is definitely what I’m going to talk about today – the Black Sugar Mask.

The tub I own

First of all, do not let the name fool you. Though it is called a mask, it is in fact a scrub! It contains bits of sugar which helps to exfoliate the skin. On the cover it says:

"FOOD THERAPY Special food for the skin to eat. Contains lots of nutritive and energetic ingredients such as fresh plants, fruits and etc. to maintain our bodies healthy and lively”

Sounds yummy, no? Most Skinfood products are made from plants and fruits and its various skincare lines are uniquely themed with plants/fruits names such as Lettuce Cucumber Line, Tomato Whitening Line, Green Grape Fresh Line. This was what attracted me to try out Skinfood initially btw. Anything that is good for your body should be good for your skin right?

Picture source: http://eng.theskinfood.com/

This is how the product looks like. It may look a bit yucky but trust me, your skin will love it. At least mine did!

Look at how much I have left. It definitely going to run out very very soon!

The Ingredients

My Thoughts

I have a few other scrubs and I usually rotate among them. But I notice everytime I turn to this, my skin is a lot more supple and smoother afterwards compared to the rest. The sugar bits are quite rough so it might be too harsh for those who has sensitive skin. I prefer my scrubs to contain chunky bits anyway. Only that way I feel I have properly exfoliated.

This is how I use it. After washing my face with a cleanser, I spread this all over my damp face and slowly message. The sugar will slowly dissolve as I message and then I leave it on my face for about 5 minutes before I wash it off. Sometimes when I’m lazy, I’ll just wash it off straight away without waiting. It still does the job anyway. And oh, while I message it, I usually will rub it on my lips as well and it exfoliates my lips really well! Note though on the website it says to avoid the eye and mouth areas. But I have been doing this since day 1 and my lips is still alright! =)

I don't experience any tightness to my skin after using this. My skin feels baby smooth each time I use this, which makes me really happy!

The only downside I can think of is this product is not easily accessible here in the UK. I purchased it back in Malaysia before I came here last year. It’s running out soon and my only source now is through online stores. But so far, the prices I saw online are so much more expensive than what I can get back home. Sigh. One of the reasons I like Korean skincare is its affordable price and yet effective. Any of you have any recommendation where should I get this?

Final Verdict: 4/5

The only reason I take the one point off is its unavailability here. One point penalty may sound a bit too much but if I can’t get my hands on it, it’s impossible for me to use it in the first place right? And all the other factors do not matter anymore. If I’m in Malaysia now, this will definitely be a 5/5!

That’s all for now.

Thanks for dropping by. =)

FOTD: Variations of Birthday Look

2010-04-06T14:24:00.001+01:00

Remember the look I wore on my birthday?

Birthday FOTD

I love it so much that I decided to do variations to it, using different shades. For the birthday version, it was purple and for today’s version, I’ll be using blue. Just want to see how it will turn out. =)

Overall look from front

What I’ve used

FACE:
Loreal Smoothing Primer
Revlon Photoready in Shell & Nars Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc (mixed)
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
NYX Powder Blush in Taupe (contour)
MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle (highlight)
Revlon Matte Blush in Perfectly Peach

LIPS:
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
MAC Lipstick in Fun Fun

EYES:
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Kate Deep Eyes BU-1 Palette (blue on the lid, silver blend into the crease and shimmery white as highlighter on browbone)
Kate Deep Eyes BU-1 Palette (Silver blend into the crease)
Kate Deep Eyes BU-1 Palette (shimmery white as highlighter on the brow bone)
Sleek Original Palette (matte black blend into the outer corner)
Kate Deep Eyes BU-1 Palette (dark blue on the outer half of lower lash line)
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir (waterline and tightline)
Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink
Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara in Rich Black

Peace with my hair up!

I think I still prefer the birthday version. Somehow the purple soften the entire look a lot which I like. Maybe I should try with different shades of blue. The blue here isn't obvious enough right?

It has been extremely windy lately! I have to tie up my hair whenever I am outdoor or else, my long hair will just get crazily messy and all tangled with the wind!

Okay, that’s all for this entry. Another version of this variation coming up. Stay tuned.

Thank you for stopping by!

Nails of the Day

2010-04-04T15:58:00.001+01:00

I found the perfect match for my latest favourite lipstick, MAC’s Fun Fun as featured here.

Presenting to you – Collection 2000 Nail Polish in 35 Dynasty

I snapped a dozen of photos but somehow the camera captured the colour as a lot more purple than actual! This is the best out of the lot. I’ll use the same description I used for the lipstick; gorgeous milky pink with a hint of lilac.

Another great cheap buy! =)

Thanks for reading.

Stash Shopping: New found love!

2010-04-02T11:42:00.001+01:00

Remember the Pink Lipsticks collection entry I did? This was re-discovered whilst digging out the stash I had.

MAC’s Lipstick in Fun Fun

Gorgeous milky pink with a hint of lilac undertone on my lips. It’s a lustre which spells moisturising but it’s also as creamy as the cremesheens. Too bad though, this is not in the permanent line. I couldn’t find it on MAC’s website. If I remember correctly, I picked this up in the Starflash collection. I’m not sure if it was part of the collection or it was another collection released around the same time, but I think I purchased it together when I hauled the Starflash eye shadows.

I don’t think I have seen much hype about this in the net, unlike other MAC lippies such as Creme Cup. Perhaps this is why it’s ignored by me?

A swatch on my lips:

This is without any gloss on top. You can see that I definitely don’t need any. =)

That’s all for a quick lips post.

Thanks for reading. =)

FOTD: Spring Makeup

2010-04-01T13:41:00.001+01:00

Anyone watched the Arsenal vs Barcelona football matched last night? I did! =)

Now, I’m not really a football fan for goodness sake. I could never understand the fun of watching 22 men chasing after a ball for 90 minutes! But the Boyfriend is! According to him, yesterday’s match was suppose to be HUGE, IMPORTANT match. So the whole world would be glued to the TV for it. And the Boyfriend is a supporter for Arsenal, so go figure. I went with him anyway, since I didn’t have any other plan. And it turned out pretty good! Usually I’ll get bored 5 minutes into the match whenever I accompanied him to watch football. I’ll be surfing the net on the phone, wandering around or something. But yesterday’s match managed to catch my attention throughout the entire match!! Haha!

Ok, come back to the real business here. Spring is here (though the temperature dropped to 5 degrees again yesterday :S) and I was itching to wear bright colours again! Yellows, pinks, lavender, and all of that sort. How fun! =)

The spring look!

Falsies too!

What I’ve used:

FACE:
Loreal Smoothing Primer
Revlon Photoready in Shell & NARS Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc
NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle (highlight above the cheekbones)
MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink (swipe across the cheek to temple)
Everyday Minerals Blush in Waffle Cone (apples of the cheek)

LIPS:
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
MAC Lipstick in Fun Fun

EYES:
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
L.A. Colors EP22 Tease Palette (Yellow on the lid not touching the crease)
Kate Deep Eyes PU-1 Palette (Bright Pink blend into the outer half of crease)
Revlon ColorStay 12-hr Shadow Palette in Lavender Meadow (2nd Purple blend into the entire crease)
Sleek Original Palette (darker purple to deepen the outer corner)
Kate Deep Eyes PU-1 Palette (Shimmery white to highlight)
Rimmel Extreme Definition Two-Tone Eye Definer in 003 Trend Setter (white to line the waterline)
Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer in 240 Aqua Sparkle (line the lower lash line)
Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink (upper lash line)
Majorlica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus Mascara (to lengthen)
Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara (to volumise)
Ardell Falsies 101

After the successful mix of foundation here, I tried another combination here and I like the finish of this even better!! It looks so good on photos right?

Revlon Photoready + Nars Sheer Glow -----> might just be my HG! If just I could find one single foundation which gives the same result.

That’s it! Hope you like it.

How’s your spring look?

FOTD & The fun of mixing foundations!

2010-03-31T16:20:00.001+01:00

It’s job hunting mode again for me. Sigh…I dread times like this. The hassle of interview preparations, travelling for interviews, interviews, assessments, the anxiety, and the list goes on. But what to do right? I got to live and most important of all, feeding my beauty needs! =)

I had an assessment in London yesterday and this was the neutral look I wore. Very simple with only two colours on the eyes (not including highlighters of course). The interesting part of this FOTD is the new foundation combination that I experimented – mixing Revlon Photoready with ColorStay. I rarely use ColorStay on its own as it’s just too matte and thick for me and so I’m always mixing it with something else!

What I’ve used:

FACE:
MAC Prep & Prime Base
Revlon Photoready Foundation in Shell + ColorStay in Nude
NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
NYX Powder Blush in Taupe (contour)
Revlon Matte Blush in Perfectly Peach

LIPS:
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
MAC Lipstick in Pretty Please with Creme Cup on top
NYX Round Lipgloss in Whipped

EYES:
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
MAC All That Glitters (on the lid)
MAC Mulch (crease & outer half of lower lash line)
MAC Grand Entrance (inner corner)
Bourjois single shadow in 90 Blanc Diaphane (highlight)
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir (tightline)
Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink
Loreal Telescopic Mascara

I’m loving this blush more and more!! As the name says, it is really a perfect peach for my skin tone. I rarely buy peach blushes as most of those which I’ve tried tend to look orangey on me. But this is lovely! Great for spring now.

That’s all lovelies.

Thanks for reading. =)

Review: Revlon Photoready Foundation

2010-03-29T16:56:00.001+01:00

I have been using this consistently since I bought it for about 1+ weeks now and I thought it’s about time for a review. I’ve tried applying this foundation using the different methods I usually would; foundation brush, flat top brush and sponge wedge. The only way I haven’t tried is using fingers but I don’t usually use fingers for foundation application anyway. The only time I use my fingers is when I apply BB Cream.

So which is my favourite application method for this foundation? For most of the foundations I own, I love using a sponge wedge spritz with fix+. However, for this foundation, I find it a little too light for me to apply that way as the sponge wedge would absorb more product than a brush. I ended up with barely any coverage on my face! Good though if you want a light face out. So my favourite way of applying this foundation is using a flat top brush, but not stippling it like how I would normally do. I dab it all over my face and then brush it away from my face to blend it in. I find this way gives me the best finish with the least patchiness. Overall, this is relatively easy to blend, definitely much easier to blend than ColorStay.

My shade is 003 Shell and for reference, I’m MAC NW15 and NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Mont Blanc. This is the second lightest shade (at least that’s what I see in the UK. Not sure if it’s the same for the rest of the world) and I did tried out the lightest shade, Vanilla in the store and I find them very similar and match my skin well. I ended up getting Shell anyway as I’ve researched before this and most people about my shade got Shell.

Okay, demo time. First up, on my hand. Both photos are taken without flash.

Looks pretty good. How does it fair on my face then?

Yikes, this is my bare skin with only a thin layer of Loreal Smoothing Primer. As you can see, my skin is far from perfect. My biggest problem are my pores. Large pores. I have done all I can but they seem to be the most stubborn thing to get rid of. Any helpful tips here?

With the foundation on. You see, the coverage is pretty impressive eh? One pump is enough for my entire face.

After setting it with powder. I’m using MAC MSF Natural here, just lightly dust all over. No concealer except for my undereye area.

Staying power is good enough for me. I don’t usually wear my makeup for extremely long hours like 16 hours or something, so I cannot verify if this can stay that long. But after about 10 hours (which is long enough for me), this still stays intact and I’m satisfied. Of course, saying that, I always set my foundation and I know some people prefer to wear foundation without powder and so this might not be as long lasting.

As for the famous “sparkling” factor for this foundation, nope, I don’t detect any. Probably I don’t observe close enough, but who’s going to look so closely at you right? So I’m fine with it. In fact, I always prefer glowy look to matte, so this is definitely thumbs up for me.

So after saying so much, is this a Holy Grail for me? Sadly, no. As much as I like it, this is still a tad too powdery/patchy for me. The foremost important bit in a foundation for me is the finish it gives. I want a luminous, flawless finish despite any application method. This in my opinion, still isn’t quite there yet, especially if I use the wrong application method. So my quest to find my Holy Grail foundation continues! Any recommendation?

Okay, this entry is getting pretty long. I should stop now.

How do you like Revlon Photoready? Do share your experience.

Thanks for stopping by. =)

My Pink Lipsticks Collection & Swatches

2010-03-28T17:27:00.001+01:00

A total of 13 altogether. Gasp. Okay, this is getting a little out of hand here. I mean, if you notice the FOTDs I posted, I hardly used most of these! I always reach for the same few lippies. Sigh…and these thirteen lipsticks are not even including those darker shade ones; for example mauvey pink. I never notice how many I own until I begin to pick and choose for this entry.

But then again, doing this is great. It made me realize those gorgeous lippies which I have been neglecting. It’s time to show some love for them again! Note to self: I shall reach for them next time.

Okay, let’s see what I’ve got here.

The legion of PINKS!

All MAC from Left to right: Pretty Please, Creme Cup, Fun Fun, Colour Crafted, Plink!
It’s no brainer to see which of these I reach for the most. Creme Cup! Gorgeous nude pink.

Left to Right: Pink Blush (Rimmel), Airy Fairy (Rimmel), Summer in Hampton (NYX), Strawberry Milk (NYX)

Love Rimmel’s Pink Blush and NYX’s Strawberry Milk. Gorgeous baby pink!

Left to Right: Ambre Rose (Maybelline), Pink Pearl (Maybelline), Pink Pout (Revlon), Apple Blossom (Natural Collection)

If I am to choose my top 3 from these, hmm….a tough one here. I’ll say Strawberry Milk (NYX), Pink Blush (Rimmel) and Creme Cup (MAC). I suppose another emerging favourite is Revlon’s Pink Pout. I have been reaching for it pretty often since I got it. And my all time favourite lipgloss combination for these is MAC’s Underage. Pink + Underage is LOVES!! Gorgeous kissable lips.

I love pinks. How about you?

Thanks for reading. =)

FOTD: Smokey Green Eyes

2010-03-27T15:11:00.001Z

I had dinner with a few friends the day before my birthday and this was the look I came out with using both the Majolica Majorca and Sleek palettes.

What I’ve used:

FACE:
Revlon Photoready Foundation in Shell
NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
MAC Mineralize Blush in Daft Pink

LIPS:
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout
MAC Lipglass in Underage

EYES:
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Majolica Majorca Palette GR750 (#1 on the lid)
Sleek Original Palette (#2 to darken the outer half & #3 to smoke out the outer corner)
Bourjois single shadow in 90 Blanc Diaphane (highlight)
Revlon ColorStay Eye Liner in Black/Noir
Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara in Rich Black

I was bored and so I played with Photoshop and came out with this edited version of the side view shot.

Me like it! =)

Thanks for reading.

Birthday FOTD & OOTD

2010-03-26T15:42:00.001Z

This entry is all about the look and outfit I wore on my birthday a couple of days ago. For more about the celebration, please click here.

I was just experimenting blindly and took my own sweet time to get ready and I was very happy with the outcome. A soft and mellow smokey look with purple and shimmery silver to create slight sparkles when the lights hit. The key to this look is blend, blend and blend!

Front shot with and without flash

What I’ve used:

FACE:
Loreal Studio Secrets smoothing primer

Revlon Photoready Foundation in Shell
NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
Revlon Matte Blush in Perfectly Peach

LIPS:
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
NYX Round Lipstick in Strawberry
MAC Lipglass in Underage

EYES:
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Sleek Original Palette (#1 on the lid – not touching the crease)
Kate Deep Eyes Palette PU-1 (#2 blend into the crease above the purple)

88 Neutral Palette
#3 (matte black to smoke out the outer corner)
#4 & #5 (mix a plum shade with a deep brown and apply on the lower lash line)
#6 to highlight

Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir (waterline & tightline)
Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink (wing out slightly)
MAC Grand Entrance (tear duct area)
Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara in Rich Black

Top view with and without flash

What I wore:

Top – From a random store in Malaysia
Tights – John Lewis
Scarves – Dorothy Perkins
Boots - Primark

I so love dolling up for dates. How about you?

Birthday Celebration

2010-03-25T17:52:00.002Z

Yesterday was my birthday and the Boyfriend and I had a simple evening out. We dined at Jamie’s Italian and the food was superb! Lucky us to get a table as we have heard from friends before this that it’s impossible to get a table, the queue is forever long and they don’t do reservations! So with this in mind, we went there early at 6pm and voila, we got a table after only 10 minutes waiting! =)

Of course, being the camwhore me, how could I not take photos on such occasion right?

Messy hairdo. FOTD for this look will be in a separate entry. =)

Spring flowers again

We saw this pink limo on the way. So freaking pretty right? I so want it!

Undecided on what to order. I take ages to decide what to eat usually!

Us. =)

Our entree – Wildboar salami

My main – Sirloin steak

Juicy chuck of meat. Medium rare please.

Highlight of the night was the dessert. Their special tiramisu. Oh.My.God. This was the best ever tiramisu I ever had before. Looking at this now makes me salivate!

Me and my food

Ending Blurred shot

That’s how my birthday like this year. Past two years celebration were lavish where we went for vacations. A nice change for this year since we are both back to being students now. =)

Thank you for dropping by.

What’s in my Travel Makeup Bag?

2010-03-24T13:19:00.001Z

Okay, I have to admit this. I always always have problems packing for travel. Especially makeup. I get extremely fickle minded and feel like bringing everything I have and ended up with more makeup than I actually need and would use. What could I do when the beauty junkie side of me keeps telling me that I might want to use that colour, what if I need that lipstick, etc? As a result I ended up with tons of makeup in both my luggage and hand-carry. Worse, I get paranoid about keeping my makeup in my check-in luggage. I’ll think how they will be destroyed or lost. So I usually will hand carry my favourite ones, especially expensive ones! I remember during the security check point in the airport when I went to Paris last year, the officer literary blurted out, “Oh My God. Are you going to use all that?” when he saw the amount of makeup I had. Lol.

That’s not even including my skincare and bath stuff. Speaking of which, I am super picky too when it comes to bathing products, especially for my hair. I usually refuse to use the shampoo provided by the hotels. My hair is long, as in waist length long and I’ll get frustrated when the hotel’s shampoo dries up my hair and cause them to get tangled! So I always insist on using my own shampoo/conditioner when I travel. And skincare; for the life of me, I can never make myself skip my skincare routine, not even when I travel. It has become such a part of my life that when I skip them, I’ll feel extreme guilty and uncomfortable, like something important not done. You can call me weird. =P

For the recent Birmingham trip though, I was contemplating a few days before that on how much should I bring. It was such a short trip and that made it even more difficult. I know we’ll have to carry our stuff along most of the time and so having a heavy luggage will not be convenient. Alas, the Boyfriend managed to convince me to just pack enough, somehow stuff everything into ONE backpack, for the BOTH of us. HORRORS!!!

But I did it anyway =). I decided to bring exactly ONLY what I will use for makeup and NO backup at all, not a single piece and leave the extra spaces for my skincare and haircare. I decided in the end that I could skimp on makeup but not skincare, no matter how short the trip is! Your skin got to look its best during holiday, no?

My favourite polka dot makeup bag. Eeek…it looks kinda dirty here. Don’t mind that, I carry this in my handbag every single day. =)

The inside and the brush roll

ALL these in the polka dot bag! =)

I brought BB cream instead of foundation as I can apply it using my fingers and so one less brush to bring! For eyes, only one Kate palette which was super convenient!

All the brushes I need

Do you have trouble packing for travel? Do share with me!

Thanks for reading. =)

Birmingham Day 2

2010-03-23T15:15:00.002Z

On the second day, we met up with a few friends to head to an important event! You shall find out later. =)

Let the pictures speak for themselves.

View from our room. Bright blue sky! =)

It was about 15 minutes walk to the train station from the hotel. As usual, we snapped photos along the way. This is what tourists do! =)

It was a sunny and windy day! Warm enough for me to take off my scarves!

I love this shot.

At the city centre

Passed by this bridge on our quest to look for coffee!

We reached our destination! Guess where is this?

Pretty obvious, isn’t it?

Yes, that’s right! We went to watch the All England Badminton Finals. We’re so excited about this as the Malaysian was in the Men Singles Final. And we won!! Excellent atmosphere with thousands of Malaysian cheering. =)

After the glorious winning moment, we took one final photo with the championship banner before heading off to the train station.

That’s all for the Birmingham trip. A rather short trip huh?

Thanks for reading! =)

Outfit Of The Day

2010-03-22T14:25:00.001Z

This was the outfit I had on corresponding to the FOTD I did here. No more thick layers as Spring is finally here! =)

See the flowers?!! Spring and happy happy me! =)

Pink Top - Dorothy Perkins
Purple Cardigan - New Look
Black coat - Zara
Leggings - H&M
Boots – Primark
Handbag – Primark

How are you embracing Spring?

FOTD: Featuring Revlon Photoready

2010-03-21T13:31:00.001Z

I couldn’t wait to try out the new Revlon Photoready foundation and this was the look I came out with. First impression is positive though the finish is still a tad too powdery to my liking. From all the reviews I’ve seen so far, it’s suppose to be a light foundation so I didn’t expect it to be powdery. Perhaps it’s the application method? I applied it with a flat top brush (ELF Powder Brush) in this look, using the stippling method. I shall try a few other methods and see.

Regarding the sparkles as reported by most people, I don’t notice it at all! The only thing I notice is it gives my complexion a nice glow and I’ve always preferred glowy, luminous finish than matte. So, that’s good. Staying power is excellent too; given that I did not have any base on and when I remove my makeup 7 hours later, it was still well intact. =)

Closer view

What I’ve used:

FACE:
Revlon Photoready Foundation in Shell
NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle (Highlight)
Revlon Matte Blush in Perfectly Peach

EYES:
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Tan (lid)
NYX The Runway Collection Catwalk Palette (matte brown to blend in the crease and cream colour to highlight)
MAC Satin Taupe (outer corner and lower lash line)
Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer in Emerald Sparkle (waterline)
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir (tightline)
Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara in Rich Black

LIPS:
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout
MAC Lipglass in Underage

Side View

Top View

If you notice, I used all the Revlon stuff I picked up here. =)

I have to mention about the blush here. It’s totally LOVES!! Peachy pink colour which is perfect for my skin tone. And the lipstick too, though it’s matte, it’s very moisturising, compared to the sole other matte lipstick I have from MAC. It’s so drying and amplifying all the lines on my lips that I stayed away from any lipstick which claims matte ever since!

Okay, that’s all for this entry. Thanks for reading!

Birmingham Day 1

2010-03-20T13:15:00.002Z

Okay, first entry on the Birmingham trip. I’ll do the touristy and beauty entries separately.

Thinking back now, we didn’t really do that much in Birmingham because of the extremely short time we had there. I usually get really exhausted after travelling, be it by train, plane or bus, so the first day is usually wasted due to my lack of energy. I wasn’t even doing anything other than sitting in the train, how could I get so tired??!! The only time when I don’t get so exhausted is when I travel by car and I am the driver. Weird right? I know.

So we have only two days in Birmingham and with the first day wasted, we practically left with no time to explore too much! Nevertheless, this was a pretty random, impromptu trip without too much planning so it’s understandable. And random trips once in a while is good too eh?

Pictures time. Enjoy!

The Boyfriend and I. 1st appearance of him here! =)

In Bullring. It’s huge. Too bad I was dead tired then and so wasn’t so much in the mood to shop. I did however look through lots of stuff but nothing caught my attention. I had NARS cream blush in Penny Lane in mind when I came here after watching Lollipop26 raved about it but it somehow looked blah after I swatch it in person. Perhaps just not the right day?

Outside Bullring

I love this picture! Artistic eh? =)

We didn’t visit University of Birmingham on purpose. We booked our accommodation at the conference hotel here, thus the photos. =)

The hotel building

Last photo for Day 1. I looked really exhausted here. It was night and we were catching a train to the city centre to meet up with some friends for dinner. Dinner was yummy though, at a Malaysian restaurant (I think called Hang Li Po), only downside was it was jam packed!

Thanks for reading!

Haul

2010-03-19T18:47:00.001Z

So I finally submitted the two papers this morning! I was so glad and relieved that I went to Boots right after that. Guess what I saw?

REVLON PHOTOREADY FOUNDATION!!!

OMG I was so excited I almost squealed! =) I have been waiting for this foundation since end of last year right after it was released in the US and everyone who got it was raving about it! It’s quite pricey for a drugstore foundation but Boots was having 3 for 2 sale for all Revlon makeup products. So I thought pretty good deal. You know how your expectation usually slowly builds up while you are waiting forever for something? Oh well…I am having high expectation for this. I hope it will not disappoint me. I have yet to open it but I am planning to try it out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!

I wasn’t planning on buying anything this morning when I went to Boots but look at the loot I came out with!

Who doesn’t like haul? =)

Aussie Aussome Volume Shampoo

Aussie Aussome Volume Conditioner

My hair shampoo and conditioner are running out and I wanted to try out something new. Boots was having £6 for two Aussie products sale and so I grabbed these! Anyone tried them before? What do you think of them?

Nivea Visage Q10 Plus Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream

The star of the day: Revlon Photoready Foundation in 003 Shell

Revlon Matte Lipstick in 002 Pink Pout

Revlon Matte Powder Blush in 003 Perfectly Peach

Collection 2000 Nail Polishes

These are only £1.79 each and are having 3 for 2 sale! Bargain!

Ardell Falsies

Boots Cosmetic Sponge Wedges

I love using these to for foundation these days so much more than the brushes! Somehow I feel applying using these wedges gives a more neutral and flawless finish. LOVES!

Ok, I should stop here now. I’ll be posting about my Birmingham trip next. Stay tuned.

I am sorry

2010-03-17T10:09:00.000Z

I know I haven't been posting for quite some time now. The reason is because I have two papers to complete this week plus an interview to prepare and I have been slaving away with them!! I can't wait to see the end of it though and get back to blogging. Did I mention that time passes much enjoyably faster when I blog than when I work? =P

See you soon.

I promise.

=)

FOTD: Neutral Green

2010-03-12T22:50:00.001Z

This is the look I wore a couple of days ago. Another neutral eyes with a hint of colour. =)
Let the pictures speak for themselves!

The usual front shot

Closer look at the eye makeup

What I’ve used:

Face:
- MAC Prep+Prime Base
- Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ Foundation in 20
- NYX Concealer in a jar in Light
- MAC MSF Natural in Medium
- NYX Powder Blush in Taupe (contour)
- MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle (highlight above cheek bones)
- MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink (cheek to temple)
- NARS Powder Blush in Madly (apples of the cheek)

Lips:
- Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
- NYX Round Lipstick in Power
- MAC Lipglass in Underage

88 Warm Palette

Eyes:
- MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
- #1 on the lid and lower lash line
- #2 to blend in the crease
- #3 on the outer corner
- #4 to highlight
- Revlon ColorStay pencil eye liner in Black/Noir
- Loreal Telescopic Mascara

Have a lovely day! =)

Nails of the Day: Bright Pink!

2010-03-11T18:01:00.001Z

I am painting my nails in bright colours lately, thinking Spring might arrive earlier that way. Or is this Spring already? But it is still so cold! Warmer and more sun please…

It’s Barry M again! Shade 279 Bright Pink

Two coats of colour and one top coat give an opaque glossy finish. Me loves!!

What is your Spring nail colour? =)

Recommendation Needed!

2010-03-10T19:48:00.001Z

Hello lovelies! This will be a non-beauty related post. I need some ideas from you people. =)

The Boyfriend and I are going for a short trip to Birmingham this coming weekend. Any suggestion on places for food and most importantly, shopping? Of course, we’ll be doing some research as well, but I thought you might have great recommendations to share as well. Please leave a comment if you do.

Have a nice day!

The Body Shop Haul

2010-03-09T15:52:00.001Z

The package

I finally got it today! I placed the order 12 days ago and have been anxiously waiting for it since. I received the confirmation email from The Body Shop (shall be called TBS from here onwards) two days after I placed the order that the package have been despatched. So I thought great, that’s fast service and I should get it in a few days time. But I waited and waited and waited. It never arrived! I was worried the package could be lost somewhere. Then when I saw the note to collect a parcel in my pigeon hole today, I was delighted; only to find out that the college clerk missed out on my parcel which have arrived days before and only noticed it today. How annoying!

Anyway, back to the haul. I used to haul a lot of TBS back in Malaysia. I was a big fan of its bath and body care. They smell so yummy! But after I came here to the UK, there are so much more choices available, especially in the drugstores. Not only they are of excellent quality, they are much cheaper than TBS as well! One case in point is I fell in love with Soap & Glory and TBS has been very much neglected since. =)

I was browsing the TBS website 2 weeks ago and there was a 3 for 2 sale going on for winter essential products and at the same time, I had a coupon code for £5 off for £10 or more spent. So I thought why not? This is definitely a good time to haul! After I have selected all the items I wanted, then I realised I am also entitled for a full size pink grapefruit body butter at zero cost for spending more than £20 and the shipping is also free! All these just spelt BARGAIN!! Great deal hauls always make my day. =)

All these for only £23!

Individual pictures of the haul.

Pink Grapefruit Body Butter (free – RPP £12.50)

Vitamin E Moisture Cream (£9)

Honey & Oat 3-in-1 Scrub Mask (£7.50)

Vitamin E Creamy Neck Gel (£7)

Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner (£4.50)

Vitamin E Moisture Serum (Free - RPP £10)

Can’t wait to try all of them. If you want a review on any of the items above, feel free to leave a comment or email me alternatively.

What’s your recent good buy?

Friday FOTD

2010-03-07T18:02:00.001Z

Had an impromptu trip to London on Friday and this was the look I wore, smokey purple eyes with nude pink lips.

Front view

Top view

Eye close-up

What I’ve used:

Face
- MAC Prep+Prime Base
- Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream
- NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
- MAC MSF Natural in Medium
- NYX Powder Blush in Taupe (contour)
- MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle
- MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink
- NYX Powder Blush in Angel

Lips
- Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
- MAC Lipstick in Creme Cup
- MAC Lipglass in Underage

Eyes
- MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
- Sleek Eyeshadow Palette in The Original 594 (colours used shown in picture above)
- Bourjois shadow in 90 Blanc Diaphane (highlight below brow bone)
- MAC Grand Entrance
- Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in 064 Stormy Grey (Lower waterline)
- Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Liner (Tightline)
- Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara in Rich Black

I placed the purple (#2) on the lower lash line as well and it instantly gives my eyes a pop of colour.

Thank you for reading. =)

Blush Routine

2010-03-06T15:04:00.001Z

This is the blush routine I have been wearing almost on a daily basis for the past few weeks. One, it gives my cheeks the glowy finish which I love and two, it enables me to use many products each time and this means the possibility of me hitting pan higher! You know how difficult it is to hit pan on blushes. Believe it or not, I have NEVER hit pan on any before. And the fact that I am a blush whore doesn’t help. I just keep buying and never seem to be able to finish any. =)

This is how I do it.

1. Using a large fluffy brush, lightly sweep a warm tone blush or bronzer in C-shape manner from the temple to the hollow of the cheeks (below the cheekbones).
2. With a small angled blush brush, gently blend in MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle above the cheekbones.
3. Using a larger blush brush (I use MAC 129), swipe MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink from the apples of the cheek to the temples.
4. Using the same large blush brush, apply the blush colour of the day (your choice) on the apples of the cheeks.

Done!

Since many products are used on the cheeks alone in this routine, bare in mind to apply everything with a light hand. You don’t want to end up like a clown. =)
What’s your favourite blush routine?

Nails: Colour Rocks!

2010-03-05T11:35:00.001Z

Yes, the nude is out and colour is back! I was rushing to go out for a movie last night and couldn’t bare the chipped previous colour, thus the messy edges, please ignore the imperfection. =)

Nail Paint by Barry M in 294 Cyan Blue

I love Barry M’s nail polishes, especially for its bright bold colours. I currently own 8 of them! They dry fast and give an opaque finish which I like. I usually apply two coats with the exception of some darker colours and this is one of them. Pictures below tell how good quality this is. Only one coat of the varnish and a layer of topcoat (also from Barry M!).

Without flash

With flash

What are your favourite nail polishes? Do share with me. =)

Stuff I finished

2010-03-04T00:47:00.001Z

On the same night. Yes, all three items were finished few hours ago tonight. I am so HAPPY!! You know why? Because that means I’ll get to try new stuff which is what I look forward to all the time!

All three items are skin care products; two facial and one body.

Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden Kyphi Nourishing Body Butter

Olay Total Effects Instant Smoothing Serum

Nivea Visage Aqua Sensation Day Cream

All wiped clean! =)

The body butter is great. Although body butters tend to be the largest tub among all my skincare, I go through them like nobody’s business. With the dry, cold weather here in the UK especially now in the winter, a 300ml tub like this lasted for about two months only. I am not complaining though, I love trying new body butters.

The next in line waiting for the opening ceremony tomorrow is Soap & Glory’s The Righteous Butter. I had tried this before a year ago, purchased when I came here for holiday and I loved it so much!! It was so moisturizing yet still good for Malaysia’s weather, no sticky yucky feeling after application. The best thing about it is it smells so yummy. I have been wanting to get this again but somehow I always ended up picking up something else whenever I’m in Boots. There are just too many brands to try out and my curiosity always wins. I finally got it when I saw there was a 30% off Soap & Glory in Boots a couple of weeks back.

Though the Nivea cream is technically a Day Cream, I used it day and night as a hydrating cream before applying moisturiser. It has a light, gel-like consistency which makes it unsuitable to be a moisturiser, but it sure does a good job in hydrating! I notice my skin gets less oily when I started using this. It’s the theory which says when your skin isn’t getting enough hydration, it will start producing oil as a hydrating layer. Make sense? I am still contemplating whether I should repurchase this. Not because it didn’t perform well, just because I am a sucker at trying new stuff. I have been wanting to try similar products from the Kevin Beautymaker, a Taiwanese brand which has been highly raved by the beauty community.

Lastly, the Olay serum. This is a nay. It did not do anything to my skin at all. It did not break me out, but it did not improve either. The previous serum I used by Bioessence is 100x better. But I couldn't find it anywhere here! =(

Anyway, hope you enjoy reading this entry. It is rare that I can finish three items at the same time, with the amount of stuff I have now.

See ya!

Weekend FOTD

2010-03-02T14:41:00.001Z

This was the look I wore when I attended a cultural night performance organized by Newnham College last Saturday night. There were a bunch of Malaysian friends performing and some Malaysian delicacies served. Totally enjoyed my time there. =)

Anyway, finally I wore some colours instead of the usual neutrals.

This is my current favourite blush routine. Will do a separate post on it soon. =)

Face:

MAC Prep+Prime Base

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Mont Blanc

NYX Concealer in Fair

MAC MSF Natural in Medium

NYX Blush in Taupe (Contour)

MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle (Highlight)

MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink

MAC Blush in Well Dressed

Lips:

Burt Bees Honey Lip Balm

NYX Round Lipstick in Strawberry Milk

MAC Lipglass in Underage

Eyes:

MAC Paint Pot in Painterly

Majolica Majorca Quad in GR750

Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir

Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara in Rich Black

Side view

One last photo taken with outdoor lighting

Current Nails

2010-03-01T12:19:00.001Z

Please excuse the uneven nail length of the forefinger. It somehow cracked a little at the front the other day and I had to cut it off but did not have the heart to cut the rest of my nails to make the length even. I heart long nails. You know how annoying cracked nails are; it cuts and hair get stuck in between whenever you run your fingers through your hair.

Anyway, back to the nail colour. This happens to be my favourite nude colour so far; Rimmel Lycra Pro Nail Polish in 365 Beige Style. I had a few other nude colours previously but left them back in Malaysia and only brought this with me when I came to the UK last September. I knew that with me returning to student life, it will be bright bold colours all the way! No more nude. =)

Well, on rare occasion such as this, I still do have random urge to have my nails in nude shades. It is still pretty and I adore it. What I like about this particular line of Rimmel’s nail polish is its applicator. It’s huge and flat, making application a breeze; not to mention it dries fast too. I top it off with Barry M’s top coat for a glossy finish and I am done.

What is your favourite nude nail colour?

Favourite BB Cream Routine + Review

2010-02-25T10:43:00.001Z

On days when I do not feel like having heavy makeup on and yet do not wish to go out with my bare face, BB cream is my best friend. My favourite BB cream is Missha’s M Perfect Cover BB Cream. Only two shades are available No. 21 and No. 23 and I’m using No. 23 currently which is the darker one. I suppose No. 21 would be a better match to my skin tone currently since I’ve gotten lighter over the winter here. It also has SPF42 PA+++ which is great on sunny days.

I got it in Malaysia last year and sadly speaking, this could not be found anywhere in the UK. At least, I haven’t successfully found any so far. My only source now is Ebay I suppose which I have yet to see the price sold there. Sigh…I should have gotten backups before I came here September last year. The tube I own is running out soon and I have to really use it in moderation these days, in fear of it finishing and I will really be sad then!

Anyway, this is how I usually apply it. I have tried applying this using various brushes but I still find using fingers for this gives the best finish. I don’t usually use any primer prior to application and upon application, it might look grey but once it settle into the skin, it looks fabulous giving the complexion a nice glow and most appealing part is it looks like I don’t have any foundation on. I will then lightly set it with MAC MSF Natural and I am done with foundation! Easy right?

It has light-medium coverage which is sufficient with me. I usually only need to apply concealer for my under eyes when I’m using this.

Pictures of me wearing the BB cream:

See you soon. =)

FOTD & Tutorial

2010-02-24T14:01:00.001Z

I had a meeting with the client yesterday on a project I’m currently working on so naturally this being a formal meeting, the makeup should be simple, neutral and look natural. I whipped out my 88 Warm Palette and did some experiments. I love experimenting with that palette with its wide variety of neutral shades! The outcome turned out to be heavier than I would like but oh well, it will do.

The look with and without flash.

Close-up shot

The Products I used:

Face & Lips Products
Loreal Studio Secrets smoothing primer
MAC Fix+
Revlon ColorStay Foundation in Nude
NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
NYX Blush in Taupe as bronzer and contour
MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle
MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink
Milani Powder Blush in Luminous
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
MAC Lipstick in Colour Crafted
MAC Lipglass in Underage

Foundation Routine: Revlon ColorStay applied using a sponge wedge moisten with a few spritz of MAC Fix+. This will reduce the amount of foundation absorbed by the wedge. Then I set it with MAC MSF Natural using a flat top kabuki brush in dabbing motion rather than swirling and buffing. The end result is flawless silky finish and what I like most about it is that it’s not powdery and looked really natural as if it’s my skin without wearing any foundation! LOVES!

On my lips: Colour Crafted can be too bold for occasion like this but Underage lipgloss is great for toning down bold lipsticks. Love the soft baby pink finish.

Going on to the eye makeup:

88 Warm Palette. Please excuse the poor shadow on the right hand corner. I purchased this in Ebay and it arrived in this condition! Since only one shadow was destroyed and I was too lazy to go through the whole returning fuss, I just ignored it. I still love this palette despite the little imperfection!

First I applied MAC Paint Pot in Painterly as primer/base all over the eyelid until the brow bone.
Then I applied #1, a silver with slight blue undertone all over the lid. This is the colour which caused the eye makeup to be a little too heavy as I mentioned. Perhaps I should have used a lighter silver instead.
Then I blend the harsh lines on the crease using a matte brown, #2.
Darken the outer corner with #3 and apply this colour on the outer half of the lower lash line as well.
The inner corner (tear duct area) and inner half of the lower lash line are brightened using MAC shadow in Grand Entrance (not in picture). This is my favourite inner corner shadow!
Finally, highlight the brow bone with #4.

For eyeliner, I tight lined using Revlon ColorStay eyeliner. The mascara I used was Max Factor High Definition mascara which is the best mascara I’ve used so far. It lengthens and volumizes my lashes really well. In the picture, I applied only two coats and my lashes were full and lush as if I was wearing falsies. Mind you, my lashes are like the typical Asian lashes; short, thin and straight. This mascara is my saviour! =)

Okay, I shall end this post with two more shots of me. See you soon!

Side view

Top view

First FOTD

2010-02-22T22:35:00.001Z

Okay, this is my first ever FOTD post – the look I wore today. Let the pictures explain themselves. =)

This is basically my everyday look; just a simple neutral look with gold shadow on the lid, grey on the crease and dark brown on the outer corner. A light pinkish tone as highlight under the brow bone. Perhaps to match the rather gloomy weather today in Cambridge. It snowed heavily the entire morning!!

The Face products I’ve used:
Loreal Studio Secrets smoothing primer
NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Mont Blanc
NYX Concealer in a jar in Fair
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
NYX Blush in Taupe as bronzer and contour
NYX Blush in Angel

The Eye products:
Cyber Colors Brow Pencil in Light Brown 04
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Majolica Majorca Quad in BR751
Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner in Black/Noir
Loreal Telescopic Mascara

The Lips products:
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm
NYX Round Lipstick in Strawberry Milk
MAC Lipglass in Underage
I have been using the Nars Sheer Glow foundation on and off for about 3 weeks now. Have been hearing and reading lots of raves on this foundation and I finally picked it up when I went to London (advanced Valentines celebration with the Boyfriend) end of last month. Got it from SpaceNK in House of Fraser in Knightbridge and I totally love that place! I will have a review on this foundation coming up soon.

On my cheeks is the NYX powder blush in Angel. It reminds me very much of MAC blush in Well Dressed; only the NYX blush is a lot more pigmented and I seem to be reaching for this more often for some reason. It’s a really pretty baby pink and compliments fair skin tone very well! I love!!
And finally I have to mention this: my favourite lip combo at the moment! NYX round lipstick in Strawberry Milk + MAC Underage lipgloss is totally amazing! Love the nudey baby pink finish. I wear this almost every day now. =)

Ok, one final picture of me before signing off!

See ya! =)

Newbie Me

2010-02-22T21:31:00.001Z

I have been silently reading and following the beauty community, both blogs and youtube in the virtual world for about two years now but it never occur to me to start my own beauty blog. Until today that is.

I just had a sudden urge to start documenting my beauty diary in this space and being the usual me who loves doing things randomly and intuitively, I jumped on to the bandwagon.

I am quite a private and shy person; usually the quiet one who goes on unnoticed. I do have a personal blog but as the name says, it is REALLY personal – private blog opened to no one else except for myself. So this is really the first time of me going public, if you don’t count Facebook that is.

So here goes to a new experience… =)