Everyday Minerals haul

Finally my order from EM came. I love online window shopping, but hate actually ordering, then having to wait for packages. Too impatient.

Also got some L'oreal Men's Power Buff Exfoliator, based on rave reviews I've read on Fei and Ricebunny's blogs. I've tried it out only once, seems okay so far but will have to see how good it is in the long term. I already have an exfoliating medium I love, the Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Refiner, but I'm looking for something cheaper to stretch the Clarins stuff out as it costs over CDN$30 for a 60 mL tube. Meanwhile, the L'oreal stuff costs CDN$9.99 at drugstores and about CDN$1.50 cheaper if you get it at Wal-Mart.

Pictures because I take pictures of everything...

L'oreal Power Buff, Everyday Minerals custom kit - all blushes, and free sample kit (the smaller jars), also the Pink Ribbon blush:




I have so many blushes now, I don't think I'll use these up ever. But I love how 6 of these blushes cost $18 in total, while one Bare Escentuals blush alone costs that same amount. And MAC blushes cost $30 for just one. With blushes, I find that cheap brands do them just as well as higher-end brands. And I bet the EM ones have almost as much product as the Bare Escentuals ones, as these EM jars are packed completely full, while BE ones have quite a lot of empty space in the jar.

Movie Warning: The Mist

went to watch Steven King's The Mist on Saturday

That movie was a complete waste of time.

I can't believe Rottentomatoes.com gave it a 69%. There are better horror movies out there that have worse scores on their Tomatometer.

Basically, DO NOT watch The Mist unless you wish to feel:

• depressed,
• pessimistic,
• the futility in every thing you do,
• the loss of all hope in humanity,
• an intense, burning desire to shoot yourself.

Don't say you weren't warned.

asian food!

Some food from last weekend:

Japanese Curry: with chicken, onions, potatoes, carrots, spinach




Easy stuff....because I cheated :P and used those awesome Japanese curry paste blocks, which I got from an Asian supermarket here. All I had to add were the meat and veggies. Used the Glico brand this time, but I much prefer the S&B Golden Curry brand. Reason being the S&B one somehow seems more concentrated and thus more curry flavour than the Glico one.



Thai Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup: (forget the Thai name for it...I think its Tom Kah Kai.)




This was from scratch. Turned out okay, but there is a lot of coconut milk in the soup though...so it feels very creamy and rich. I doubt anyone could eat more than one bowl of it at a time. Made this from one of my Thai cookbooks, New Thai Cuisine by Nathan Hyam. I don't know yet if I like this book. It got good reviews on Amazon.com, but when I tried the green curry recipe, man that didn't taste good....the green curry paste tasted pretty bitter, which is very weird for a green curry. After adding the meat and veggies to the curry it did taste better but its definitely not a recipe I'd use again. There is another book I have, Quick and Easy Thai Cuisine, which has a wayyyy better green curry paste recipe so I'll be sticking to that in the future!

I <3 Dior

This looks so good I want to spend the rest of my Sephora giftcard/store credit on it right away:



Probably looks great only to me but I don't know, its just that the case design is so much more classy and tasteful compared to the MAC ones which are made of plastic. It also feels like a better quality than the ones by brands such as LORAC and Urban Decay, which are basically cardboard palettes covered with felt or beads.

The colors are quite pigmented too when I swatched them on my hand at Sephora today. They have a good mix of matte browns and slightly shimmery brown-neutrals in the palette, which would make it PERFECT for work purposes and photography purposes. I've been thinking of getting some work-suitable shadows that are also matte, and they could also double up as flash-friendly eyeshadows if I wanted a photo-friendly look*.

Of course, it doesn't help me that its "only at Sephora", and of course, "Limited Edition". :((((

I tried on the Dior Addict Ultra-Reflect gloss today in Raffia orange, and I love it! I would never have thought of trying out their glosses, but one of my favourite bloggers Fei recommended it on her blog in that colour, and another member on ABB also raved about the gloss in the colour "A Stitch of Brown". Now I want to go back and get that second colour....but man thats another CDN$31 :( . Plus the 14% tax in Ontario. Man, I'd feel better if I could just go to the States and pay 20% + 14% less.

*Shimmery products being a no-no when flash is involved in pictures due to the resulting "oily" effect.

Bags I like....

To procrastinate, I also spend too much time window shopping online. I think the Internet plays a big role in whetting my appetite for more and more consumer goods.

Still, it would be handy to have a larger purse than the one I currently use...like these ones:

Classic Gucci color combo:



Tan/gold combo:

Almost all the bags in this series look quite nice actually.



And my favourite (also the most expensive :( ... ):



Would be nice if I could at least get it at US prices....since CDN$1 is almost USD$1 right now. These prices shown are the US prices so I bet the Canadian prices will be 20% more. On top of that I'd have to pay 14% for PST+GST. Living in Ontario gets lame sometimes.

more on breaking an addiction

this is a good reason for me to put my money towards an apartment instead of makeup. :P

I so want a nice spot like that to sort and arrange my stuff so that everything is easily accessible. I also would love to have a dresser table next to that just so that putting makeup on would be something relaxing.

The way things right now, its a huge pain because the washroom lighting is bad, and there is no counter to put my stuff on while I am working. Right now I have to walk in and out of the washroom to check that the colours, blending, coverage are right in natural lighting, and then go back in to adjust as necessary. After that I gotta go back out to recheck that I did it right. haha i'm rambling now....but basically its pretty irritating. By the time I'm done, I'm already late for whereever i'm going :S

breaking an addiction...

Freakishly tired right now, probably because I slept around 12am but had to wake up at 6am to get ready for work.

Anyway I've been thinking about stopping this whole makeup hobby. Its just taking up a lot of money and time. I can waste hours reading makeup related sites, which only lead me to want more and more makeup which I don't need. The thing though is that now its more than just a hobby, its become somewhat of a stress relief, a break from real life. Makeup actually helps me relax because it gives me something else to think about other than whatever's bothering me at the moment.

I really need to start focusing my energy on the things I always wanted, and still want. Just that they've been pushed to the back burner for the past year or so.

So this post is sorta a way to motivate myself to get back on track with some of my long term goals, which are:

1. To own a comfortable, modern, spacious yet manageable apartment.

2. To be able to drive whereever I want and not be limited by my inexperience in driving.

3. To find something I really enjoy doing (like a possible alternative to my current job field)


And since all these goals involve money in some way, one of the things I would have to do is get back into the habit of saving money, which I haven't been doing for like 6 months now....or more. I used to be a huge saver, I could be quite stingy with myself a lot. But now its like....I see some makeup I like, and bam! i go and buy it the very next weekend. And if I don't get it, I obsess over it until I get it. Man, I gotta get out of this habit before it becomes a long term addiction.

a marriage made in heaven

the perfect business joint venture would be having MAC or Sephora team up with Best Buy and have 2 separate, but connected stores.

That way the guy, instead of being bored to tears by the rows and rows of colourful, sickly smelling perfume, can stroll down a couple aisles through a doorway and voila! Rows and rows of DVDs, HD TVs, games for PS3, Wii, Xbox, etc etc...

I tell you, we'd be lost in there for hours. If they added a Starbucks, or, even better, a bubble tea cafe with good Asian food, then make it DAYS.

Of course by then we'd lose our jobs and have no money to spend in the end so.....

More MAC

Just finished watching Ratatouille on Blu-ray. I actually like the movie, didn't think I would. Watched it since the bf wanted to get it, as the Blu-ray version apparently got super high reviews, the picture quality was apparently flawless....etc etc :P i guess i should admit the picture did look pretty darn clear, and the plot was interesting, wasn't at all a kids movie (which I was afraid of. I don't go for kids movies normally).

Anyways, I picked up the Cool pigment set from MAC today:

From left to right: Forest Green, Softwash Grey, Naval Blue, Helium, Reflects Blue Glitter



The description per MAC Cosmetics Online is:

Helium, a light pink with red duochrome; Softwash Grey, a grey with purple pearl; Naval Blue, a subdued frosted navy blue; and Forest Green Pigments, a dark green with silver frost; and Reflects Blue Glitter, a very fine particle glitter that flashes violet blue.

But to be honest, these colours dissappointed me a bit. I was expecting the blue and the green to be a richer, more intense blue, and more intense green. Probably going to put it aside for a bit, and see if I can live with returning it.

See swatches below - the colours just aren't showing up good. And it doesn't help that I had to take these pics with flash too, since by the time I got home it was already dark and there isn't any good lighting in this place at all.

From left to right: Forest Green, Softwash Grey, Naval Blue, Helium, Reflects Blue Glitter



I also picked up the full size MAC 194 concealer brush. Was trying to decide between this and the NARS concealer brush, but figured I'd try the MAC and see since the bristles seem softer. Also the brush is slimmer than the NARS one, so it looks like it'd fit well around the undereyes.

Also I just have to say I'm annoyed at myself for going to MAC today, because at the counter I saw the Warm lipglass set, and now I'm craving it. The colours look very wearable on me, not something that I feel often when checking out lipglosses. Most lipglosses disinterest me because they usually are too sheer and I know they'll all look like clear gloss if I were to wear them. But that set is so pretty, and I really want Ornamental lustreglass :(

On another note, I picked up The Body Shop Shimmerwaves in Blush last weekend, as I had $10 off as part of their membership.



Its similar to Sephora's Luminous rose trio, and the same price, but has more product for your money. Swatched it and basically its a light pink with silvery shimmer, more suited for lighter skintones.

Anyway thats it. I got to get to bed for work, sigh.

Everyday Minerals purchase...

I've been lemming Siesta blush for a while now, but when I finally decided to get it, it wasn't on the website anymore. I emailed their customer support and they confirmed my worst fear:

Unfortunately, Siesta has been discontinued, and we are completely out! The mica we were using for that product has become unavailable, so we've had to stop making it.
I'm very sorry!

Eryn
Client Services

:( so I still am looking for an inexpensive matte peach blush.

Nevertheless I was still in the mood to try more blushes from Everyday Minerals. I've sampled the Apple and Sunday Brunch shades, which are very pigmented but match my skintone alright as long as I use them sparingly. That also means I'll probably never have to repurchase them because I use so little at a time. But still, I want to try other blushes from them because those 2 really impressed me.

I was in the mood for peach coloured blushes - so here are the contents of my cart:




I decided to order the Pink Ribbon blush since the proceeds go to charity. The colour is supposed to be pink with white shimmer.

The contents of the Custom Personal Makeup kit:



And the free Sample kit that you can get with each order:



I've tried so many of their foundation shades, and I think Light Winged Butter works best for me, but I still am curious to see if Golden Medium will work better. I've only ever sampled Original glo and Semi-matte finishes, so I figured it was time to try the Intensive finish, which is supposed to give the most matte finish out of the four available.

Figured I'd also give the Intensive Light concealer a shot. Of all their concealers, I've only tried Sunlight and Multitasking so far. Sunlight is way too yellow to work for anyone, but Multitasking is a good colour to mask blemishes in general. Just not for the undereye area.

Now I just have to wait patiently for the stuff to arrive...

to show or not to show

my bf hasn't seen my makeup collection yet, and i kinda want it to stay that way. mostly because its embarrassing for him to know how much stuff there is :S

but last week he said he wanted to see my collection, and he said it again today, that now i could show him my stuff in the new traincase. i don't want to - because i think he'd be completely shocked at how much there is. but i know he wouldn't understand why i'd want to keep it to myself.

i wonder if other people feel the same about their makeup collections.

^^

My birthday present from my sneaky, but very awesome bf:



Why sneaky?

Because the whole day at work (he works at the same company, different department), when we ran into each other he acted like it was any other day. Did not wish me happy birthday, or even refer to it at all.

I figured, well he's gonna leave it until he gets off work at 3. (He had to leave early because of a doctor's appointment). But at 3, he called my extension, said he was gonna be leaving, said the usual bye, call me after work, that kinda stuff.

So now I was starting to think, um , does he think its tomorrow or something? ...:(

Was a little bummed thoughout the afternoon, but it did help that it started snowing a little when I finished work.

When I got home, everything was in order, nothing amiss....until i walked into my room and saw this on the bed:



(The panda is my sleep buddy that I drew 2 posts ago, he's not part of the present but he sure looks cute with it :))

so at first i was like, umm what the heck, how did he get in??? [to myself]

but anyways ^^


I had an idea what it was...but had to see for myself:



unwrapped....



Yep, it was the Sephora Professional Limited Edition Pink traincase! :)







And of course I had to put my makeup in right away:



Which makes me realise I have WAY too much makeup. I knew before, but its just shocking how I can barely fit everything into one full-size traincase. And this picture doesn't show everything. My brushes don't fit in there, and there is still 1 makeup bag full of stuff for the weekend that isn't in the picture. Plus 2 liquid foundations that are stored in the fridge.

time flies

i don't really have the time to make a full post. just felt like complaining to someone that i have only a few more days to enjoy being 22 :(

i'm like a girl that doesn't want to grow up. :(

new look

My new haircut:



This was taken minutes after I left the salon....but i still managed to mess up the front somehow haha. The bangs were more evenly distributed and a bit less piecey.

Anyway, it turned out a lot better than i expected. in fact, i love it :) I can hardly recognize my reflection now though :P

i haven't had bangs since i was what, 13? back then my mom cut my hair for me too...and my bangs had to be above my brows to comply with the strict public school rules in Malaysia. Too bad I don't have a childhood pic available to compare, lol.

From the side:



Another pic that shows the full length better:

time for a haircut

i've been wanting to grow out my hair so that its really long...a couple inches below the shoulder blade would've been nice. But its feeling super damaged these days. Its near impossible to brush unless I put in a lot of leave in conditioner...and I just noticed quite a few split ends :(

planning to visit a hairstylist tomorrow....probably the same girl I went to the last few times. I'm just too lazy and cheap to find a better place. She does an okay job and the price is not bad anyway, but its just that I'd love to find a stylist that will blow my mind.

Anyways these are the styles I found on Rasysa.com, a website recommended by 2 very helpful ABB members Snugglebunny and Aradani :)

STYLE 1:



STYLE 2:



STYLE 3:



These are all pretty much the same concept. I really like how Style 2 looks, but since the stylist has to trim off the damaged ends on my hair, the length will probably look more like Style 1.

I'm hoping it'll work with my face shape, because I have sort of a round face. The models in Style 1 and 3 have more pointy chins, but the Style 2 model gives me some hope as her cheeks are kinda chubby :P

a watercolour sky

I keep changing blogs because I get bored with the setup...or sometimes i just look at it and think, "What the heck was I thinking?"

But anyway here I go again.