Hauling & Stuff

So, I went out the other day, and I wouldn't be me if I didn't buy more stuff. It is highly disappointing that I bought make-up, because I was exploring the whole vegan/anti-animal cruelty aspect, and found out that it's all a lie. For those of you who are all la-di-da about it, you might want to think again. And just so you know, M.A.C. and Body Shop are not completely cruelty-free as they claim. I am not a vegetarian, but even I can see that the way they treat these animals isn't worth any amount of vanity. So, I will readily admit that I am in fact a hypocrite. How shameful.

Anyway, I went to 1 Utama, and ended up buying a ton of stuff:



Yeah, I went to Stila again. I can't help it. The good news is, even the woman found it necessary to tell me that they won't have anything new coming in. The bad news is that I will still find something to buy.

Overall, this is the make-up I bought:



It's a combination of stuff from Stila and Watson's.

On the top right is Rimmel's Lasting Finish Mineral Foundation in 200 (RM 28.90) which I have heard fantastic reviews about, and upon trying out on my hand, loved. So I shall review it once I try it out.

Next to it, is a bottle of Bloop Nail Polish (RM 7.90). For some reason, there isn't a colour name, but it's a very light lavender colour which I found very pretty. This is how it looks on me:



It's pretty decent for the price, and true to its claim, it dries very quickly. It was dry enough for me to do regular stuff with within 5 minutes, which is awesome. However, the downside is that the colour is pretty sheer. As you can see, even in the picture, it's not totally opaque. And that's three coats of colour. But I'm not complaining all that much. And since I am damn fail at applying nail polish, the application for ruined in 2 minutes flat. Oh well.

The three pencils are Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Smoky Quarts (RM 30), Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in 002 Hazel (RM 22) and Maybelline Eye Studio Eyeliner in Brown (RM 16.90).

These are the swatches:



There is the vague possibility that the eyebrow pencil might be a little to light for me, but I got so excited about it that I didn't check. Let's hope not.

As for Stila's Kajal Liners, they are absolutely fantastic. I bought it in blue previously since they didn't have the black one, and I absolutely love it. It goes on very smoothly, and is extremely creamy and therefore easily blend-able if required, and doesn't smudge or fade as much as you would think.

Similarly, these Maybelline liners are amazing! They're limited edition, and so, so creamy and smooth. I bought one in green when I saw it in Guardian on a whim, and I absolutely loved it, so I picked up the brown because they were out of black, which I fully intend to get ASAP. They are pretty much comparable to Stila's Kajal liners, so I'm happy.

And finally, the Stila Bronzing Powder (RM 20):



How on earth could I resist?! For those of you who don't know, I love bronzers! They are like miracle products which reshape whatever you want. As Dmitri James said, they behave like plastic surgery tools, and he is right. Best invention ever! And such nice packaging. Just admit your jealous and don't bitch at me for buying it!

I also got a couple of random things. I needed a little make-up pouch thingy for carrying my random crap around, so I went in search of one:



The top one was from Miss T (RM 12), a store which I have avoided like the plague because it is distinctly pink. However, I was dragged there with promises of hidden treasure with the person I was with, and it worked out surprisingly well. It's the perfect size and shape for the contents I intend to haul about. And it looks good too. So, I thought I was sorted till I went to Watson's and found the 2nd pouch. It's a little trippy, and it was about RM 13, and comes with a handphone pouch, so I figured why not? You always need a backup of everything.

And then I got a couple of random items from Watson's:



The Rose Water Facial Masks (RM 24.90 + RM 1 for a 2nd box) are awesome!!! I bought one when I went through my rose water face products search, and loved it, so when I found out they were on sale, is it really a shocker that I got it? The bottle is kid's shampoo, for my make-up brushes. Yes, they are my children. I need more of them! I shall adopt a few more soon. Muahahaha!

Shopping & Gifting!

So, yesterday was plenty of fun. I spent the entire day shopping. What's not to love about an entire day of shopping?

Now, let's be clear. I didn't shop solely for myself (I'm trying to make myself feel better), but I did the whole gift shopping thingy. May is highly eventful. First off, Mother's Day is coming up next Sunday, so I went and got the mother a gift since my brothers will be doing nothing of the sort. "We" got her a voucher for a spa thingy which includes a massage, facial, etc. A pampering session basically, which I'm positive she will love, and is much deserved. Around the middle of the month, my brothers, who are 2 years apart mind you, have their birthdays 1 day after the other. I shall not however be divulging what I got them.

Naturally, since charity begins at home, and home is where the heart is, and that would mean charity begins with me, I had to shop for myself too. It's only reasonable. I was sensible enough to carry a big handbag so it looked like I didn't shop a lot. I love lying to myself. On top of which, there was a Zara warehouse sale on, which we lined up for for almost an hour, but never got into, so I had to make myself feel better. Naturally.

Now, there is this Korean brand of make-up called Elianto which is pretty good. I've tried their eyeshadows, and they are lovely. Usually, their brushes are quite crappy, but a couple of months back I found a set of 5 brushes they had on offer which were absolutely astounding. I love them! The fluffy powder brush is so, so soft. They really need to make all their brushes this quality. The most amazing thing is that they don't shed! They really don't! So, everytime I go to Elianto it is with the hope in my heart that they have come out with new brushes. No such luck. I did, however get some palettes for the Stila eyeshadows I got.



There is the little powder puff thing, which is just to rest and steady up my hand for eyeliner.

Anyway, these quads are pretty nice and sturdier than their 10-shadow palettes. They had bigger ones, but those hold 6 shadows and 1 blush. I might get it in due time because my old Elianto palette, which is ludicrously flimsy is broken! In any event, I've filled them with my shadows, but there is the 'Lake' shadow that's left. I shall figure something out.

This is the pink & white quad:





This is the black & white quad (RM 14):





Yes, two of the shadows are new, which brings me to the fact that I went to Stila again. I love Stila. Especially when they're pretending to close down.



First off, I got a couple more eyeshadows in Pigalle & Promenade (RM 25 each):



These are absolutely gorgeous. I didn't swatch them because I didn't feel like it, but basically Pigalle is this dusty burgundy shade that is very gorgeous, and Promenade is a pink duo of baby pink and a dusty rose pink that works well together.

Next, the Kajal Eye Liner in Sapphire (RM 35):



It's such a pretty deep blue, and it goes on amazingly smoothly! I love it! I want more!



And then, since it's spring all over the world, I had to get the Spring Ephemeral Eye Shadow Trio (RM 50):



This is a pretty neutral trio, which is terrific:



And of course, since Stila is next to Make Up For Ever, it would be blasphemous if I didn't visit:



When I went to MAC the other day, I forgot to get translucent powder. So, since I'd heard that MUFE's was good, I decided to just get their HD Powder (RM 120):



And then the woman presented me with an offer I couldn't refuse. Now, to be honest, I have an obsession with Kabuki brushes. By obsession, I mean that if I see it, I have to buy it. To put this in context, I bought the Maybelline mineral foundation just for the kabuki brush, which is horrible I might add. So, when she said "Oh, let me show you the brush for the powder." I figured that it'll just be a normal brush, and despite my brush-obsession, I would be able to say no, and walk away. This, however, was not the case. She pulled out a kabuki brush. And in a bid to control myself, I reminded myself about the incident with the Maybelline brush. That worked quite well until I touched the brush. It's so soft! I'm in love! It's actually comparable to the MAC 182. Damned sales people. So there is it. I bought the Kabuki (RM 180), and it came with a very nice pouch:



The brush is made from natural bristles, and is quite dense and small (as it should be):



So, after that, on the way to Craft Heaven to buy brushes, we dropped into Bonita, where a brilliant sale was on, and I got a pair of sunnies (RM 19.50) which were 50% off:



We all need sunglasses right? It came with a pretty neat holder too:



So, when we finally ended up in Craft Heaven, I managed to control myself somewhat and only buy one brush. The Loew-Cornell Maxinne's Mop 3/8" (RM 13.40):



For the record, I am completely artistically disinclined. So why am I buying painting brushes you might ask?

Because this particular brush is a brilliant dupe for the MAC 239! It's extremely soft and packs on colour amazingly. This is my second one. I mean honestly. The MAC 239 is RM 103, and this is RM 14 maximum. It's a no-brainer for a perfect dupe that works just as well.

That is all I bought, but as good days tend to be, I also got a gift from the person I went shopping with. We all know how I love gifts. Especially in the form of eyeshadow. She recently went to India (hahaha), and got herself a nice stash of fabulous make-up, and while she was there she evidently decided that I should benefit from her trip there too and got me this:



A very sleek nice case that doesn't look extraordinary when closed (except for my reflection in it), but the colours are fabulous as I found out while drawing make-up faces on my hand last night:



The insignia on top says "BR" for those of you who are interested. And I already have a huge matte palette from them. Their eyeshadows are of amazing quality, and very pigmented. Makes me happy.

And that was the result of my leaving the house yesterday. I need to be locked up. I'm blaming oniomania:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oniomania

So you see, it's not my fault!

TNS Haul & Hippies

So, my exams are over and I am officially FREE! Best four-lettered word ever invented! Naturally, the end of exams calls for celebration. For frame of reference, celebration = shopping. Actually, everything = shopping. Fact.

In any event, as I was dead tired yesterday, due to the extremely innovative idea of my school to place all three of my papers on the same day, I wasn't in the mood to do much. I did, however, traipse around Ikano with my brother, where a sight I assumed was a hallucination brought about by lack of sleep greeted me. Hippies. Yes. "Real" hippies. Apparently, there are Earth day celebrations going on. Presumably, having a couple of hippies in a tent, doing handicrafts no less, inside a mall is an appropriate manner of celebration.

I kid you not:



That LSD-induced plethora of colour is the tent they were in.

Anyway, on to more exciting aspects of my life. Retail therapy. I initially went out today to get an eye primer. That didn’t work out for 3 reasons:
1) They don’t have Urban Decay in Malaysia
2) They don’t have Too Faced in Malaysia
3) They don’t even have L’Oreal De-Crease in Malaysia!

I appear to be doomed to creasing eye shadow. Oh well.

Anyway, due to my disappointment, I needed to elevate my spirits, so I decide to go buy something I had been eyeing for awhile.

Basically, upon prior research, I found out that the best ingredients for a toner include rosewater and glycerin. Naturally, I began searching high and low for a toner of this nature, but wasn’t able to find one for about a month. Yes! A month! I know!

So, long story short, I finally found it in The Natural Source (TNS), where they were having an offer. Spend RM 100 and get something for RM 1. Although the accountant in my head was reproaching me in very harsh language, the female in me won out. I’m sure you agree that it makes sense too. If you don’t, you are wrong. And this is MY blog, so go away.

Sidelining: Recently I read a couple of reviews of some of the products from TNS, and they were not good. Nevertheless, since I don’t trust other people’s opinions, I shall find out for myself.

Now then, walking out the door, I was laden with the following:



Yes, doesn’t it look lovely? The reason there are 2 toners is because another friend wanted one too. Let us inspect the items.

First up, the item that started it all. The Terra Firma Wild Desert Rose Water Gentle Facial Toner (RM 30):



It’s this pale pink liquid that resembles the MAC brush cleanser, which was quite disturbing, because I assumed it would smell similar. This is not the case. It actually has the very pleasant smell of roses…shocking isn’t it? Apparently this is supposed to “invigorate your face”. How exciting. The list of ingredients seems relatively harmless, although I’m not sure what a lot of it is.

Ingredients: Purified water (aqua), Cocamidopropyl, Betaine Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Phospholipid PTC (cocamidopropyl pg-dimonium chloride phosphate), Benzyl alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Rose fragrance (parfum), Matricaria extract (chamomilla recutita), Simethicone, CI 14720, CI 42090

If I were a chemist, I’d be having a field day. Now, it says rose fragrance, which appears to be perfume, and I asked the salesperson, who said it was made from rose water, so I shall pretend I believe her for now. And since I’m assuming chamomilla means chamomile, I’m quite happy.

Next up is a facial scrub. I initially wanted their oatmeal scrub (because oatmeal is supposed to be good for blackheads) but I was informed that it was for aging skin (which I am happy to say the salesperson insisted I didn’t need, thereby appealing to my vanity). So I got the Daintree Naturopathic Skincare Tropical Sugar Can Antioxidant Facial Exfoliator (RM 65):



It says on the packaging that it can be used daily, but it is advisable to only exfoliate your skin a maximum of twice a week. Moderation is the key to everything, apparently. Anyway, this product has a pretty nice smell. Not exactly sugar cane, but sweet-ish nonetheless. The ingredients here are even more babbly than those in the toner.

Ingredients: Aqua (Purified water), Microcrystalline wax, Sodium laureth sulfate (SLS), Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Peg-7 glyceryl cocoate, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Saccharum officinarium (Sugar cane) extract, Xanthan gum, Methylchloroisothiazolinone (and) Methylisothiazolinone, Magnesium chloride, Magnesium nitrate, Tocopheryl acetate (Vitamin E), Ascorbyl palmitate, CI 19140 (Yellow 5), CI 42090 (Blue I).

Now, from the ingredients I did understand, this product should be pretty good because it has most of what you need to keep your face healthy. First there’s purified water. Who needs to drink it when you can put it on your face twice a week? Then there’s SLS which is good for acne, and glycerin which is good overall for something or the other. I believe it’s for lines or acne or something to that effect. Bottom line is that it’s good. And, Vitamin E is good for restoration. So really, this product should work. Should. We shall see.

Finally, we come to a debate-ably exciting purchase. The Camouflage Colour Skin Crayon in Plum (RM 24):



So, what exactly is a skin crayon? My first thought was to run around drawing on people as a child would. But no, I believe that might be considered assault. Further, it’s a deep red. Unless you are a lobster (in which case you shouldn’t be on the computer, but rather on my table with a side of butter), this colour will hardly “camouflage” you. Lies!

The true meaning of “skin crayon” appears to be that it is multi-purpose, i.e. lip liner, eyeliner, etc. And I have been looking for a red eyeliner for about 5 years now. Finally! Because I was so immensely excited, I didn’t realize how tiny this pencil is until I got home. It’s only about 10cm/3.7in long. That is TINY!

All that aside, in my excitement of finally finding a nice red eyeliner, I was determined to swatch mine. Upon touching my skin, this is what occurred:



Anti-climax. Annoyed. Fuming.

Perseverance is the key, so I tapped off the broken bit and this is what it looks like:



I like. Except for the size and breaking parts.

They had a lot of fantastic colours, but because of their sizes, I don’t recommend them.

On that note, I shall end off with this:

PLACEBO!!! Their new album will be released on the 8th of June. I am uncontrollably excited. So much so that I am practically vibrating in a fixed position. They have released their first single, titled after the album: Battle for the Sun. The sound of this track is very similar to what their Black Market Music album sounds like, which is awesome beyond words! Happy!!! PLACEBO!!! <3