Reorganizing

Sorry guys for being MIA again :S. Been mostly hanging out at the bf's place, but he's been using the computer almost all the time the past week for something he's working on. Finally got to reply to your comments and post this now because he went on his PS3 for a break :P For once I actually wanted him to go on the PS3 and not bug me, lol. I have a lot of posts to catch up on reading!

So I've been on that shopping ban for over a month now and its been going well in terms of makeup. I did however buy a pair of mini tweezermans and some bath/body stuff from the drugsture because I "sorta" needed them :P Don't have the pictures watermarked and the body stuff isn't too exciting, so I'll probably post about them only when I've used them enough to do a review.

However I do have something to share - my newly reorganized eye product collection. My traincase was getting really redundant because I'd squeeze everything in there but I would never know what colours or products I already own because nothing was organized inside.

So I decided to save the traincase for only foundation, concealer, cheek and lip products. All the eye products - shadows, liners, mascaras now have a drawer of their own. I deliberately chose a large drawer because I really wanted to be able to see all my colours at once. That way it encourages me to use more of my stuff, and discourages me from buying more.

I was too cheap to buy drawer dividers, haha. So I recycled :) I used the empty chocolate boxes from Valentine's Day as dividers. (I keep spelling 'divivers' instead of 'dividers'....whats going on...?? lol) Also threw in a contact lenses box for my pencil liners and an empty LORAC box that one of my palettes came in.





Labelled the sections so you know what is what.




One of the chocolates came with a plastic insert which helped the individually wrapped chocolate pieces to be stacked nicely - that came in really handy with the small palettes below. As you can see they stack nicely, its because of that plastic insert thingy :)

I wanted to put in falsies too, but there wasn't space, unless I start stacking them on top. That'll defeat the purpose of being able to see the colours I own though, so for now I'm just keeping them in separate boxes.

So the next time you get a box of chocolates, save the box because those can come in handy!

wedding looks

So if you notice several pics on my older posts are not showing because I exceeded the monthly limit on one of my Photobucket accounts :P Oh well it should be fixed by tomorrow.


I went to a Korean-Chinese wedding about a month ago - the bride and groom were university friends of my bf. Wore this during the day because even though it was in a church, people weren't very dressed up at all:




With these shoes:



Makeup-wise I went for a simple girly look:





I don't have any proper full outfit pictures because I forgot to charge my camera before going so it died early :(.


The dinner was done at a Chinese restaurant, with a Korean ceremony in the middle lol. They also had a lion dance troupe come in right before the start of dinner.

Dinner table before guests arrived:



Chinese wedding style menu with like a million courses:



Only foodie pic I took was of the piglet - because those red eyes just made it looks so evil o.o



Midway through the dinner, they started setting up the table for the Korean ceremony:





It was interesting for me since I didn't know anything about Korean wedding traditions. The chestnuts on the table are for the parents to toss and the wedding couple has to catch as many as they can. The more they catch, the more children they'll be blessed with :P


Overall, everything went well, the only major thing was the crappy (non-existent) sound system that the restaurant provided. The sound kept cutting in and out constantly. So whenever that happened the emcee/master of ceremonies would have to should at the top of his voice :S It was pretty amazing he didn't have a sore throat the next day!

In fact for the photo slideshow of the couple this is what things were reduced to:



LOL basically the guys had to hold up the microphone up to the laptop speakers to get the sound! If I had been the bride at the wedding, I would have turned into a serious bridezilla! Props to the bride and groom for being so good natured and taking everything in stride.

The restaurant refused to take responsibility too for the technical issues even though it was THEIR system. The restaurant only reluctantly gave a minimal discount at the end of the night, and only because the master of ceremonies helped them argue for it. Other than that though, it was an enjoyable wedding.

Outfit - BCBG red dress + JC red heels + red pashmina



I tried curling my hair before but it kinda failed since I hadn't touched a curling iron in 1-2 years.



Some shots of the makeup - I didn't get good ones because I didn't get to take any with daylight.

The idea was to have silvery-grey eyes paired with pale pink lips, but this particular pic is when I got home and had already eaten the gloss off :P




Products used for the looks - going from Day to Night:

Day look:

[Face]

Guerlain L'or Radiance makeup base
Buff'd Foundation in Sand
Silk Naturals' Perfecting Powder
Everyday Minerals concealer in Multitasking
Dior Skinflash Radiance pen in 002 on undereye area

ELF Coy blush
MAC Emote to contour

[Eyes]

MAC Fluidline eyeliner in Blacktrack
Clinique Lash Primer
Kiss Me Heroine Long & Curl Mascara
Filled in brows with MAC Brun eyeshadow

[Lips]

MAC P&P lip conditioner
MAC Lip Erase
MAC Mattene 40s Pink (makes a great base to help the Lancome lipstick stay put all day)
Lancome 302 SOS Pink lipstick




For the night look, all I did was to add makeup on top of my day look:

Removed lipstick (or ate it off)
Touched up foundation / powder on top (which also toned down the existing blush)

and added:

[Face]

Everyday Minerals Soft Touch blush (a lighter shade of pink to match the new lipcolour)

[Lips]

MAC P&P lip conditioner, MAC Lip Erase, Coffret D'or lipstick and gloss in 06 Peach Blossom



[Eyes]

Urban Decay Primer Potion
MAC Electra eyeshadow (silver) all over lid and to line lower lashline
LORAC Shimmer eyeshadow (white) on inner corners
LORAC Dreamy eyeshadow (grey) on outer corners

MAC Technakohl in Greyprint to soften the black liquid liner from earlier and create a more smoky look. Lined top lid and outer half of bottom lid.






P.S. Btw I was wearing Acuvue Define contacts in black that day. I think they are helpful for occasions where pictures are going to be taken because they don't look fake at all (imo) and help your eyes look larger/more awake.

thank you!

Nic Nic and Chyi aka Chi were both generous enough to nominate me for one of their awards! Thank you so much! :)

Soooo....according to the rules I get to name some more inspiring, wonderful people :)

To whomever I gave an award to, you must give the award to 7 deserving people.

Here are the rules to follow:
1) When received, you may post the premio to your blog.
2) Link to the blogger you received it from.
3) Give it to 7 blogs
4) Link to those 7 blogs
5) Leave those seven bloggers a comment about receiving the brilliant premio.

[ alphabetical order, if anyone's wondering :) ]

Alienman
I started lurking around her blog last year after seeing her blog address on her profile. I love her sense of humour and her artwork! She writes the most amusing entries ever, and her cartoons totally brighten up my day.

Christiana
The mineral makeup queen :P She knows so much about so many brands, if you need any help with choosing between the 10000001 mineral makeup companies, she's your girl! Not only that, she can pull off just about any colour for her looks, plus she does amazingly detailed and honest product reviews.

Chi
I love her makeup style, she's unafraid to use colours but does it subtly. Her FOTD posts on ABB has definitely influenced the looks that I do :)

Nicnic
I don't know how she does it, but her posts are addictive :) Everytime she updates I have to read it right away no matter how busy I am :P She always gives such helpful replies to questions and comments too!

Petitebelle aka Audrie
Her blog touches on so many different brands besides MAC, and the reviews and swatches always raise my interest in trying them! But I also like that she posts on clothing hauls because it inspires me to spend less on makeup and more on updating my wardrobe :)

Stephie
What can I say? She pulls off just about any colour combo beautifully. Whenever I'm stuck in a rut, looking through her old fotds always gets me out of it. Definitely a big influence for me when I was a makeup noob :)

Thechas
I love her style especially when she dresses up for J-rock concerts! I'd love to see her post even more because she does such sultry smoky looks that I can't seem to achieve yet my own :S

and ....some Honourable mentions even though these people don't blog anymore (if they do, let me know please so I can go stalk them :P )

Chel (former writer on Asian Beauty Blog and Chelkitty.com)
- Another major influence from my noob days :P

Rolos (former writer on Asian Beauty Blog)
- without her, I would NEVER have given blue eyeshadow a chance. Now I just can't get away from blue...everytime I go makeup shopping I'm always attracted to the blue colours the most :P

I wish I could mention more, as it really is quite hard trying to narrow down people to thank. At least everyday, I read something that inspires me, or I receive a comment that makes bloggging seem worthwhile. Picking a few seems so unfair :( Sooooo keep in mind I love all of you readers :) Without you there would be no reason for me to blog. And if I don't blog, I'd be bored out of my mind :P But seriously, I'm so touched sometimes by the people that leave me kind words on my rants, it really does make me feel a lot less alone. Whether you're a fellow blogger or reader, I'm glad to have known each one of you, and I sincerely thank you all :)

some random news here and there

Shoppers Drug Mart has an offer this weekend for Canadians who have been hoarding their Optimum points:




Pretty good especially if you go to the newer Shoppers' that carry brands like Guerlain, Shiseido, and Benefit.

They're coming out with really good offers this year I find. Last weekend, they had an offer where if you spend $75 on almost anything in the store, you get two free movie passes for any Cineplex Odeon/Famous Players location. Those passes are valid til 2010 and have no conditions meaning you can use them whenever you want, and for any movie. I almost missed that one, but only found out about it Sunday night when I happened to stop by to get some conditioner. $75 is so easy to spend at Shoppers nowadays, especially if you buy higher end makeup there, so getting the passes is like getting $20 off your purchase.


***

If you like Hello Kitty stuff, H&M has some Hello Kitty ankle socks in a set of 4 for CAD$10. They come in white, pink, grey and you get one more repetition of the previous colours (can't remember which).

***

Bath and Body Works is finally coming to Canada! Well at least to Yorkdale Mall, this fall. Good for me because now I can start using my BBW lotions more freely lol. I love their Signature collection scents, especially Pear Blossom (though I can't remember if that one is still around or has been discontinued). Not only that, I'll finally get to try products from CO Bigelow, etc etc....

***

If you're in a shopping mall and desperately need hydration, RW&Co sells really cheap spring water! They sell a 500mL bottle for 75cents, cheaper than getting a bottle from the food court. And it is spring water, not the reverse osmosis stuff like the Dasani water also available in dollar stores (if you're particular about that). Of course, if you want to save more just look for the nearest washroom, hopefully the mall you are in is new enough to have water fountains in good working order :P

***

Anon asked awhile back how much did I get the Coach sling bag for. I actually can't find the receipt :S but I think it was $80, and I don't think that included the 8% tax.

Shiseido Hydro-Powder Eyeshadow

Another overdue review, on Shiseido Hydro-powder eyeshadows I bought a few months back.

At first I bought the colours in Languid Lagoon and Violet Visions:




Later I saw that Facial Shop was selling for a cheaper than retail price the colours Bare Pink and Glistening Sand:

(Sorry for the small picture, I don't have them on hand right now but this pic is a crop from my haul post)





Swatches:




Languid Lagoon - Vibrant green-blue
Violet Visions - Blue toned violet
Bare Pink - Warm brownish pink
Glistening Sand - Light champage-y gold


Pigmentation and Texture:

The colours are quite pigmented, and depending on the colour, can be very vibrant. Languid Lagoon in particular is a very bright blue-green. I actually don't like it too much on my skintone but it looks great when used with darker colours. Also it livens up duller green or blue shadows when used as a base.

Texture is creamier compared with MAC Paint Pots. I prefer the softer texture because I feel it doesn't drag on my skin as much when I'm trying to blend the colour.


Staying Power:

Pretty good - they don't crease on me. The colour stays just as vibrant the whole day when used alone, and definitely helps powder shadow stick around longer.


Side note: I tried using some of these as liners too, and they apply nicely because of the creamy texture. Glistening Sand and Languid Lagoon in particular stand out when applied on the lower lashline. However their staying power won't be as good as MAC Fluidlines, so watch out for that if you have oily lids.


Looks:

1. I've used Violet Visions as a base and colour for this:




2. Languid Lagoon before as a base and colour for this look:




3. Violet Visions again for this, taken a couple months ago but never posted. I think the inspiration for the purple and grey came from a similar colour scheme done by Princess Peach (aka Her Peachieness).






Getting sidetracked here ....but here's yet another example of the difference between using the Foliage setting and without with my Canon Powershot 870:

This is how vibrant Violet Visions looks in real life:



Without Foliage setting, the true colours get washed out and it looks more blah




Again I gotta say love Missha lashes:




It looks like I used everything but the kitchen sink for this look, haha :P

But really its only because I was using one shade from each of the palettes shown :D

RMK Shiny Mix Eyes

a very long overdue review on RMK Shiny Mix Eyes in 01 Silver Pale Green:






The RMK Shiny Mix Dots are from this year's Spring collection. The product looks like pressed clusters of green mixed with dots of blue and yellow. The concept is pretty cool - I think they were inspired by the painting technique of pointillism. There is also a mirror on the inside of the cover and a small brush included.




It has some very fine subtle shimmer which I love - its the perfect amount that doesn't cause fallout and doesn't look glittery. However, I find the colour payoff is on the sheer side. The colour only shows up well with Urban Decay Primer Potion as a base.

Left: With UDPP as base, Right: Without any base




Overall I really like this eyeshadow because its a very wearable green that can be intensified with a base or applied sheer for those who prefer that. The amount of shimmer is just right too - its a classy amount, not a discoball amount :P

The only thing I would complain about is the price tag - it cost about 3,200 yen which is about US$32 (roughly). Thats the most expensive eyeshadow I've ever bought! The price is what keeps me from buying more RMK products. However if you can afford it, and prefer subtle shimmer over pigmentation then this would be for you.

To be honest, the first few times I was playing with the shadow, I thought this was a waste of money to have sheer colour payoff for such a high price. I was thinking that I could probably get something similar in the drugstore at a cheaper price. But after using it more and more I find the colour and shimmer and texture to be rather unique. If I had the money...I would love to get the silver purple version too lol :)

catching up

Thank you for the input on what to do with my hair, I appreciate it :) I still want to do dark hair/curls, but i think i'm going to wait until my hair is healthier. Right now its the ends that are dry with split ends, because I had dyed my hair last year and I also swim sometimes. I think once that part finishes growing out (its halfway there), the newer hair will be better and I can do more with it :)

So for now I'm just gonna cut a new style - I plan to go to my friends' Japanese hairstylist to see if he can do anything new with my hair that I like.

I don't have anything new to share besides the old stuff that I haven't caught up on posting, such as my last haul before my ban started:




Guerlain L'or Radiance makeup base
Free sample - Guerlain Cleansing Milk

Dior Skinflash Radiance pen
Free sample - Fresh High Noon bronzer

MAC Prep & Prime lip exfoliator
MAC Volcanic Ash exfoliator


I've already mentioned the Dior Skinflash pen in my Exes and Loves post, but I really like it! I have really dry skin, including under my eyes and most concealers I've tried crease on me, even high end ones. Now this does crease after several hours, but its much better than the others that creased within an hour.

Comes in a sleek silver tube with a dark blue sleeve to store it in




This is what it looks like when you turn the base of the pen to dispense the product (kinda like those Stila lip glosses)




I got the Guerlain base because I wanted to try a base that for once did not contain dimethicone or other silicones.



The Guerlain makeup base is supposed to have these flecks of 24k gold that melt on your skin upon contact.




It has a nice light texture and scent. However - for my skin it didn't seem to do much as a base. It doesn't exactly smooth out my skin, and I don't think it has anything to control oil for oily skintypes. I think its more to hydrate your skin, as it feels similar to a moisture serum. I've only used it 3 times in total so I'll give it a few more tries before I decide whether to return it.




The MAC lip exfoliator does a nice job of exfoliating, it does what I was hoping the Everyday Minerals lipscrub would do. HoweverI find it annoying that the black scrubbing specks in the MAC stuff tends to cling to my lips afterwards. Right now I tend to reach for it when I realise my lips are dry - which is when I've already put on the rest of my makeup, which is why having to pick off the black exfoliating particles is so annoying. I guess this is something I should be using before washing my face instead.




The MAC Volcanic Ash exfoliator is nice....Now, its not necessarily an amazing exfoliator by any means, I find the scrubbing particles don't do as good a job as the aspirin mask in smoothing my skin. However the smell and the texture of it is addictive. For me its like a mask-exfoliator hybrid that can be used more frequently than the aspirin mask since it is gentler.

One thing I don't like about it though is the jar format. I wouldn't normally care, but because the product is black, and sticks to the lid of the pot, everytime I put the cap back on some black liquid will seep out from the rim of the pot as I screw the cap on. Its annoying because it messes up the area that the pot is sitting on, leaving a black ring on the counter/shelf.



Remember how I exchanged the pigments I got in NY for different colours because I ended up not liking Old Gold and Fuschia? I exchanged them for Cornflower and Rose pigment instead:




Cornflower is a bit similar to Bell Bottom Blue, but it has a pink-purple sheen to the blue. Sorta reminds me of Climate Blue eyeshadow from the Cool Heat collection.

Rose pigment is a bit chunky - similar to Helium, so the colour payoff isn't quite what you'd expect from the pot. I'm still not sure how I'll use this as eyeshadow, but it looks like a colour I can mix with some lipgloss/lipstick :)


L-R: Bell Bottom Blue, Cornflower, Rose






The duochrome in Cornflower photographs better on the fingertips:

(same order as above)

white and gold [edit]

wow it looks like a lot of people really like the BCBG orange dress! i do like it, its just that i was kinda iffy about it initially because the orange colour isn't usually my thing. My bf was the one who told me to get it :) thats why i do enjoy clothing shopping with him sometimes. When he's in the mood to give opinions, he chooses really good stuff.

Surprisingly though i haven't worn the orange dress yet. Reason being I don't have any matching heels that are dressy enough to go with it. i wore the Betsey Johnson one and the red BCBG one to a wedding 2 weeks ago, which I will post some pics of :) I might have another wedding to go to in August, not sure yet. But that would give me an excuse to tell the bf I need to buy shoes to go with the dress :P

Reading the recent nail polish posts by Alienman, Fei, and Fuzkittie makes me want to buy some OPI / Essie right now. But I can't justify the expense because I can't wear nail polish on a regular basis other than on my toes (because of work). And then toes only get showcased in the summer so I don't feel like spending the money on them :P

But I saw some posts sometime ago on how to recreate the Antiquitease crackled nailpolish look so I decided to try it yesterday for lack of other ideas.




I think the look is better when viewed further away. Up close it does look a bit strange but it looks much nicer from afar.




Stuff used:

2 coats of Maybelline Express Finish Advanced Wear white nailpolish (I can't quite remember the name, but it was something like 'French White' or 'French Manicure')

1 coat of OPI Golden Rules! and blotted off with the edge of a textured paper towel

Wet n Wild clear nailpolish as a topcoat




I would prefer a lighter gold nailpolish but I haven't been able to find any true gold shades that weren't LE. Golden Rules! was the only gold shade I could find :(

Hmm I should try these colours in an EOTD....I'm sorta in a makeup rut lately and haven't had any new ideas for looks to do. White and gold colours are something I haven't used before together...

Edit:

I have a question for you guys...I want to do something to my hair because its so boring. But my hair is on the fine, flat side and the ends get damaged easily.

I wanna either:
- dye my hair a jet black OR blue black colour
- perm my hair (in a salon)
- do streaks (in a salon)

so which is the lesser evil? I was under the impression that dyeing my hair a dark black colour won't really damage it because it wouldn't have bleaching agents in it right...but then I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe I should just leave my hair alone? :( Someone make my hair more healthy please!

NY Trip: Clothes and other stuff :)

i got more stuff to share from NY :)


This is mostly outlet haulage - except the first and last item.

Esprit summer top -






BCBG and Off Saks:

BCBG Orange strapless cocktail dress










BCBG Red/brown strapless dress






Betsey Johnson outlet:

Turquoise/white cotten lined dress











Came with removable straps too:




Coach outlet:

I told myself I wouldn't get another Coach purse (I already have a black one) but I've always had a thing for the white optic signature fabric...plus sling bags are always useful to have.

Coach white optic signature sling bag






Jimmy Choo outlet:

Open toe slingback heels in satin ruby










Now this one below was not from the outlets - would be nice if it was though! lol

5th Avenue LV

Damier Azur Koala wallet







Lots of card slots...something I need





Small coin pocket at the back




yeah....so I'm done shopping for the rest of the year hopefully lol :) I promised the bf not to spend anything for 3 months at least....so til end of September. I also don't wanna buy any more makeup for 6 months (til end of the year) besides the MAC MSF release in October that is. Wish me luck!

P.S. But, I do have one more cosmetics haul to share...so that one doesn't count as I got those 2 weeks ago!...And, after the 3 months I will probably spend more on skincare rather than makeup...since its what I should be concentrating on anyway.