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!

Orange Lipgloss & Experimentation...

2 words that should not go together.

A few months ago, when MAC's "Hello Kitty" collection was released, and I had multiple hours between classes, I went to visit their roadshow where I was lured in by the sample sized eye make-up remover, and new collection of eyeshadows, which upon realizing were hideously adorned with "the cat that has no mouth", I refused to buy. On a side note, is it not ironic that Hello Kitty is Japanese, and both cats and the Japanese consume fish as a primary item of their diet, that the cat HAS NO MOUTH with which to carry out this very activity? It is a disturbing creature at best.

Anyway, while I was at the roadshow trying on make-up, the make-up artist tried to FORCE me to buy ORANGE LIPGLOSS. Not only did she insist on it, but when I refused, she insisted/scolded that sometimes I should "listen to the make-up artist". What a pretentious cow. Now, I strongly believe this is assault on many accounts: 1) on the senses, 2) on my sensibilities, 3) on decency, 4) on common sense, 5) on my fashion sense in general. Now, let me establish this very firmly. I am dead against orange make-up in any form! Eyeshadows, blushers, bronzers, lipstick, lipgloss, highlighters, tans, etc. Anything that resembles a carrot or orange should be eaten, not slathered on your skin to look like you are dying or carotene poisoning or whatnot. In sum, if you try to sell me orange cosmetics, I will stab you with a carrot and paint your severed head orange for all and sundry to see.

Now, the point of this is to establish my trepidation about going to MAC tomorrow, where they have released a brand new line of make-up full of pinks which they may inadvertently attempt to sell me which will bring out another bout of annoyance.

Well, this concludes the rant and rave segment of our programme. Let us proceed to the next event: EXPERIMENTATION!

Yes, I am in a pseudo-scientific mood. Therefore, over the next few weeks I am going to be experimenting with different types of products. At present, I use a number of different products, and my skin is not exactly working out for me, so I am going to go step-by-step, through trial and errror to figure out the best items for me to use. At present I use the following:

Morning:
St. Ives Pore Cleanser
Botanicals Complexion Refining Toning Lotion
Estee Lauder Pore Minimizer
Estee Lauder Hydra Complete Moisturizer
Estee Lauder Hydra Complete Multi Level Moisturizer Gel Eye Cream
Clinique Sunblock

Night:
Nivea Oxygen Gel Cleanser
Botanicals Complexion Refining Toning Lotion
Clarins Multi-Active Night Cream
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream

Now, this is a vast list to start the elimination/substitution process from, and with this list of crap, my skin should be flawless! However, since it's not, I have decided that over the course of the next few weeks, I shall be exploring each area one by one. First, skincare, i.e. facial wash, toner, pore minimizer, moisturizer, then night cream. Followed by make-up and whatnot.

So, for the purpose of effective experimentation, I will be using the same product day and night for a week when I am testing them. So, while keeping everything else constant, I will begin the laborious pursuit of flawless skin tomorrow morning! You shall be kept posted!

Best Buy Haul!

Well, Friday was interesting. At 7 a.m. a friend sends me a link to Best Buy Cosmetics and I got so excited that there are no words. Basically, they have sample sizes of all cosmetics, and they give you enough to make up the original amount that the company gives you, but at the fraction of the cost. Smart idea, and I love it!

So, naturally, being me, I had to buy stuff. Naturally. The interesting thing is that I ordered it around 7 a.m., and at 4 p.m. this dude called me looking for my building to deliver it! That is by far the quickest delivery I have ever had:



Remember, this stuff is mostly sample sized, so everything is smaller than it appears. So, first up, we have the Clinique Green Flower Pouch (RM 9):



Not much to say about that. It's quite spacious and it's nice. So I'm happy.

Next, we have the Clinique Clarifying Moisture Lotion (RM 52):



Effectively, this is the toner from their 3-step programme which is supposed to be miraculous. I have yet to try it because I have millions of varying items already lying at home.

Anyway, this comes in a pack of 3, with each one being 60 ml. The original bottle of this is 200 ml (RM 78). I'd say it's pretty worth it. If only they had the others! The facial wash was sold out, and they didn't have the oil-free moisturizer, so boooooo!!!

Next we have La Mer's Oil Absorbing Lotion (RM 32):



Let me be clear about this: It is TINY! 5 ml kind of tiny. But apparently you are only supposed to use a little. But tiny nonetheless. Tiny. The instructions on the box read, "Warm a small amount between fingertips to release key ingredients". You have to love things which are heat activated.

Now then, in case you haven't realized, I love eyeshadow. Love. So, when I saw the Estee Lauder Signature Eyeshadow Quad in 03 Smoky Pink (RM 32), I had to buy it:



As you can see, it too is relatively small, which means that it can be carried around in your bag. It stretches open to reveal the quad and a pretty decent mirror. And of course, a sponge tip applicator that people have to stop producing:



The colours here are pretty neutral and can be worn daily:



The pinks:



On the right you have the lighter pink, and on the left the deeper shade, which is relatively sheer.

The silver-brown:



It's a really nice colour. A little shimmery, but nice and neutral nevertheless.

And, the brown:



It's a deep brown which would be perfect for the crease.

Now, the individual colours are much smaller than they appear. They're about the size of Chicklets. If you don't remember/know what a Chicklet is, you're probably too young to be wearing make-up anyway.

Lastly, mascara! Yes, mascara! Estee Lauder's Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara (RM 30):



The original is RM 85 for 5.6 ml of product. I don't use that much mascara, so odds are that it'll dry up before I use it all, so I'm quite happy with the situation of having two mini ones. Yes, they're quite small, which is a fantastic thing where mascara is concerned:



I have yet to check the wand on this because I already have two open mascaras lying about (of which I will do a review in due time). Basically, you should throw the stuff away after 3 months of opening it because it is just disgusting if you don't. Don't be defective!

In any event, I'm pretty happy with my purchases. They're value for money (except the Oil Absorbing Lotion, but that opinion might change after using it). If you want to try something out, this is where to get it if the counters are being stingy with samples. Don't you find it ludicrous that they give you one of those little pouch thingys that don't hold very much product? That's not really a sample because you're not getting enough time to establish whether you like the product. Annoying.

In other exciting news, Stila has been saved by a buyout, so they will probably be back in action sometime soon! :D

Until next time. Be good, and cure your problems through shopping!

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

Stila Haul!

So, the consensus is that Stila is shutting its doors. No one is really sure whether its just in Asia or worldwide, but now is the time to benefit from it, because all stock is 50-70% off!!! The ironic thing is that I just got into Stila a month before this happened. I was enamoured with their Convertible Eye Pencil, which is fantabulous, and will be reviewed in due time.

In any event, I went by last week to check it out, and a lot of stuff was already unavailable, but I was informed that new items would be back in weekly. Undeterred, I bought a bunch of unexciting stuff, just to placate myself. Naturally, I went back today.

I got a ton of stuff, because it's all so very worth it! And it's pretty nice stuff too! I did a couple of swatches, but left the individual eyeshadows alone because I don't have a palette for them yet. This needs to be rectified immediately.

Anyway, here are pics and prices of what I got. You may want to go take a look too.

First up, the Stila Eye Shadow Trio in 'Warm' (RM 50):



It comes in a pretty little round box, which will easily fit into your purse.



They don't give you the names of the individual colours, but I'm relatively certain they are available individually. In any event, this is a pretty good neutral palette which can be used daily. The colours are quite pigmented and slightly shimmery:



Next up, we have the Stila Talking Palette 'Complete Day to Night Look' (RM 70). For those of you who don't have friends, but love make-up, meet your new best friend:



It's not much bigger than any other compact, so it's ideal to carry around. The only improvement on this I could think of would be to have provided brushes with it. But, you can't have everything. It comes with a base, lid colour, crease colour, liner and cheek/lip colours, in colours which are absolutely gorgeous:



My camera is simply not doing justice to them (Feel free to send me a new one). The lid colour is a very pretty shimmery sea green. I like.

Now, for the talking part. On the inner lid of the box, there is this little button that you can press and a woman's voice will float out of the box telling you exactly what to do with which brush and colour and whatnot. It's like the new and updated version of those dancing balerinas in music boxes, but cooler because no one really wants to see an ugly plastic thing twirling to shrill music. In any event, for those of you who are not inclined to having someone tell you what to do, there is also a little fold out booklet which comes with it, that gives you instructions of how to apply the make up, and change it from day to night.



Next up, we have Stila Lip Pencils (RM 20/each):



The one on top is the Lip Liner in 'Contour No. 21', and the one at the bottom is the Glaze Lip Liner in 'Plum'. The colours are very, very pretty:



(Contour No. 21 is on top, and Plum is at the bottom)

I am not a fan of pink in general, but I do like this pink because it's very mellow and can tone down some darker shades. These can be used as a lip filler as well, so thumbs up for versatility and pigmentation!

I do love the plum shade. I am a ginormous fan of dark lipsticks, specifically red-toned ones.

Lastly, we come to the Eye Shadows (RM 25/each):



Now, because I'm lazy, you won't get labelled pictures. So deal with it. Anyway, I didn't swatch these because I refuse to open them, and you can't make me! At least until I get a palette for them.

However, the colours are as follows:

First Row:-
Shimmery green on top left: June Bug
Shimmery goldish green next to it: La Douce
Shimmery greyish brown next to it: Slate

Second Row:-
Matt brown: Coco
Shimmery copper brown: Jezebel
Shimmery pale blue: Lake

Third Row:
Eye Shadow Duo (Shade names not provided)

Upon closer inspection, and calmed excitement, I am pretty sure that Jezebel and the darker shade from the Duo are the same! But it's okay. Why have one good thing, when you can have two? That's right. There's no reason!

That's it for today. Exams end tomorrow, and until payday, there will probably be no more shopping. *Depression*

The Wonders of Vaseline

As addicted as I am to make-up, I have only recently uncovered the wonders of Vaseline! Perhaps this is due to my intense prejudice due to the fact that my mother recommended it to me as a child. Needless to say, I am a stubborn child.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with what Vaseline is, it is petroleum jelly. Yes...petroleum jelly. As violent and vile as it sounds, it has a vast number of relieving qualities. Either that, or it kills everything it touches. I'd like to think it's a combination of the 2.



So, on one of my frequent trips to the pharmacy, I picked up a small jar of Vaseline, which to my surprise, was DIRT CHEAP (RM 4.80). I initially picked it up because I have very dry lips, primarily because I am allergic to water (or so I would like to believe). So, after using it overnight, my lips were no longer dry and chapped. And my reaction? Holy hell! I have found the Holy Grail! Dan Brown got it wrong! I mean, I'm sure even Jesus would pick smooth lips over a nagging female.

Well, since I spend 90% of my waking hours these days on YouTube, I vaguely recall someone mentioning Vaseline as a beauty secret, so I Google-d it for its other uses, and lo and behold, I have hit the jackpot!

10 Exciting uses of Vaseline:

1) Eyeshadow primer
2) Cleans make-up stains off clothing
3) Gets rid of pimples
4) Prevents wrinkles
5) Softens lips
6) Softens hands and feet when wrapped overnight
7) Keeps ants away when placed around anything
8) Make-up remover
9) Put them on your eyelashes nightly to make them thicker and longer over time
10) Good top coat for nails

Now I tried number 3 and 9, and they work! I have been having this horrendous outbreak of pimples that is threatening to cause me to scar myself, so I put this stuff on overnight, and the pimples have subsided, and my lashes feel softer.

Another thing that I noticed, if you are not in the mood to wear mascara, you can just dab some Vaseline on your lashes, and they will instantly look thicker and shinier.

Now, while the traditional product is fantastic, they have launched a new line of products which are aesthetically nicer, and more effective for other purposes. These can all be found on their site, and while I would love to review them, Malaysia of course doesn't have anything of the sort yet *grumble*.

And that concludes my rave about my new favourite product. Get it! Get it now! Do it!!!