CELEBRATORY HAUL!

Hello folks!!!! I would like to say that I am officially back! I have had my thesis presentation and fingers crossed I will be able to have my commencement in july! Since all went well, I wanted to come back with a celebratory haul :D

Ok this is not so much a celebratory haul as much as a collective stress haul. Y'know, stress shopping is the worst (or best). Anyway, I went a little base crazy as you can see but I'm so happy about it! As you can see, I have all my bases covered. heh heh.

Mini review time - do people like mini reviews?

Laneige BB Cushion in Brown Beige - I snapped this up as it seemed it would be a good match for my nc30-35 skin. It's still slightly too light, but it's been a refreshing change using the BB cushion as it has spf50 built in. The strange thing about this base is that though the coverage is not high, it seems to reflect light in such a way that imperfections disappear. I noticed that my imperfections reappeared when I powdered, it was the strangest thing. Also, very very very strong scent that does not dissipate.

Guerlain Meteorites in Teint Beige 02 - When the SA tried this on me in Sephora I literally got a shock. My face looked perfectly poreless and smooth and I fell for this hook, line and sinker. I can't seem to recreate that effect at home though. It's baffling. Any hints?

Canmake Glow Fleur Cheek in 04 - Perfect peachy blush with a glow, not glitter like most of the other Canmake blushes. Only niggling detail is that it's so beautiful I can't bear to swirl my brush in it and spoil the flower pattern.

Elf Baked Blush in Peachy Cheeky - Looks very pretty in the pan, absolutely love the thin packaging though it can be tough to open. Not quite pigmented enough for my liking though.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Full Coverage Foundation in Light-Medium Honey - This foundation has a peachy undertone which is not the exact undertone for me but close enough. Gives a really nice finish that leans more matte and very good coverage. I like to mix this in with a creamier foundation.

Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation in 143 - My newest foundation purchase! Also, most expensive foundation I've ever owned. Haven't really played around much with this, so far, my only impression is that it's a very watery foundation that clings nicely to the skin. Leans more tinted moisturizer finish than foundation finish.

Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Fairly Light and Medium Beige - Was wrongly matched in sephora, so I purchased a smaller size in the correct shade. Haven't really worn this out much as my powder cravings come and go really quick. So far, the powder seems to give a reflective sheen almost like sunscreen.

Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in Light Medium - My most favourite purchase of the lot! This shade has peach undertones like the Bobbi Brown Peach Corrector and really cancels out my dark circles! Press this in with a dry sponge and it doesn't emphasize any flakiness, also is true to its name and does not crease on me! Perfection!

Clio Lipnicure in 7 Tension Red - I bought this to play with because I'm not the type that wears any lipstick/gloss at all. Partially because I hate lipstick fading. Anyway, aside from the absolutely terrible powder scent this has (and trust me it lingers and you won't want to taste powder in your mouth), the staying power blows.my.mind. Even with a cleansing oil it was tough to remove. I also had a swatch of this on my hand and it lasted something like 5 days. This is some powerful shit.

Essie Nail Polishes in Borrowed & Blue and Absolutely Shore -  I adore these colours. The blue goes on perfectly and is a 2 coater. The green is almost like a very muted lime and mint green mixed together. In some light it looks grey even and I LOVE IT. The only problem is this tends to go on streaky and is something like a 3 or even 4 coater. The best way to apply is to alternate it with layers of seche vite.


Let me know if you enjoyed my mini reviews and have a good tuesday! I definitely missed writing and it feels good to be back. xx

Shu Uemura X Karl Lagerfeld

Just a small other thing to share with my Singaporean readers; just yesterday I was at ion and decided to treat myself to an atas (highend) eyelash curler and went into Shu Uemura to ask how much it was. It turned out they were having a x'mas promotion for the Karl Lagerfeld collection eyelash curler and you can get it for $28 vs $32 for the normal curler and they are the exact same curler. The Karl Lagerfeld collection even has a really cute keychain and red curling pads.

I think they might possibly be cheaper if you buy dutyfree at the airport but... thought I should spread the love anyway!

HAUL!!!!!

Hello!!!! I apologize for not updating ): I'm trying to figure out a way to take pictures in artificial lighting (for workdays) so that I can post more but I can't get it right. But don't worry I'm working on it so do look forward to more updates!

I wanted to share a haul with everyone! I actually went for a run with the boy yesterday, and for some reason, we ended up at Beauty World. We were in there for the aircon, and having watched the MOST DISGUSTING blackhead squeezing video on youtube (yes, the things that the boy shows me) which was so fascinating I had to watch all 4 parts, we went to look for the comedone remover. And hence, ended up at my favourite place - Watsons. He humoured me and gave me time to explore, and whaddaya know the Beauty World Watsons STOCKS ESSENCE!!!

Essence is a budget German make up brand. It's not stocked in all Watsons and I believe the shelves in the larger stores have been ransacked. I had to get it while I could. I am such a sucker for good and cheap things.

The most expensive product in the range is something like $9. I am not even kidding. Even items from Silkygirl (:S) would cost more than that. Lucky for me, we were out running so I had no wallet and we only had $6 left. I went home, did some googling, and then gave in to temptation today.

Not all the items in there are from today's Essence haul, but they are new(ish) items so I put them together.

Clockwise from left:

1. Estee Lauder CyberWhite  Brilliant Cells Extra Intensive BB Creme.
This was a gift and it's what I've been using to go to work. The shade seems really light at first, but it's essentially the first time I've seen the claim "adjusts to your skintone" work. Not unnatural at all, and everytime I use it the Boy says my face looks smoother! I think it's bloody expensive though but I love it anyway!

2. Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadow in Glammy Goes to... and Steel the Show. ($6 !!!)
I was so excited about these upon swatching that I accidentally bought the tester for Glammy Goes to. Yea. Story of my life. Anyway, I really had my eye on these because ever since the Maybelline 24hr Tattoos came out, I had really wanted them but didn't want to shell out so much $.  These are brilliant! Brilliant swatches that DO NOT COME OFF. I rubbed with all my might because people were looking at me weird with my arm entirely covered in swatches but they refused to budge. They do come off very easily with soap and water though. Colours are pretty damn nice too.

3. Essence Gel Eyeliner in Midnight in Paris ($6.50!!!)
I bought this because I just couldn't help myself. I had bought the Revlon gel eyeliner (after the brush in the picture) just a few days ago because I really wanted (or as I tell myself, needed) a gel eyeliner at 20% off retail. But this was less than half what I paid. Plus all the pencil eyeliners swatched SO BLACK and SO CREAMY I was convinced. And okay, I googled as well. Sold.

4. Essence Eyeliner Brush ($3.30)
I like purple.

5. Revlon Colourstay Gel Eyeliner in Black ($16.90 with 20% off)
I like the Colourstay range. And I also did not want to buy a gel eyeliner and then have to buy a seperate brush. I initially wanted to buy a KATE liner as I have had a good experience with it before, but I bought mine at a time both the liner and brush came as a set. They no longer do. This liner is pretty decent and does last all day. There is not that much product but as gel liners tend to dry up before I can even use half of it, it doesn't matter too much to me. The only problem is that I need to draw my eyes a couple of times before I can get a good black line. Also, the intended usage of the brush is to pop it into the cap so you get a longer brush. Does not work. Use the brush small. I also believe that Silkygirl has the EXACT same packaging, leading me to believe (upon reading Beauty and the Bullshit she's awesome) that both products are the same. Though to be fair, Silky girl is only $2 cheaper which isn't that much difference.

6. Essence Colour and Go Nailpolish ($2.80 each!!!!)
I bought the coral colour on running day. Painted one nail that night and was very happy so I bought 2 more. I admit I was apprehensive at first due to it being so cheap. I thought it might be like the shitty Cotton On nail polishes that chip in hours. I don't even need to read the bottle to know that those are Made In China. (And I did check - Made In China). But these! These are Made In Frankfurt. They are good nail polishes, with a brush that I would say is very close to the experience of using the OPI brush. They are big, fat and flat brushes that cover the nails fast. The polish is opaque in 2 coats and live up to the name Colour and Go. Even 2 coats dried in under 5 minutes. No Seche Vite. Though it might be better to give it a top coat for extra gloss as I found that they aren't very glossy on their own. I am VERY IMPRESSED though I did wish they had nicer colours given that they have quite a huge range of colours. The other downside is that these come in tiny bottles - 5ml compared to a 15ml of OPI, but then again, I've never ever finished 15ml of nail polish before and having the option of playing around with more colours for cheaper is more attractive.

7. Clinique Eye Shadow Duo in Buttered Bronze ($6)
Think this is one of those tiny gift with purchase things. I got it at one of those shops that sell fragrances and all. I feel better this way because I don't use eyeshadow much though I'm trying to use them more now. Besides, I don't see how anyone manages to ever finish eyeshadow, so buying in smaller quantity makes more sense to me. I really do like the marbled green container (looks a lot like jade) and the shadows are great colours on me and of decent pigmentation. Great for travel.

8. Essence Forget it 3 in 1 Concealer ($5!!!)
Read the reviews on this. Then tried the pink and beige. It really does work for dark circles! Product is creamy, but I do feel like it doesn't set. Not sure of it yet, will test it out then do a proper review.

9. The Face Shop Faceit Designing Eyebrow Cake ($12.90?)
Bought this because Eyebrow Pencil running low and Eyebrow Pen too light. This has 2 mixable colours. Colours are great, not too brown or black, both with grey undertones. Does take me longer to do my brows though because I have to be more careful. Brush is kinda scratchy though, but somehow I love it because it's almost like scratching an itch.

Okay! I am in no way a promoter of Essence, but I just feel that people deserve to know that cheap makeup (no, not Rhomlom or is it Rhomlon and all that made in China crap) does exist (right now) in Singapore that is of a certain good standard. My main gripe has always been that Singapore marks up so much for make-up products at the drugstore and even in departmental stores. I've always felt that there should be some kind of price control; for them to charge almost 200% more for items such as foundations (eg. SGD$35.90 for a l'oreal/maybelline liquid foundation vs US6.99 thereabouts) even taking into account freight is quite ridiculous. So to have Essence make it's way here and still remain price controlled all as it is all over the world is pretty fantastic! I am a very happy girl today!

Oh, and I cut my luscious locks! So here's a iphone front camera poor quality photo of me and my new hair! I kinda miss my long hair of 3 years but changes are good...  Have a good rest of the weekend people!

Haul!!

Thanks to an awesome awesome person (thank you so much!!!!) who spread the joy, Gerry (hi Gerry!) and I got to go for the Estée Lauder staff sale! I sadly forgot to take a picture of the ticket (can't for the life of me document things properly) but I'm sure Gerry did!

Since I don't have that, I took a picture of the haul to remember it by. It really made my day! And also reminded me how scary females can be (guilty face).

Most if the stuff have been taken by my sisters and reserved by my mom, but no worries reviews in due time :D

Happy happy!