Major Malfunction!

Ahhh! Just saw that most of the pictures in posts are gone.

I had to migrate the blog late last week ... and .... think that means those pictures are all lost.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Will repost them as soon as I can find them.

10 Bullets

Counting down the days until a major life change. Cryptic much? :D I'm not too down about it but I do feel a little out of sorts. Thought it would have made me crazy ecstatic but apparently it's more a mix of both happy-sad. It's not something that is unchangeable but ... I would really like these next few months to relax and just be, think about what I really want to do no matter how trivial or 'un-professional' it could turn out. It's not a 'luxury' that was ever given to me and thanks to my wonderful husband who is such a supportive, wonderful person ... he's gifted me with such an opportunity.

Things are also very busy with the end year and Christmas. No days off for Xmas as it falls on a Saturday! We're having a little dinner. Going to bake a turkey for the first time .. so that will be interesting. Eek .. first Christmas in our home ... another milestone.

I was going to review a few things but I'm being lazy this month ... so here are some bullet point reviews

1. Fable 3
Really looked forward to this as I loved Fable 2 but in the end it was just so very broken. A RPG with no real advancement in your character. There are also no real differences in good/bad according to your decisions. It felt way too linear .. being very obvious trying to push you down one path. I did 100% all the achievements at least but it was a pain. The worst achievement was trading for all the 50 unique weapons. In the end became a duping master and still have dupes of most of the weapons. Can I say besides everything else that the organization system of the weapons really blows? Yeah. No interest in getting the DLCs for this. Done & dusted. If there is a Fable 4 I'm not getting it.

2. Revlon Grow Luscious mascara
I'm not wearing this often, just once in awhile. Does it make lashes grow more lusciously? Who knows. I do know that I dislike the very thick clump-inducing wand. It also has a certain strange smell to it. Not re-purchasing and will stick with my HG Maybelline Volum'Express.

3. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
I'm still playing this on multiplayer to get the final 2 achievements -- Level 50 MP and Abstergo Employee of the Month. The game is beautiful as ever with some improvements from ACII to enrich gameplay. The music? Top notch and adds to the experience. Story? Decent and advances the storyline. The next installment can't come soon enough.

4. Sons of Anarchy
It's a TV series about a biker gang. It's addictive for whatever reason - and somehow appeals to both me and the husband. Quite amazing how the writers of the show made a big bad group of bikers, who you would think would be the most unlikeable characters ever, completely likeable and believable. We watched Season 1 within 2 days. Then Season 2 on Sunday. We're onto Season 3 now.

5. Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare DLC
I hunted sasquatches yesterday. Poor sasquatch :( Such a misunderstood animal.

6. Mass Effect 3
A teaser trailer for ME3 came out last week. I wish it won't really focus on Earth so much, as in the ME universe Earth is really such a tiny speck of nothing.

7. Sleek palettes
I am trying to ignore the call. One doesn't need that many eye shadows right? :D I'm holding off until our next trip to Singapore or if Sephora finally opens their doors in Malaysia .. as some other palettes there interest me more. Just because it's cheap ... is not a reason anymore.

8. Dead Rising 2
Got this when Play-Asia had a sale a few weeks ago and received it Saturday. I don't get it? Maybe I am so an RPG sorta girl - where I like to see advancement or progress in character, but yeah .. I don't get it at all. Also .. what's up with the loading screens! Only played about 30 minutes of it so we'll see but for now it's at the bottom of the to-be-played pile.

9. Dead Space 2
Demo out 21 & 22 Dec. Released end Jan 2011. This is the husband's game. I loved watching it, it's so scary like a movie! I tried the game but could not get past the Zero-G stuff. I love everything sci-fi but guess I would suck as a space dweller :(

10. Tron Legacy
I'm not eloquent enough to describe the amazingness of this movie. Maybe it makes me like a sci-fi noob since I never watched the original Tron and so I can't compare (aka nitpick) but the husband said they did it very well and did pay homage to the original. We're watching it again this weekend and I cannot wait!

Oooh so much video games. Guess that's my hobby for now? :D

TopShop Make-Up -- Kohl Eye Liner in Saddle

Made our monthly KLCC trip for Kinokuniya and since I heard from Vonvon that the TopShop Make-Up range was now available had to head to the store ... just to browse :D

Browse only? When does that ever happen? :D In the end was mostly good as I only bought the Kohl Eye Liner in Saddle (brown).

Very creamy and smooth. Have to test out whether it will smudge on lids throughout the day.

No flash

Flash

It does tend to be difficult to rub off. It smears when rubbed but will leave a mark which will not budge no matter how much you wipe with tissue. Only comes off with soap or makeup remover.

Pricelist
Kohl - RM23
Crayons (lip/eye) - RM33
Cream Blush - RM33
Lipstick - RM46
Mascara - RM46
Nail Polish - RM36
Lip Polish (gift set of 3) - RM76
Eye Lash Curler - RM26*
Tweezer - RM14*
Lip Polish - RM33*
Single Eye Shadow - RM36*
Skin Highlighters/Finish - RM59*
* - not 100% on the price

For Fashion Fast Forward (F3) members you get 10% off. Unfortunately had issues with my card so had to do without the discount as we were late to meet husband for lunch.

They tend to hover a lot in TopShop. Who doesn't hate hoverers? It makes customers uncomfortable and want to leave immediately. Please hover less ... I'd have bought more if this was the case. The blush is a definite must buy item.

Lookie what the husband got as an early Xmas present!

Hardcover. 512 glossy pages. Chock-full of useful advice and delicious recipes (the pictures! oh my!). The best part? Until 2 Jan '11 it is 30% off. Original price RM114.90, after discount RM80.43. Such a good buy.

Crabtree & Evelyn Iris 30ml EDT

While browsing through a magazine a couple of days ago the new line Iris by Crabtree & Evelyn caught my eye. To be honest the price of this 30ml EDT was the main attraction and so decided I needed a small treat for myself :)

Crabtree & Evelyn Iris
Eau De Toilette, 30ml / 1.0 fl oz
RM55

Description
Exquisitely scented orris, prepared from the root of the iris flower, was highly prized by Renaissance performers who used it in their elegant creations. Blended with precious sandalwood, sensuous patchouli and a hint of fresh vetiver, our Iris fragrance pays homage to a classic alluring ingredient.

Ingredients
Alcohol denat, fragrance (parfum), water (aqua) (eau), iris florentina root extract, iris pallida root extract, glycerin, buthylphenyl, methylproprional, alpha-isomethyl ionone, hydroxyisohexyl-3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde, hydroxycitronellal, limonene, citronellol, geraniol, linalool, eugenol, benzyl benzoate, citral, citric acid, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate.

Verdict
It does not quite have lasting power compared to higher end perfumes but looking at the Iris line perhaps it has to be layered on - shower gel, body cream, edt - to work better. Personally think it is great as I only want a little spritz in the morning before work. It's also easy to tote around for refresher in the evening. Perfect as a daily day scent. It also reminds me of a certain higher end scent but can't quite place it yet. For the price? Well worth it.

Other items in Iris line
100ml EDT - RM144
Candle - RM98

For the rest unfortunately did not take note of price as the shop is so cramped (all of them are!) - shower gel, soap set, body cream, body lotion, home fragrance, drawer lining paper .. the usual range of stuff.

Doesn't M&S have an Iris line as well? How does it compare I wonder ....

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in PK 348 & RD 148

On Friday traded in some Citibank instant rewards points for the Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in PK 348. Had planned on getting a lipliner but they were out of stock as there will be a new range of lipliners coming soon.

PK348 flash


PK348 no flash - facing natural light

Swatch - flash (L: PK 348, R: RD148)

Swatch - no flash (L: PK348, R: RD148)




RD148 - had this for awhile


RD148 - flash


RD148 - no flash, facing natural light

Full face wearing RD148 from end of June (post)

I want to go back to light hair .. sniffles.

Citibank Instant Rewards
200 points = RM1 (previously 180 points)

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited RM 70 (previously RM68)

Countdown: 22 Days & 15 Days

How's the Christmas shopping going? You better get cracking as there's only 22 days left!

Our second Christmas and the first one in our new home. Can you believe that the husband has never had his own Christmas tree all these years?! We find it funny that the first place he's had one was in tropical Malaysia! He likes it all traditional with red, green, white ornaments and tinsel with multi-colored blinky lights. Love it.

No presents yet although I have already picked out his gift(s). This year it'll have to be a budget-friendly Christmas as at the end of the month I will be without a job. It's actually a good thing in the end as we have some plans for the upcoming year anyways.

15 working days left. I'm looking forward to that last day at the end of December.

Speaking of which that means makeup and other frivolities have to be cut back drastically. Or it could mean I have to learn to start saving for stuff instead of just going out to get them immediately!

Pretty much excited about this whole thing as there are tons of things that I'd love to do ... like honing my baking and cooking chops. I can bake but can't seem to make it look pretty perfect - and this frustrates me so much. Tastes great but doesn't look perfect enough for me. So .... that's the top of the list.

This is such filler post (sorry!) but do check back next week as there will be a few posts coming up ...

• Revlon Grow Luscious mascara review
• Shu Uemura mini-shopping binge this evening - backlog of cc points, not cash
  
• Fable 3 review
• Nigella's Tropical Chocolate Cake - for husband's big boss on Sunday! entertaining at our place! untried recipe! eeek!

Have a wonderful weekend, see you on the flip-side :D

Game Review: Fallout New Vegas

War .. war .. never changes.

In mid-November after a 3 weeks of torrid gaming (sorry baby!) I finished up Fallout: New Vegas. Completely 100%. This is only the third game I've 100% so let me gloat a little .. just a little :D Technically I am not an achievement 'ho as I will not farm games like Barbie's Horse Adventure just to get the 1000G points but I will though play a game I like love to get them.

So .. Fallout New Vegas. What are my thoughts?

We were really looking forward to New Vegas as we had played a ton out of Fallout3. We pre-ordered for it a couple of months back and once we got the text that the game was here, we headed there immediately that evening. Our game came with the classic pack.

First impressions were good. Graphics were sweet. Intro was super sexy. It definitely felt more desolate and darker than Fallout3. The whole section from waking up in Goodsprings throughout the journey to The Strip, you really felt as if you were all alone out in this big bad post-apocalyptic world. You had to conserve your ammo, food, water and get sleep (hardcore mode). You would need to be a total chicken and try your best to avoid big creatures like giant radscorpions and deathclaws at all costs because they would pwn you so bad.

Then the bugs came.

Not these bugs - although they are really evil evil bugs, a swarm of them on hardcore = insta death to your companions. The bugs were pretty much ones that hurts just as much as these Cazadores :D

The game would all of a sudden freeze when loading between areas. Or it would freeze when too many things were going on - the whole Hoover Dam section with the flames, missiles, lots of fighting ...it crashed a zillion times in all scenarios. The only way to get out of it was to hard reset the console. Each time you will have to go through the process --- push power button on 360 - RROD/error flash - switch off - cross fingers + switch on again - boot your last save (hopefully not one you saved half an hour ago).

Those first few days when we were hungry to keep on playing it wasn't fun at all. It sort of killed my love for Fallout a little bit and I had to take a break for a day.Trust me ... a day is a really long time when it's a brand new game.

I believe that all games do have bugs especially ones with huge open worlds. I don't believe that everything needs to be perfect in a game. Just as long as I *do* get to play the game. Eventually most of the bugs got patched and everything was rosy again.

I've done 3 play throughs. 40+ hours on first character, so that would be at least 100 hours total. That's lots of entertainment for RM190.

• 1st character - Brumhilda - total saint, maxed to Level 30, specialisation in Energy Weapons + Speech + Repair, Yes Man ending (also replayed few other endings + to Level 30)
• 2nd character - kickyera$! - evil ... low morals lotsa caps, Level 20, specialisation in Melee + Unarmed + Sneak, very high Luck, Legion ending
• 3rd character - Queequeg - good-neutral, Level 21, specialisation in Explosives + Guns + Science, Yes Man ending (easiest route to end game, for 2nd hardcore playthrough for achievement)

The worst bug was playing Brumhilda on Hardcore and not getting the achievement at the end. I played 100% with it on. The husband and I both watched each other say 'Yes' at the prompt and kept to a pact to go through with it. It was a pain having to cut down on ammo because of the weight, hunting for ammo (energy weapons scarce), making sure to drink water and eat food and sleep at appropriate times. The worst was always getting smacked in the head and being crippled, but not have a doctor's bag .. so you'd have to go through a level with the blurry view. Each time I pushed on thinking of that achievement and the 'something special' hinted at the beginning - in the end no 'something special' at that. The only mistake I could have made was changing the difficulty level so do beware!

Worst achievements, in order

1. Hack the Mojave - hack 25 terminals -- doesn't sound too bad? well the tough part is finding them! they are more scarce than Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Caps! This list @trueachievements helped
2. Caravan Master - win 30 games of caravan -- ok if you like Caravan
3. Artful Pocketer - pickpocket 50 pockets -- had to use an exploit with Sarah at Vault 21

Good

1. Fallout post-apocalyptic universe!
2. World that felt more real, you felt so much more alone when wandering the wasteland
3. There are no truly good endings
4. VATS - slow-mo explosions of body parts .. it's still cool.
5. The story
6. The characters
7. Sexy graphics - could really see into the distance compared to Fallout3.

Bad

1. Bugs, bugs, bugs
2. Missions after getting to The Strip were confusing and also very unsatisfying. In contrast to the awesome beginning journey from Goodsprings - Strip.
3. Loading times. The Strip being sectioned off into 4-5 different parts (Freeside + The Strip) = loading screen hell.
4. Not being able to fast travel into The Strip.
5. Endings :( Ending montage felt slap dash too, kind of like choose-your-own-adventure books (if you remember those)
6. Uber powerful Deathclaws. Need to avoid them until you're at a high level and with a powerful weapon (Gauss sniper rifle)
7. Companions that can 1-shot-1-kill enemies, but you have to empty half your ammo into them.

If you're a fan of Fallout or RPGs you would have already picked up this game, played through it once or twice at the very least. It's still a great game despite some minor bugs and the amount of game play hours from this is unbeatable.

Edit - Sorry for the wall of text. If I could screencap from the actual game I would as it will make the gaming posts less boring :D