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UD Naked 2 vs Lancome Absolu Voyage

2012-02-04T19:36:00.001+08:00

I was never too keen on getting the Urban Decay Naked 2 despite the fact that the Naked palette has served me well. The shades on the first are mostly unfinished except 2 shades to the left so a similar-ish palette would be a little wasteful. Once the 'new' version is in hand the older one will surely go to the back burner. Completely wasteful.

Then there's that niggling voice that says that while i'm where it's available i should grab one - as it'll be a few months until it gets to malaysia. Pricing is close US$50 vs RM180 so that might not be a point. Though the Naked palette has been my daily staple for months so the Naked2 would get the same mileage.

So confusing! I have heard that lots of us that own the Naked palette are having the same conundrum trying to decide if the Naked2 is necessary!

On the flight in saw this Lancome Absolu Voyage in the in-flight shopping mag. It's a nice sleek compact makeup kit that has everything you might need for a trip - eye shadows, blush, powder, lipsticks, brushes, mascara. This palette is supposedly only sold on flights for US$61 (delta). It's a serious contender now.

Did you get the Naked 2 palette? Are there any other alternatives to Naked 2 palette that you selected instead?

12 Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-12T14:06:00.000+08:00

Somehow before the start of the new year I haven't been keen on making new year resolutions but after the new year does roll around it makes the year feel a little unfinished. Seeing as it's almost 2 weeks into 2012 I'm going to call these just resolutions.

1. Be a better blogger
This is a no-brainer. The 2011 post count = 43. The 2010 post count = 93. I have been neglecting this little blog. Who knew that having a 9-5 job; a soul-sucking mind-numbing one at that; made me blog more? Not to mention be better with the comment love - give positive feedback and be supportive ... and not stick so much in my own shell.

2. Be more adventurous (with makeup)
The whole point of creating this blog was to be more adventurous with my makeup choices. Ever since getting the Urban Decay Naked palette in early 2011, that's all that I've been wearing. It's a great palette but it's in some aspects is pretty boring because it's all neutral.

3. Lose that same xx lbs.
Every year there's always a new weight goal. At the very least at my age I know it's not within the realm of possibility to be 110lbs with my body type.

4. Take more pictures
Will be doing quite a bit of traveling this year. I prefer to explore, take in everything at my own pace and don't usually whip out the camera every time to take a picture. In the end we have all these trips but a handful of pictures.

5. Don't sweat the small stuff
I'm an anxious, pessimistic, worry-wart kind of person. Have to learn to let go.

6. Be more financially responsible
Really important this year because of upcoming plans.

7. Cook with more variety
Back in October during the Big Bad Wolf sale I bought all those cookbooks justifying it with "I'll cook something new every week! I'll never need cookbooks ever again!". Right. I do cook regularly but introducing something new into the routine is quite rare at once a month. It should be more often especially with tons of recipes at my disposal.

8. Travel more (and be more adventurous)
I like tagging along with the husband on business trips and exploring a new city all by myself. We have the luxury of doing that right now before the kids. Perhaps even go for a solo trip by myself this year?

9. Get into a regular exercise routine.
Both for me and the husband. We'll most probably be signing up with the gym once the new mall comes up in a few months. A walk in the beautiful park (just across the road!) in the evenings should be a start.

10. Learn something
A language? Cake decorating? Photography? Finally painting those 40K banshees?

11. Get a new camera
A few months after buying this point-and-shoot, the camera had a close-up with a pen in my handbag resulting in this annoying dot. The camera still works though repairing would cost the same as the cheap camera itself. I have extreme DSLR envy for my husband's 600D :) No more point-and-shoot cameras from here on out no matter how 'cheap' it may be.

12. Give more
But not too much especially to undeserving people!

This is very late but would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! What were your resolutions for 2012?

Soap & Glory Arch De Triumph

2011-12-15T13:39:00.001+08:00

Soap & Glory Arch De Triumph

RM 41 at Sephora

Have been checking this product out during my visits to Sephora every single time and a few weeks ago finally purchased it. What was most interesting was the highlighting side as it seemed like a dupe for Benefit's High Brow.

In the end the verdict on Arch De Triumph was a straight on 50-50. This is all because of my extremely sparse brows. As such the pencil makes my brows look very drawn on and uneven. The plus side is that the color only adheres to hair much like my HG Shu Uemura Hard 9 pencil. So if you don't really have much hair? Well the color isn't going to go on all proper.

Love the styling on the packaging on these Soap & Glory products. The highlighting side is pretty nice and fits perfectly as a dupe for High Brow but at a fraction of the price! I've thrown this in my bag as a backup brow pencil because I do look quite beastly without brows drawn in and the highlight side is perfect for touch ups.

Oh yes you heard it right! The Shu Uemura Hard 9 pencil is back in my HG books as I noticed that the Empro - despite my mad ravings in a previous post - made my brows look too drawn on as well. The perils of having excessively sparse brows.

Not As Advertised - Dried Squid Snack (Kisoto)

2011-11-30T14:47:00.001+08:00

I'm pretty mad about this so had to blog about it. Spent RM 10.69 for a pack of these dried squid. It is pre-sugared as I rather not do it myself as it causes a mess. On receipt "STG/KPG GULA 130G".

130 grams, for the record.

On opening the pack, it looked like an extremely small amount. As little or even less than one of those small RM 3 - 4 single serving packs. I buy these big packs to put in a tupperware sliced up for easy snacking for a couple of days.

Seeing as how it's a strangely small amount, I took out my digital scale and weighed it. The squid itself? 55 grams, less than half what the pack states.

Oh of course there is a sugar pack that weighs 50 grams. But what's the point of a sugar pack if it is bought pre-sugared from the factory?! If you have ever had this snack you will know that extra sugar will not adhere beyond whatever is already on. Total with sugar pack is 20 grams less than stated .. so you're essentially paying for the plastic tray and packaging along with the useless sugar pack.

Avoid this brand - Kisoto Prepared Cuttlefish (Sotong Keping).

I'm no miser but please follow up as advertised. As comparison let's take this can of corn, it's a staple in our pantry so I grabbed it to do a quick weigh-in.

The can states clearly that the nett weight 424 grams while the total weight when weighed with the can is 500 grams. You get exactly what you're paying for with no false advertising.

Anyway I full well know that it's just dried squid so I'm probably making a big deal out of it all. Also my husband is going to make fun about the perils of eating all my favorite Asian (smelly & weird) food :D Although now at least I am going to avoid this brand at all costs.

MORE Jan '12 x Gelato Pique

2011-11-29T20:40:00.001+08:00

I've been avoiding reading about new Mook releases and the like as I'd rather not be tempted. Of course once you 'accidentally' walk into Kinokuniya it's a whole different story. The MORE January 2012 issue looked interesting just based from the front cover and I liked the price as well.

Cover

Details on cover


Details from MORE website

I'm so glad I picked it up. It includes a pouch and tissue case which has the best quality items from a mook (in my limited experience). It has a satiny soft material with a nice lining inside. There are absolutely no loose threads or other such defects right out of the box. Also included is a desktop calendar with the lovely floral embellishments but it is pretty flimsy and tiny.

Actual item shot

The lady at the cashier counter was insistent that the 5% discount was only on cash terms so it was full price at RM 45.45. Which is still pretty cheap for all those items - a woman can never have too many pouches :) Previously there was no such thing about the discount so it might be a new policy. She was pretty militant about it and it wasn't much .. although I could have used that RM3 to take part off the steep parking price at KLCC.

My sister also got started with the Mook bug and bought the Peanuts x Snoopy x Gelato Pique. Total coincidence we both got Gelato Pique items! This was a good buy as it has a zipper on top and the cloth is thick canvas/cloth all nicely lined inside. On top of that it was 30% off as Kinokuniya is having sales until January. Really good find by little sis!

More pictures & details here

Lots of new Mooks are in stock at Kinokuniya KLCC including WITH magazine January 2012 (pic) that has the Coach diary. Have not spotted the Sweet mag with LeSportsac multi-case though :(

U Magazine x Hello Kitty

2011-11-04T22:52:00.001+08:00

I apologize for the Hello Kitty oversaturation but wonder if we'll get this here? It's out in Singapore this weekend according to this very informative blog. I doubt newsstands would sell this, or sell it without removing the free gift to sell separately :( The best (and only) bet would be Kinokuniya.

U Magazine x Hello Kitty

Design 1

Design 2

Design 3

More info - U Magazine on Facebook

Pics sourced from Facebook.

Liniere Nov '11 + Hello Kitty Daiso

2011-11-03T08:56:00.001+08:00

It's all because of this post by Salt & Vinegar. Immediately after reading her review I called Kinokuniya up at her suggestion and booked the magazine. Thankfully that happened as when I went there at the end of the week to pick it up there were no more copies available on the shelves!

Liniere November 2011 with multi-case

Enough space for the passport plus a small moleskin notebook with zip pocket for coins, card slots and a pen

Comparison with Radley passport holder

The multi-case is of pretty good quality with only a few loose threads. It did come out a little misshapen and I am not a fan of the flimsy button clasp. Even then I somewhat prefer this over the Radley as it is bigger and in a brighter color so it is least likely to accidentally slip out or be forgotten. I'm very paranoid about losing important things - especially after my husband accidentally dropped his Blackberry in a taxi. Once we found out about 10 minutes later, we somehow managed to track down the cab and thankfully the guy went on his break and did not pick up a new fare .. so it was just sitting there on the floor!

Some random cute stuff from Daiso. I'm on a Hello Kitty kick now although I was more into Little Twin Stars when I was a kid. These mouse pads for only RM5 each from the Sunway Pyramid branch. They have a Sanrio sticker and number on the back so it seems to be official Sanrio/Hello Kitty products. Also Hello Kitty and the like do not look deformed, that's usually a major giveaway :)

If you're looking to Hello Kitty-fy up your life Parkson stores have quite a nice selection. The store at Sunway Pyramid is having discounts up to 50%, on selective pouches from about RM18 and above. These are definitely the original Sanrio stuff. The prices are pretty steep and usually during sales the range only goes for 10% off only.

CBTL Espresso Machines vs Nescafe Dolce Gusto

2011-10-19T12:29:00.000+08:00

It's time yet again to purchase a coffee machine. We've only had one of those generic drip type of coffee machines but this time around there's better selection especially with these fairly new capsule machines.

CBTL Contata (RM880) and Nescafe Dolce Gusto Piccolo (RM400)

In doing research I have discovered that the most important thing to remember with selection of these is the availability of capsules. There is no point to invest in a machine only for the capsules to be discontinued a few months down the line.

Price: CBTL is RM21 for box of 10. Nescafe Dolce Gusto is RM28 for box of 16 (16 espresso or 'black' coffee roasts or 8 coffee/8 milk)
CBTL vs Dolce Gusto price per capsule.

Espresso/Black - RM2.10 vs RM1.70
Mixed Drinks - RM2.10 vs RM3.50

Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine is considerably cheaper than CBTL.
Nescafe Dolce Gusto makes the milk based drinks (eg latte, cappuccino) straight out of the machine. CBTL needs an extra step and it's also with an additional purchase of a milk frother for RM280.
CBTL has a wider range of capsule selection. Nescafe Dolce Gusto only has 4 as it is recently launched in Malaysia. The full range is equivalent to CBTL but currently you have to go through the trouble of importing it on your own.
CBTL capsule packs can be found at any of their cafe outlets, certain department stores (Isetan) and online. Nescafe Dolce Gusto packs are available at certain department stores (Jusco, Metrojaya) but unsure whether they will be continuously replenished.

I'm only comparing the lower priced machines here but there is another Nescafe Dolce Gusto model available here. It's called the Circolo and is priced at RM780-800. According to specifications there's not much difference between them except a larger water tank, bigger footprint on the counter for Circolo and funkier design.

click to enlarge
(source - Nescafe Dolce Gusto)

CBTL also has another machine Kaldi which retails for RM980. The only difference seem to be the color selection as Contata only comes in Gray/Black while Kaldi has 5 color selections (4 with color face plate and silver body, 1 in all black).

click to enlarge
(source - CBTL Malaysia)

Like the husband said, I'm pretty serious about coffee :) The weird thing is that I only started drinking coffee in late 2005 and it was just so I could keep awake during the long afternoons at work. Now I can't live without coffee! Of course these capsule coffee machines are probably low-brow for true coffee connoisseurs but I just can't afford one of those snazzy and crazily expensive espresso machines.

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2011 - Second Round!

2011-10-12T19:20:00.002+08:00

The second time around at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale but didn't go too crazy as I had to stick to a budget this time :)

Going Under - Justina Robson @ RM8

The Nasty Bits - Anthony Bourdain @ RM8

Ender In Exile - Orson Scott Card @ RM8

Star Trek (graphic novel) @ RM15

Land of the Dead (graphic novel) @ RM12

The Glory of Southern Cooking @ RM12

Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes A Day @ RM12

I'm Just Here For More Food - Alton Brown @ RM12

Martin Yan's Chinatown Cooking @ RM20

Baking With Julia - Dorrie Greenspan @ RM15

So glad we went on the first day as the stocks are surely depleted! Some of the remaining books are in bad shape now ... mostly torn covers especially if it's the last few copies of a certain book. Like all the cookbooks above. Also unlike the first day the books are less organized, thanks to the daily rummage since then.

The surprising thing is that there are still a few pallets full of the Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson "headliner" cookbooks. Pro Tip: Don't pick it up once you see it at the cooking section, there's a full pallet right at the front near the cashiers - these two books are heavy so save your arms or space for other books first!

If possible head to the sale on the weekdays. There was no line to go into the hall. Not that many people inside, like regular shopping and cashier lines were only about a 10 minute wait.

Of course we still got lost on the way home. Have absolutely no luck with that place. This officially concludes my book shopping for 2011. Good luck with your hunt at the BBW sale!

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2011 - First Day

2011-10-07T23:12:00.000+08:00

As mentioned in the post yesterday, I seriously was crazy enough to go on the first day of the Big Bad Wolf Sale! We had some trouble finding our way there, thanks to my lack of familiarity with the area and the truly awful road signage but we still managed to arrive just after 11. I made a beeline for the cookbooks and unfortunately as cookbooks are H-E-A-V-Y .. that's all I got to see. We're thinking of making another trip next week to see the rest :D

My (1st?) Haul

Jamie's Kitchen by Jamie Oliver @ RM25

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman @ RM25

The New York Times Dessert Cookbook @ RM20

The Complete Southern Cookbook by Tammy Algood @ RM20

Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again @ RM15

Good Housekeeping Great Home Cooking @ RM12

Better Home & Gardens New Cookbook @ RM12

Betty Crocker Cookbook @ RM12

Betty Crocker Ultimate Cake Mix Book @ RM12

Rocco Gets Real by Rocco Dispirito @ RM10

Rocco's Real Life Recipes by Rocco Dispirito @ RM10

Grilling With Gas @ RM10

Kingsford Complete Grilling Cookbook @ RM10

Your Pregnancy Week By Week @ RM10

Language Book x2 @ RM5ea

It came up to just over RM200. That's 12 cookbooks for the price of 1! So very very worth it! Especially as most of them are thick tomes with tons of recipes to last a lifetime. Even though I went for the Jamie Oliver cookbook I'm more excited about all the classic American cookbooks.

This was a wonderfully organized event by Big Bad Wolf Books. The venue is quite remote but it is perfect for such a sale. Ample parking with a whole fleet of trams to ferry people from parking lot to the hall. The parking area is far away from the hall, over hilly terrain and it is pretty much impossible afterwards with all your purchases.

Extremely impressed by the safety aspect ... on arrival there's a big queue but it's only because the organizers are keeping count of how many people are allowed in the hall at any one time. The queue outside moves quickly enough ... about 15-30 minutes and you're under tents with ceiling fans so it's not too bad. Once inside, it's nothing like any other warehouse sale. There is quite a lot of people but the tables are set far enough apart that everyone can move around, it was kind of like a crowd milling about at an airport actually. Lots of staff on hand from the parking lot, to the entrance queue, inside the hall, at the cashier counter and even after payment to help you with your books to the tram (if you buy a little too much). Cashier counters fill a whole row at the back of the hall taking about 20 minutes to clear.

Spectacular job by Big Bad Wolf Books.

Shopping Tips

Wear comfy clothes and especially comfy shoes.
Bring a cart, like a metal market cart or like some really smart people a carry-on bag on rollers.
Come along with someone else so one can babysit while the other wanders around.
Don't buy too much as the staff help carry/transport to the tram but once you're on the tram, you're on your own. Getting down off the tram with too many books/boxes a little difficult. There will be a line to get on the tram afterwards (a line of sorts, lots of 'typical' behaviour).
Don't be too fussy about the books. It's a warehouse sale! Some of the covers or pages might be creased, torn or misprinted but it doesn't affect the content does it? Also don't go expecting to find a full range of books like in a bookstore - can't believe some people are griping about this on Facebook. What is available there is more than enough especially for such prices.
Know how to get to the venue, road signs are not helpful. #1 UPM Exit, make sure to not go into UPM campus gates but just head straight until you see a tiny MAEPS sign on the left. #2 Serdang Hospital/UPM exit was the better route to take I heard.

P.S - There were tons of Jamie's Kitchen there, not to worry .. like the papers stated there's 10,000 copies!

For more info - Big Bad Wolf Books Website, Facebook and Twitter

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2011

2011-10-06T10:02:00.000+08:00

(image from BBW)

The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2011 will be held at MAEPS (map) from Friday, 7 October to Sunday, 16 October. Doors open at 10am.

Believe it or not I'm actually crazy enough to go on the first day! Not at 10am but possibly after 11 as it is quite a haul to get there. Also since I'm not very familiar with the place Friday will be ... interesting. At least the sister is coming along :)

I will be all about the cookbooks. The prices are insane! For example I bought this for RM49.90 at BookXcess. That itself was a good buy as it usually retails for RM109. At the sale it'll be RM25!

Have my eye on this one - as do tons of people :) RM159.90 to RM25.

More details and pictures at Big Bad Wolf website and Facebook.

Starbucks VIA Coffees

2011-10-05T09:14:00.000+08:00

Something different for today. A review of the Starbucks VIA "instant" coffee. The banner ads at all Starbucks cafes definitely piqued my curiosity so I had to give them a try!

Purchased two packs of 3 single-serve sachets.

There are only two blends available in Malaysia at the moment. The Italian Roast (Extra Bold) and Colombia (Medium).

Somehow I thought they would be bigger .. for whatever reason. Although it is much smaller than expected it is great for carrying it around. The tagline for the VIA is 'Never be without great coffee'.

The 'ready brew' coffee consists of Arabica coffee beans that are micro-ground. The powder is extremely fine. Once the package is torn open, it smells exactly as if you walked into a Starbucks cafe!

A little over 1 teaspoon of microground coffee in each packet

Left: Starbucks VIA Italian Roast

Right: Maxwell House Master Blend Ground Coffee*

Right: Starbucks VIA Italian Roast

Left: Maxwell House (in equivalent amount)*

Right: Starbucks VIA Italian Roast

(without stirring)

* - After taking the pictures, realized that the Maxwell House is mostly used for coffee machines/press as it is quite coarse. Unfortunately other coffees were not available in the house for comparison purposes. It would have been a better sampling with plain Nescafe coffee although I think Nescafe is ground like that (but more geometric).

The coffee itself is pretty much like those little coffee packets found in hotels. It's basically just black coffee. Add sweetener, creamer according to preference. It is definitely Starbucks coffee so if you're addicted to their coffee blends/grounds, this would be great to tote along on the go.

Pros

Starbucks flavor - right out of the packet
Cost - less than RM3 for Starbucks 'flavor' compared to going into the cafe itself
Portability - Great for on-the-go, fits perfectly in a handbag and the quality packaging that doesn't feel like it will break apart being jostled in a bag
Micro-ground - melts right in, barely need to stir it in

Cons

Cost - If as daily coffee it might add up but still cheaper than any coffee on the Starbucks menu
Selection - Only 2 blends available for now, there's a wider range and even seasoned coffee for the VIA range in the US .. but it is perhaps a matter of time until they show up on our shores
Flavor - husband didn't find it all that spectacular, comparable to other brands

My Verdict
I quite like them especially the Italian Roast as I'm all about having coffee black. As to whether they're worth it for a daily coffee? Probably not. It does have the Starbucks flavor sealed in but Nescafe black is pretty good as well, and I am addicted to the bold bitterness of Maxwell House (albeit having to go through the trouble of using a coffee machine/press).

The Starbucks VIA coffees are priced at RM8 for a 3-pack and RM24 for an 8-pack. They are available at all Starbucks cafes.

Diva 3-for-2 Promotion

2011-09-29T14:15:00.001+08:00

Diva currently has a 3-for-2 promotion. It includes everything in store.

There is an argument that it's pointless to buy costume jewelry but honestly isn't it just fun? It's fun to shop and hunt for the perfect pair of earrings. It's fun to put all the accessories together to come up with a different look. Fun!!

Also they're fairly cheap but I think they don't really look it :)

Breaking Up (With Pencils) Is Hard To Do

2011-09-27T21:07:00.000+08:00

Dear Shu Uemura Hard 9 Brow Pencil,

We have had a beautiful relationship for many years now. You have colored in my sparse Asian eyebrows to perfection. Unfortunately it is time for us to go our separate ways.

It isn't you ... it's ALL me. Your commitment to beautifully enhance my brows has never wavered but my commitment to you has not been as strong.

Every time I walked the aisles of the department store my eyes would inadvertently stray to others. It wasn't anything you had done .. it just was my nature to always seek something .... new and exciting.

Just to try.

To experiment.

Oh this sounds so much more awful, doesn't it? Believe me you are far better off without someone like me. You will find someone more deserving of your expertise .... eventually.

I never meant to cause you such grief and will always treasure our time together. Good luck in your future endeavours. Stay strong.

Sincerely,
Ms. Shuaddict X

************************************************

Dear Empro Triangular Brow Auto-Pencil,

You know who's awesome?

YOU are.

Can't wait to 'use' you again ;)

xoxoxoxo
Your latest brow fanatic ;)

************************************************

I'll write a real review soon :)

Soap & Glory Girligo Body Moisturizing Mist

2011-07-31T18:13:00.006+08:00

Soap & Glory is officially my favorite new brand discovery. All thanks to Sephora that recently sprouted up in the country. I've got a few of them lined up but the first one I'm reviewing is the Girligo Body Moisturizing Mist.

Love the vintage-esque packaging. Also the cute quotes like 'At Soap & Glory, we believe that you shouldn't have to spend an arm and a leg to moisturize one' or 'Girligo was safely tested in the United Kingdom on so many women, it could make your head spin!'

Basically Girligo is applied right after the shower with a few quick spritzes and preferably allowed to air dry. If you're short on time you can rub it into the skin. The best part is that unlike most moisturizers it doesn't stay or turn sticky. This is great with the humid/hot weather in Malaysia.

Unfortunately I cannot speak for its moisturizing capabilities as my skin isn't particularly dry but it does feel pretty good. It is much more convenient than conventional moisturizing especially if you're rather lazy like myself :) Just a tip, be careful to not overspray the mist onto the floor as it can make the surfaces pretty slippery - especially tile.

The scent is quite girly. Not overwhelming mind you but perfectly nice and clean. The scent is a mix of bergamot, peach, strawberry, jasmine, mandarin and musk. Although you can't quite pick any one of 'em out ... it just smells one-of-a-kind.

It's also stated pretty boldly right on the box 'Sensible men said driven to dizziness by Soap & Glory Girligo Body Moisturizing Mist'? Well .. believe me, it works! The husband loves Girligo and all the other Soap & Glory products tried so far. Seriously, it's a keeper.

Soap & Glory Girligo Body Moisturizing Mist (250ml) is available at Sephora for RM32.

Sephora at, KLCC

2011-07-24T21:58:00.002+08:00

I have no excuses, it took forever to visit a Sephora store in Malaysia. I never had a chance to head to the first branch near Star Hill and it took me over a month since its opening to check out the KLCC branch.

(Source: Sephora Malaysia Facebook)

All Sephoras look the same no matter which country you're in - US, Singapore, France. Guess it's kinda reassuring?

I do like how the SAs tend to not hover so much compared to ones in the US or even Singapore. Perhaps it was because it was just a few minutes after opening the store. Like most people I do prefer to take my time to browse.

It's nice to see new brands to make it to Malaysian shores like Too Faced, Urban Decay, Bare Escentuals and Sephora's in-house brand. Prices are pretty decent.

Also like the fact that the department store brands are available here. I would prefer to shop at Sephora because of the lack of hoverers compared to the specific counters at the stores itself. Most prices are also displayed prominently so there's no need for guess work or sticker shock.

This time around did not make a huge purchase. Just these products from Soap & Glory .. they seemed interesting, had cute packaging and smelled real girly and nice. Will blog more about them after testing them out.

Shiseido Shining Shampoo & Conditioner with Tsubaki Oil

2011-07-20T22:40:00.004+08:00

I've been on a semi-shopping ban .. less makeup more gaming sort of thing. Although a few weeks ago I purchased this shampoo and conditioner set - The Shiseido Shining Shampoo and Conditioner with Tsubaki Oil.

This product may be old news but it was a new discovery for me and is now officially a HG product. It is technically a drugstore product but it's still Shiseido and the quality shows. Both smell great, the shampoo lathers up wonderfully and without needing that much product. Each 220ml bottle of shampoo or conditioner is priced at RM16.90 but there is usually a set that comes with a pouch going for about RM22-26.

Corelle & Corningware Warehouse Sale - 3-5 June 2011

2011-06-03T20:39:00.006+08:00

It's the annual (or bi-annual) Corelle & Corningware Sale. From 3 - 5 June 2011 only at Atria, Damansara Jaya. More details here. Lots of Corningware and Corelle items but not so many Pyrex or Visions.

Picked this up for about 50% off retail price of RM599. Pretty Pink 20-pcs round set, about 6 place settings.

6 pcs dinner plate
6 pcs butter plate
2 pcs large (22cm) soup bowl
1 pcs round serving bowl
1 pcs oval serving plate

For this set needed to supplement with cereal bowls RM 22 each at sale, and 22cm soup bowl RM25 each at sale. Quite a bit of loose items available. Everything there was 40-50% off retail. Very worth it especially as these last pretty much forever - so much so that you get bored of 'em. My mom swears by Corelle and has had a set that's lasted from the early 80s - and yes she got sick of it, and is onto a 2nd set a few years back.

Corelle prices are overly inflated here in Malaysia so the best time to get these are at these regular warehouse sales.

Pricelist

Corelle dining set, 4 - 6 servings RM199 - RM399, according to pattern
Corningware, 4 - 6 pcs RM229 - 289, according to pattern
Cereal Bowl RM22
22cm Soup Bowl RM25
Serving Plate, Oval RM38
Serving Bowl, Round RM38

Shopping Tips

Go early, be there by 9:30-9:45am, the main door at Atria (KFC) is preferable
No real line once you get in front of shutters, so just spread out .. towards the right is best
Grab a cart as soon as you can, they will be finished by the 50th person :)
Wear comfy shoes, be prepared to have your feet stepped on & run over a lot
Try not to bring your kids in, or grab two or three carts to place each child in them .. seriously it's not cool as it's crowded enough to navigate with one cart much less two or three
Go with a buddy or two, one guy can scout/shop while the other watches the stuff
Remember to go to the other counter to check/inspect items before payment.
Don't let them wrap too many stacks of plates/bowls in one wrapper with no layers in between each, it may chip on the way home especially as you will be carrying too much!
Very well organized sale - lots of space between stacks of stuff or bins, lots of helpers on hand to unbox things for inspection, 10+ cashier counters with a marked off line to queue which reminded me of immigration lines but it all worked well. Kudos to organizers.
Bring your own cart or buy only as much as you can carry since after payment their cart is taken back immediately.

Inglot at Sunway Pyramid

2011-05-28T15:06:00.008+08:00

I had never heard of Inglot until the recent posts by Nicole's Mirror and Paris B. As we happened to be at Sunway Pyramid to have lunch at Mantra today, I popped into Inglot for a quick look.

By the way give Mantra a try it if you like North Indian food, even though they do a variety of Asian & fusion dishes just as well too. They're around the skating rink next to Dragon-I. We're like regulars there :)

Back to Inglot. It's located on the Ground Floor, next to Diva and opposite La Senza. The shop is a decent size with a nice open layout conducive to browsing.

The SAs were very knowledgeable about the product. The husband even remarked afterwards, from observing outside, that it looked like they were very attentive. In about 5 minutes I got a quick explanation about the brand without even asking.

Inglot is a Polish brand.
Products are made in Poland itself and not outsourced.
Sticks to stringent EU rules and regulations.
Creator of Inglot is a chemist.
Innovative Freedom System, magnetic palettes in variety of sizes, stackable

I went straight for the lipsticks, as expected. Unfortunately (or fortunately? lol) there was rows & rows of lipsticks. The SA was swatching them individually with those little applicators then testing on my lips. I didn't want to be a bother her too much so only swatched about 3 before choosing the best out of those. There are color blocks in front of each lipstick but much prefer to swatch before purchase. Went with #191.

(swatch - natural light)

(flash)

(no flash)

Facing natural light

The lipstick has a light berry scent. It's not cloying, and after a bit it's pretty unnoticeable.

What I like the most about the lipstick is the packaging. Simple classic black with white lettering. The cap clicks on tightly with a nice solid click. The base of the lipstick tube has a decent weight to it. That along with the shape of the lipstick, square with rounded corners, somehow it just feels real nice to hold in the hand for applying to the lips.

Small sampling of pricing

Lipstick RM50
Blush RM50
Blush with AMC RM58
Bronzer/Highligher RM86
Freedom System Pan (4 face blush or equivalent size like 10 eyeshadow square) RM23-28
Blush (for Freedom System) RM43

Between this and Sephora opening, it's a great month for beauty and makeup fans in Malaysia.

For more information, visit Inglot Cosmetics or Inglot Asia on Facebook

Uniqlo in KLCC

2011-05-10T10:51:00.008+08:00

Uniqlo is now open at KLCC! This is much more convenient as I prefer not to walk by the road in KL even the BB area - so much so that I'm not even heading to Sephora until they open up at KLCC in June. I've only been to the Fahrenheit88 Uniqlo branch once and that was mostly a curiosity thing. The clothing is not really my fit as I am supersized which is unfortunate as they have pretty cool basics. It reminds me of The Gap but is much more affordable.

The quality of the clothing is pretty good. I couldn't resist picking up this tunic by Theatre Products (Designer Invitation Project) even though the largest sizes were "M".

It's probably meant to be worn really baggy but on me it fits right. Not tight. If the clothing wasn't of decent quality when it is stretched at the bust area the pattern will start to stretch too - and will be extremely noticeable as it won't be the same as the pattern all over. I've experienced this with poorer quality tops but not with this.

The material felt good on the interior, soft and good quality. All for RM74.90 - the tag said RM99.00 (sale), but with opening specials there was extra discounts.

Uniqlo concentrates on mostly the basics but for each season there is a Designer Invitation Project which include some pretty interesting designs. The latest one includes Costelle Taliapietra, Vena Cava and Charlotte Ronson. I quite liked some of the dresses from the Costelle Taliapietra collection.

As for sizing there were tons of Size S and Ms available as well as 23-24" waist bottoms, so if you are like the majority of people there is ample stock. Most of the Ms and Ls run out very fast as I'm guessing not much stock is brought in for those.

(size chart from Uniqlo - UK sizes)

The only downside is that the store at KLCC is much smaller than the multi-storey one in Fahrenheit88. They downsized quite a bit of the range to accomodate for the smaller floor space. For example the lingerie and nightwear section is down to only one rack of tank tops and the accessories section isn't quite there. Spotted a rack of sunnies by the back door near cashiers, which you only see on the way out .. while hats and accessories are placed on top of various racks. It's a small store and I wouldn't want to be stuck in there on the weekends with the huge crowds!

One of my favorite thing about Uniqlo is that they have a decent website. It actually is easy to browse and lists down actual prices! Not many local stores (or businesses) in Malaysia ever have a useful website that is not bogged down by just going for 'the look', too much blinki-itis and not much relevant information.

Uniqlo makes me want to get all skinny sexy! Such affordable classic clothing .. I wish I was ten times smaller ... sigh

Meisa Kuroki for Uniqlo

- if you haven't watched Dance Subaru! go watch it now

For more information visit Uniqlo website or Uniqlo Malaysia on Facebook.

Swissotel The Stamford in Singapore

2011-05-06T09:21:00.005+08:00

(pic from Swissotel site)

For our trip to Singapore last weekend, we chose the Swissotel The Stamford. Again this was the hotel the husband stayed on his solo trip. For years he would keep talking about the American breakfast (such a rarity hereabouts apparently) and the Indian restaurant (more on that later).

(pic from Swissotel site)

We went with a standard room, inclusive of breakfast for SGD280++ per night. We were given a room on the 41st floor with spectacular views of the harbour, Esplanade and Marina Bay Sands. Everything was fine in the room except that it was not totally clean. There were blood stains on the bed skirting, trash from a previous occupant went unnoticed in a corner and the bath had some stains . I'm not too picky about hotel rooms as it is just a place to crash for the night but well ... expected better service.

On the flipside we had a great view .....

By Day

By Night

As it was the long weekend the hotel was filled to capacity. Our check-in was delayed by about an hour, but if we had showed up at time the line was all the way to the door! The staff were pleasant enough but it felt a tad impersonal. They couldn't even remember us whenever we pulled up to the porch in taxis after shopping trips - always asking whether we wanted to check-in or if we had bags in the trunk. Our last trip the year before we chose the Pan Pacific and they blew my socks off with their service - even though in the grand scheme of things we were 'little fish' and not staying in executive suites or what-not. Small matter in the end but it doesn't make you feel welcomed. In a way you can't blame them as there is such a high occupancy and daily turnover of new guests that it would be quite difficult to keep track of anyone or anything.

Taxis were hard to come by even with the taxi stand right outside the front door. The porch area is chaos all the time, as there are always up to 3 rows of cars parked or dropping off people. It seems the lobby area and porch of Swissotel Stamford is heavily trafficked not only by guests but by visitors from the mall next door.

The hotel is connected to the Raffles City Shopping Centre as well as the Fairmont Hotel. The Raffles City Mall is a decent-sized shopping centre with some higher end brands. Stores spotted were Coach, Tumi, Kate Spade amongst many others but it also has the regular high street stuff like Robinsons and Marks & Spencer. The supermarket in the basement is decent but the lines are always long with only about 3 cashiers open at any given time. Lots of places to eat in basement area as well.

Tip - Please check out the Raffles City Tourist Privileges. If you are a tourist all you need to do is to flash your boarding pass or passport at the Raffles City concierge. There are 10-20% discounts at stores like Levi's, Furla, Steve Madden and others; as well as at the restaurants in both the Fairmont and Swissotel. Wish we knew about this when we were there!

Orchard Street where most of the shopping is located was a little ways away from the hotel. We had to take taxis all the time as we weren't smart enough to actually get a map! Taxis are very much better in Singapore, but do take note about the taxi surcharge during peak hours. Anytime between 5-7pm Monday to Saturday, there is a surcharge and +35% of fare on top of regular fare.

Cafe Swiss

The breakfast at Cafe Swiss/Kopitiam was good with a varied selection of Japanese, Chinese, Malay and Western fare. Although do not believe it when they tell you that both breakfasts are the same. Sure they are but Cafe Swiss seemed to have more selections, and was in a better setting. Unfortunately the American breakfast was no more :(

The saving grace of the trip was that the Indian restaurant was still there. The Shahi Maharani North Indian Restaurant was located in the Fairmont Hotel next door. They have the most divine samosas on earth! You could choose your filling - chicken, lamb or beef - so we went with chicken, and boy I would go back every month just for these. There was actual live music that added to the wonderful ambience of the restaurant. As well as Kingfisher beer which is apparently the only drink to have with Indian food - according to someone ;)

Would I stay at Swissotel Stamford again? Perhaps not. It is one of the priciest hotels but the service personally was not all that. Also perhaps with the next trip we shall be smarter and not have to deal with taxis by staying closer to Orchard Road itself.

Pros
- nice view
- decent facilities
- Cafe Swiss, beautiful airy setting
- comfortable beds with 2 extra pillows in cupboard

Cons
- expensive
- impersonal
- ways out from Orchard Rd
- chaotic lobby area

Video taken from 41st Floor on Sunday night
- little loud as it was windy, so turn speakers down a smidge-

Falling Over FitFlops!

2011-05-04T09:28:00.006+08:00

Thanks to the raves by ParisB of MWS hunted down a pair of FitFlops in Singapore. Read her posts here, here, here, here and actually many more on her site. It's all her fault! She should get a commission from FitFlop for roping all of us in!

Despite it being at the top of my list could not manage to find them anywhere we went! I'm pretty good at navigation but the layout of malls in Singapore are extremely confusing and frustrating. So on our last day there, we specifically went to Tang's on Orchard right before heading home.

There were not many Size 10 US/8UK/42EU available. It was choice between the Walkstar III in Black Rose/Napa ...

... and the Electra in Tiger Eye ...

I liked the Electra because it was more unique but it was already showing wear & tear at the edges. It would not hold up as well in the long run. On top of that the padding in the thong of the Walkstar III felt more plush. So the 'boring' Walkstar III it was ...

front - looks unpretty, no?

underside
not brand-new but wiped 'em down

side view

The retail price was SGD$109.90 (RM266 @ 2.42 currently), but with the 5% discount for tourists at Tang's it was SGD$104.90 (RM254). Do remember to bring along your passport or hotel key card to flash for this discount.

I didn't really buy it for the health benefits but my legs and butt ache the day after wearing them for most of Monday. I'm pretty much in love with FitFlops - again not because it's a 'flip flop with the gym built-in' - but because they are so comfortable! I'm such a klutz and prefer stable shoes with deeply grooved soles for as much traction and stability as possible. So the FitFlops are absolutely perfect despite the expensive price tag and relative ugliness :D

Finally how does a FitFlop compare with the Skechers equivalent - Tone Up Fun Flops? I've had a basic black one for about 2 years, it looks pretty much like the Walkstar 1 (Fabric) in Black.

Which is which?!

Skechers Fun Flops Black vs Walkstar III
Note - Skechers is US8, FitFlop is US10

Why the size difference? US8 was the largest size I could find and it fit my feet just right, but with the FitFlop I wanted ample space and comfort. More .. boaty .. :D

Soles

Side-by-side thickness of bottom

Well .. the Skechers does not have the plush padding on the interior of the thong, but this could be similar to its equivalent Walkstar1. The FitFlop feels less spongy on the heel with a nicer curve on the front. Of course I've had the Skechers for close to 2 years so that may have had an impact on the results. The Skechers were much cheaper than the FitFlops then at RM140-150 (sale, regular RM169) but the Walkstar1 is possibly at around the same price now.

Speaking of which the FitFlop is not that much cheaper in Singapore anymore. In the past few months there was a price adjustment in Malaysia so it brings it to about the same price or cheaper. Of course if you managed to snag these during any sales in Singapore they would be a good buy. They are quite bonkers over these in Singapore, every other woman had FitFlops on and sales/specials go on quite often.

Do check out FitFlop Singapore and FitFlop Malaysia on Facebook for the latest deals and updates on new releases.

Comparative Pricing of Walkstar III
MYR 269.00 @ Malaysia
SGD 109.90 @ Singapore = RM 266 (rate @ 2.42), 5% tourist discount = RM254
GBP 45.00 @ UK/FitFlop.com = RM 222 (rate @ 4.94)
USD 47.40 - 63.90 @ US/Amazon-Zappos = RM 141 - 190 (rate @ 2.97)

Aeroline Bus to Singapore

2011-05-03T14:19:00.002+08:00

Over the Labour Day weekend, we took a short trip to Singapore. This time instead of flying we took the Aeroline Bus.

The husband had taken Aeroline once before and raved about it. Tickets were RM95 per person per destination. Our journey started from Sunway Pyramid on the earliest bus at 9:30am. We were there quite early the mall is kept open so you can walk through it to catch breakfast at McDonald's near the ice rink.

The seats on the bus are very comfortable with ample legroom. This was my favorite as they are even better than seats in a plane. For entertainment there is a lounge area on the lower deck, and 2 LCD screens on the upper deck that will screen a selection of English movies, 2 movies per trip. These movies were uncensored with cuss words and such things, so if you have children do take note.

The attendants and drivers were amazing. Even at the end of the 7-hour bus ride on the way back they were still cheerful! The driving is very safe and comfortable, the engines are very quiet and you just get lulled into sleep most of the time. Very impressive service by Aeroline staff.

(image from "bus and coach photos")

The bus ride is estimated at about 5 hours. It is technically 4 hours of being on the road and 1 hour to pass immigration. Halfway through the trip, there is a quick 10 minute stop at a rest stop. Surprisingly they had the cleanest restrooms ever, uh .. for a rest stop. On the other hand the restroom on the bus is disgusting with a cracked seat and water everywhere .. avoid if possible!

Immigration to enter the country either heading into Singapore and Malaysia, is usually where you hit the long queues. The one coming back into Malaysia was especially bad as there were tons of buses ferrying tourists and the lines were disorganized. Shouting fights broke out, it felt ... pretty unsafe with all those people cramped into a small area, not to mention that there was a creepy old man rubbing up on me, until he got the elbow treatment. For Malaysians it was pretty quick with the automatic passport validation, but everyone still needed to wait until the other passengers were done. All your luggage needs to be brought along during these sections for scanning, although they were pretty strict going into Singapore but not on the Malaysia side on the way back. [Should've 'smuggled' a Kinect in!]

Once in Singapore the drop off point will be at Harbourfront Centre, which is connected to the huge Vivocity mall. Taxis are easy to catch from a taxi stand at the mall itself and will cost about SGD$5 to get to your hotel in the city centre.

My verdict? It was a good service but I much prefer to fly. The 2+ hour extra time on the bus ride home really sealed it for me. Sure that was unavoidable as it was thanks to heavy traffic, the weather and the long weekend but with a flight, you'll only be stuck on the plane itself for the duration of that flight of about 45 minutes. The price for tickets (AirAsia) and total time including transit and wait times in the airport end up to be about the same.

Aeroline Pros

convenient, can jump on bus from accessible locations such as Sunway Pyramid, 1 Utama and others instead of going to LCCT/KLIA/Subang airports
no long wait time at airport
food (Subway, rice and hot drinks) are included with the ticket price
comfortable seats with ample leg room
safe, quiet, comfortable driving

Aeroline Cons

delays in journey because of traffic by 1-2 hours, unpredictable
having to get down & off the bus twice each way, including once with all your luggage
long unorganized lines at immigration
nasty toilet on bus even with 'light' use

For more information visit Aeroline website, bookings can be made online.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Pink In The Afternoon

2011-04-28T10:15:00.000+08:00

The problem with switching bags is that sometimes you forget certain important things like keys, tissues or lipstick! That's what happened a few days ago and I simply could not go the rest of the day - lunch, dinner - without touching up. Sorry I am that vain - but then lipsticks are one of my main obsessions :) So off I went to Guardian and picked up one (actually two .. shhh, but haven't tried the other one yet).

Swatch (no flash, daylight)

It says "creme" on the label so it's pretty much matte. As such it tends to look dry on the lips but not actually feel dry .. so just slather on some lip gloss and you're good to go.

On lips, facing daylight

Revlon Super Lustrous lipsticks on sale at Guardian for RM19.88. Usual price RM29.90.

Doubling Up?

2011-04-15T15:03:00.009+08:00

So this happened ...

One of the new Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited lipsticks from last week's sale is the exact same one purchased before!

OR542 x 2

It's all the way down to the nub but with a little lip brush there's still quite a bit of product in there that can be used to line or as a base on the lips.

In the end it's no big deal to get the same color, but each time I do make a point to not pick the same ones as it's nice to try a new color. I even took the time to make a list of all the codes but somehow did not reference it that day.

Oh well, more of this to come as most of my favorites (PK code) ... all the labels have fallen off :0 They are lovely lipsticks though, thus actually using up the whole tube unlike most other lipsticks in my collection.

Face Shop Nail Color in PK106

2011-04-14T16:23:00.006+08:00

A little something to cheer myself up last week.

Face Shop Nail Color PK106

(no flash)

(flash)

My feet are really fug so removed the pic, then did the nails on my left hand just for these pics :) I don't usually put nail polish on my hands as they never last and the right hand always never turns out right.

(pic removed)
~~My not very photogenic feet (sorry for the ugly)~~

~~I only wear nail polish to cover up the ickiness and spruce them up.~~ PK106 is a gorgeous hot pink and the best part is that it cost all of RM5.30. Of course at that price the brush is a little iffy and gets misshapen right out of the bottle. It seems to be going strong a few days later. Although my favorite cheap nail polish is still Rimmel 60-seconds - for the price (RM9ish) and ease (dries that quick!).

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in OR542, PK341 & PK369

2011-04-13T12:12:00.001+08:00

Here are the Rouge Unlimited lipsticks from the shufanatic shopping party last week.

I settled on 3 since it was just enough but not too much. Kept picking up all the same ones purchased before! These 3 will last a good portion of the year, especially since lipsticks of any brand, are always on the want list. What can I say? Lipsticks are my favorite makeup item.

OR542

PK341

PK369

Swatches - no flash

Swatches - flash

PK341 is from the Sakura Collection (Mika Ninagawa) so it has the darker pink packaging. They probably wanted to stick with the clear tube instead of plastering it with the Sakura motif, but it doesn't quite go with the rest of the set. This one was priced at RM75, with 20% off was RM60.

The OR542 and PK369 were from the regular Rouge Unlimited line. They were priced at RM70, with 20% off it was RM56 each.

The shufanatic sale is definitely worth it so if you haven't taken the chance to head to it yet, do so at these locations (bring along the mailer to access the sale).
MidValley KL / The Spring, Kuching - Wed, Apr 13 @ 5-7pm
Suria Sabah / Pavillion KL - Thurs, Apr 14 @ 5-7pm

Envirosax re-usable bags 50% off @ Homing, 1U

2011-04-08T08:55:00.000+08:00

A shop called Homing in 1Utama 2nd Floor Promenade has Envirosax for 50% off. RM12.95 each. Super deal! Especially since most states have put into place a no plastic bag rule for certain days - and in the future will be all week (hopefully?).

So obviously I had to get 2 for the price of 1! :D

Bloom 3, Bloom 1 - links have better pictures, Envirosax site

That makes it 4 total Envirosax in my possesion. Seriously thinking of picking up a few more from the store. Price is unbeatable, all designs are available and stock plentiful. Check it out.

Shu Uemura shufanatic 20% off sale @ 1 Utama

2011-04-07T22:22:00.008+08:00

I did manage to get to 1U for the shufanatic 20% off sale from 5-7pm today. Our lovely SA Vanice helped us pick out all the products about an hour before the start of sale. It made perfect sense as Shu stores are quite small and if there is a crowd, it will be tough for the SAs to help out each person then. I love their SAs they are so friendly, nice and know their products.

The only problem was during payment. There was no real queue, some people sitting in chairs and milling about ... so it just worked out to whether your SA was ringing up at that time - or if they were busy attending to other customers. Also as it was so busy they forgot to include the door gift. Felt gauche to ask for it but well .. I had to ..

The door gift = 50ml cleansing oil, 10ml depsea moisturizer, pouch

So what was purchased from the sale?

3 Rouge Unlimited - 1 Sakura edition, 2 regular

Reveal and swatches to come soon. Nothing much really. Especially according to the husband, he said I should have gotten 10! TEN! If only he told me this before :( but it is quite awesome how he knows how much I love these lipsticks. Next time then :D

Some other items were on the list like the Face Architect foundation (#554/564 - RM130), Gloss Unlimited (RM68) or the Sakura UV Underbase mousse (3 different types btw). Unfortunately had to pass on them as I have shopped a little too much this month.

Do note that all items are on sale during those 2 hours except the latest lipstick range - Rouge Unlimited Supreme Shine.

Previous post : shufanatic shopping party.

In related news: From plusizekitten -- complimentary express makeover + travel UV underbase mousse for first 50 customers, with coupon print-out and by appointment only until 30 April 2011. Read her blog for more details.

Lucky Trendy Side Bun Up Hair Pins

2011-04-07T10:18:00.000+08:00

I am pretty inept with styling my hair so it's always just as it is, regular plain straight hair. There was a time where I attempted to get into curling/straightening hair - with curling tongs, straightening iron or hot rollers .. but that was the extent of it. No actual 'styling' of hair into updos or what-not, my fingers and hair do not seem to co-operate.

So the latest attempt? Found this Lucky Trendy set of hair pin at Watson's. A little pricey - RM29ish during sales, usual is RM33-35.90. The pins are plastic but feel well-made.

I still haven't been able to figure it out. Mostly because the directions are in Japanese.

But with a quick search with Google, found this translation (source: cosmeland)

Description
Lucky Trendy Side Bun Up Hair help to create an up do style within 20 seconds!!! Just using this product and twisting your hair can create a cute girly side bun effortlessly. This product can also create a feminine half up hair style. 1pc (3 items contained)

How-to
*For better understanding, please look at the picture that is attached at the back of the package.
*You may need to practice several times to arrive making a bun within 20 second.

Side Bun

Twist your hair from the side area.
Create a bun shape.
Insert the biggest comb (use the tip part of the comb as fulcrum ) and flip down the comb, so you can insert the comb tightly parallel with your head.
To assist the hold, insert the rest of the comb from each sides of the big comb.

Half up

Twist tightly from the top half of your hair.
Insert the biggest comb (use the tip part of the comb as fulcrum ) and flip down the comb, so you can insert the comb tightly parallel with your head.
To assist the hold, insert the rest of the comb from each sides of the big comb.

20 seconds?! Yeah, lots of practice.

THE Ultimate Banana Bread Recipe

2011-04-06T11:30:00.001+08:00

This recipe is cribbed from Nigella Lawson's latest book Kitchen but I titled it the ultimate banana bread as this is the only recipe I will ever use for banana bread. Well that's if you're a fan of coconuts, bananas and cherries :) I have made one monthly (at least). Of course making banana bread is not rocket science but it's always easy to make and oh so good.

Nigella's Coconut & Cherry Banana Bread (pg 136-137)

125g soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing
4 small-medium bananas (approx 500g with skin on)
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
175g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate/baking soda
100g dried cherries
100g dessicated coconut

Directions

preheat oven 170C, line bottom loaf tin (900g/2lbs) with paper and grease sides
melt butter, mix in caster sugar then beat in mashed bananas and eggs
fold in flour, baking powder and bicarb (sifted)
add cherries and coconut
fold well then pour into tin, smooth top
bake 50 min, but check after 45 min
when ready bread will come away from the sides and will bounce on top - or use a cake tester, it comes out clean
once out of oven, leave in tin for 10 min .. then take it out to cool on wire rack

It makes the house smell heavenly and everyone claims to love it :D I do mod the recipe a little so it's usually a Coconut & Raisin Banana Bread instead

add vanilla extract (1+ tsp), everything's better with a little vanilla
raisins instead of cherries as I love raisins and they are easier to find hereabouts, be sure to plump them up by soaking them in hot water for a few minutes, this truly makes all the difference
add some cinnamon or whatever that strikes your fancy
add nuts - walnuts, ground almonds.. whatever you like
add cocoa powder or coffee -- all melted in a little bit of water, to get a chocolate or coffee banana bread
sometimes for presentation I frost it with a coconut buttercream, just regular buttercream with the addition of dessicated coconut (toasted in oven for few minutes) and very small amount of coconut extract, looks great and is absolutely sinful

The edges and top turn crispy-crunchy just as the husband likes it. The top gets all rocky and does tend to split open. My cakes are not usually pretty. This time the husband said "you invented a new food group" while eating most of the crust off the cake :)

Biore UV Perfect Face Milk SPF50+/PA+++

2011-04-05T15:21:00.006+08:00

"Ideal as makeup base"

Biore UV Perfect Face Milk SPF50+/PA+++ (for face)

I had high hopes for this moisturizer. It's by Biore - impressed by their fairly new cleansing oil and wipes. It has SPF50 which is pretty high since most drugstore brands in that range only go up to SPF15.

Compared to my HG day moisturizer (for decades now)

In the end .. not so much. For RM22+ there's only 30ml of product. The problem with that is the moisturizer is 'milky' - as in it is very thin liquid so lots of product is needed to cover the face. Not to mention an equivalent amount to cover the neck as well.

The following pictures demonstrate the runniness off the product with a little tilt of the hand. L: Biore 1-squeeze, R: Neutrogena 2-short-pumps

#2

#3

It does leaves a powdery finish that feels very light (and good) on the skin but there is a tendency for it to flake around the lips. I don't even have dry skin at all, not even in that area so it was very annoying to find flecks when I went to touch my lipstick when I was out. Ick. Walked around for hours like that :(

Pictured above after smudging it around a bit. There is no picture of after rubbing it into skin as both rightfully disappear :) The one drop of Biore is not enough to cover one cheek while the Neutrogena might cover half or three-quarters of the face.

Pros

cheap-ish
SPF50
nice powdery finish
light pleasant scent

Cons

very little product
needs a lot to cover face (and neck)
flaky in usually dry areas of skin, people with dry skin may need to watch out

shu fanatic Shopping Party April '11

2011-03-29T01:04:00.000+08:00

Received this mailer from Shu Uemura.

shu fanatic SHOPPING PARTY! Go crazy with 20% off store wide during the party! Experience the Sakura Collection by Mika Ninagawa, enjoy fun activities and fantastic door gifts (first come first served, limited 1st 50). See you there!

One U - Thurs, Apr 7 @ 5-7pm
KLCC - Fri, Apr 8 @ 5-7pm
Empire - Sat, Apr 9 @ 3-5pm
Sunway Pyramid - Sun, Apr 10 @ 3-5pm
MidValley / The Spring, Kuching - Wed, Apr 13 @ 5-7pm
Suria Sabah / Pavillion - Thurs, Apr 14 @ 5-7pm

Discounts valid only during the party (2 hours).

You must bring along the mailer to enter the party and to redeem the door gift.

I've never been to one of these. Hope it's not too crazy! My sis & I are planning to go to 1U but if really too many people I can still make it to the ones in Empire or Sunway Pyramid. I guess you can only attend one and then they confiscate the card (to redeem the door gift).

Also on the card ..

Mika Ninagawa for Shu Uemura Shu Uemura celebrates the one-year anniversary of its wildly popular & innovative UV underbase mousse by reuniting with world-reknown Japanese photographer Mika Ninagawa.

Mika Ninagawa Set @ RM313

UV underbase mousse sakura collection (usual price, 65g = RM135)
Face architect foundation powder (usual price, 13g = RM125)
Powder foundation case sakura collection (usual price = RM50)
Rouge unlimited sakura collection (usual price = RM70)
Sakura collection pouch

Might be worth it as savings are about RM60+ and it includes the pouch and everything has the pretty Sakura print. I'm not too sure about this as i am on a budget but am definitely going to stock up on a bunch of Rouge Unlimited lipsticks.

LeSportsac 2011 Spring & Summer Mook

2011-03-28T08:43:00.008+08:00

Have been lemming for the LeSportsac 2011 Spring & Summer Mook since reading the reviews from Salt & Vinegar and Adorably Clueless Me this past week. So on our monthly Kino trip this Sunday managed to get my hands on one.

Style #1 "Stardust"

The husband helped choose the print saying it's easier to keep clean, compared to Style #2 "Berry Blossom". It goes better with my other eco bags too. Style #1 seemed to be the more popular one in KL as there were only about 10 copies left on the display shelf. While Style #2 had about double that and Style #3 was still chock full.

Style #3 "First Mate" - #2 "Berry Blossom" - #1 "Stardust"

Price was RM71.95 and 20% off with any other purchase. Tempted to get all three really! I am interested in the mook itself as I am a LeSportsac fan but cannot justify having 3 copies of the mag.

Dimensions - 32 x 41.5 x 12.5cm.

How to fold. The bag folds into itself. Very compact.

Comparison with Envirosax, folded.

Side-by-side with Envirosax.

Overlap with Envirosax.

The LeSportsac tote is smaller than the Envirosax but it has a flat padded base and folds perfectly each time. Envirosax has no base so items don't sit as well in it compared to other reusable bags (like RuMe). Material is similar but LeSportsac feels a tad thicker and has better feeling handles that don't slip off your shoulders so much. Though the Envirosax is much cheaper at about half the price of RM25.90 (plus 10% off certain stores during sales).

Comparison with 7830 Medium Tribeca Tote ("Locomotion")

Lining comparison between the mook edition and regular LeSportsac - Medium Tribeca Tote (discontinued style - now called 7891 EveryGirl Tote, with longer handles). As you can see the regular LeSportsac lining is thicker, you cannot see through to the print no matter how loud and bright. It also feels thicker as if it is padded, like the bottom of the mook tote.

Comparison with 7184 Medium Weekender ("Pink Pedal Pusher"). It so happens that I bought this on Friday. I have been wanting a Weekender for ages .... but only with a good price and a nice enough print :) The dimensions are perfect for travel as a personal bag, to carry-on along with a roll-on case. It was 50% off with extra 10% at Parkson Sunway Pyramid.

The LeSportsac 2011 Spring & Summer mook is a must-buy for any LeSportsac fan. There are some beautiful prints which are already available in store at Isetan KLCC - with 10-25% discounts too!

Marie Claire April 2011 - Free Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm

2011-03-27T13:44:00.011+08:00

Marie Claire (Malaysia) April 2011 issue comes with a full-size Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm.

The magazine was RM7 while the lip balm usually retails for RM18. It comes in 5 different flavors but at random, it's not stated on the mag and you cannot see inside the package. I was hoping to not get the Honey one since the scent makes me a little sick so thankfully got the Sun Protecting Lip Balm with Passionfruit instead.

The magazine should be packed in a brown sleeve/bag, completely sealed and to be opened at the top. You can check if the lip balm is there by feeling at the bottom right (as pictured above). Kinokuniya wrapped the whole thing in plastic anyways. I wish they would have left it in the brown eco bag by itself as it was nicely packed to go.

Shown with other Burt's Bees lip balm for comparison - Honey (ick, seriously please avoid) and Pomengranate. Sorry I have itchy fingers and when I'm bored I like to peel off the label :)

Try not to hoard too much :D The lip balm in my pack had an expiry of 9/2011.

Update - confirm that some unscrupulous newsstands have removed the free gift, recommend you buy from a reputable bookshop instead

Nivea Pinkish Boost

2011-03-21T13:41:00.001+08:00

There's a reason why people like me shouldn't wander into any of the drugstores and pharmacies of the world. Instead of picking up one lip balm, had to get this one too as it sounded interesting. At least they were cheap :)

Nivea Pinkish Boost 3-in-1

restores natural lip color
reduced lip dullness
protects lips with SPF15

(open pack, repacked)

From the back
"The innovation (sic) formula of Nivea Lip Care Pinkish Boost with Pinkish Vitamin Complex and regenerative Ginseng enhances the natural rosiness of your lips. Enriched with moisturisers to provide long lasting moisture for 8 hours. The result is healthy, natural pinkish lips without having to use coloured lipstick."

Hmm it doesn't last 8 hours but it does moisture quite well. Has a pleasant rose-ish scent and does not feel too cloyingly goopy. The color tint is also quite noticeable - the husband actually asked whether I put on makeup to go to bed that evening!

(before)

(after)

Nivea Pinkish Boost, 10ml tube, is available at most drugstore/pharmacies in Malaysia for RM6.41 (sale price).

Juvanex 7-Day Program -- Final Verdict

2011-03-21T08:26:00.001+08:00

I was on the Juvanex detox program for 7 days until Wednesday - see original post. This following post may be a little TMI so read on if you wish.

Juvanex 7-Day Program (description from the box)
Juvanex 7-Day Program is specially formulated to eliminate toxins from your body while providing support for healthy digestive and liver function!
Easy - only 7 days to complete program
Effective - Formulated with Total Cleanze to give your body a complete spring clean
No-Fuss - No need to change diet or lifestyle. Just add water to enjoy its refreshing lemon flavor.

What is Total-Cleanze?
Fibre (soluble and insoluble fibre) + Probiotics (probiotics and prebiotics) + Cleansing Herbs (milk thistle, dandelion, grape seed and other herbal extracts)

Juvanex Active Ingredients
Total Cleanze, Psyillium husk, Vitamin B1, B2, B5, B6, B12, Nicotinamide, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Magnesium Oxide, Glutamine, Taurine

The program was not hard to follow. Just 2 sachets after breakfast and dinner, so a total of 4 sachets per day. They were quite pleasant tasting with a semi-bitter lemon taste but it dissolves completely in water. In fact they did so better in water than juice.

The only symptoms I experienced was extreme fatigure in the mid-afternoon on days 1 and 2. This is despite not following the rigorous diet to the letter.

My results

weight loss/gain did not track, but tummy felt sleeker
became way more regular, daily like clockwork vs only few times a week .. still ongoing even after end of program, this has always been a problem for me even with taking Metamucil or Fybogel (psyllium husk) regularly so am happy with this result

Would I try this again? Yes. On the box it recommends that it is done 2-3 times a year and I'm okay with doing it once every 6 months. I am quite impressed as unlike other 'detox' products on the market, this one truly is a detox only product - and not a laxative masked as detox.

Pros

in sachet form is nice, easy to tote around and measure each dosage
dissolves well
tastes quite good
is a true detox program
a great way to kick start a weight loss program

Cons

quite expensive, but comes up to RM18 per day only
couldn't stick to recommended diet 100%, diet quite low-cal but gradual
each serving of 2 sachets is 66 kcal, 5.4g sugars so if taken with juice do take note of all the extra calories/sugars

Juvanex retails for RM128 (RM108 during sales) at most pharmacies in Malaysia. Each box comes with 28 sachets, 1 shaker bottle and a 7-day detox guide.

Juvanex 7-Day Detox Program

2011-03-11T09:44:00.000+08:00

(image from myjuvanex)

Using Juvanex to kick-start my weight loss program. As far as I can see it's not like other 'detox' teas or weight loss aids, which mostly seem to act like laxatives. My mom uses this once a year just to have an annual cleanse, and she swears it makes her feel better. This is my first try.

Recommended retail price is RM160 on the box but it is usually RM128. At times during sales it may drop to RM108. Don't pay more than RM128.

It comes with 28 sachets, 4 per day for 7 days. Previously the powder came in a bottle but now it is more convenient as it's pre-measured and easy to tote along if you're going out.

The powder dissolves completely in water. Just with a couple of shakes in the included tumbler. It has a strong lemony taste which is bitter at times but it is 95% pleasant-tasting so there is no need to chug and choke it down.

The recommended diet is pretty strict
Day 1 & 2 - fruits
Day 3 & 4 - add vegetables
Day 5 & 6 - add fish, chicken
Day 7 - add wheat & dairy

Example of Day 1 diet
Breakfast - 2 sachets (with water or fruit juice) + 1 slice of fruit*
Lunch - 1 slice of fruit every 2 hours, a few almonds or sunflower/pumpkin seeds
Dinner - 2 sachets + steamed vegetables or vegetable soup with a little brown rice
* Fruits - recommended to not have citrus fruits or bananas

Needless to say I did not stick to the diet. It was fajitas night at home and I cannot resist my husband's grilling :) For the next few days it will be better diet, much closer to the recommended diet. I'll do a full review at the end of the program.

Start Date - Thursday, 10 Mar
End Date - Wednesday, 16 Mar

Strip Ministry of Waxing

2011-03-08T09:09:00.007+08:00

I signed up for a package with Strip Ministry of Waxing in November but only managed to get my 2nd session in last week. It was the husband's treat as an early Xmas present.

Supposedly the plus side about signing up with Strip was that I could go to either outlet at my convenience - in Sunway Pyramid or Curve. I could also stick to the consistent 4-6 weeks maintenance appointments (quite important). The package was RM700 for 10 sessions of All Off (Hollywood/XXXX) Brazilian Waxing. RM70 per session compared to RM88 so that's a very good deal.

The major downside? Their hard selling tactics.

If you go for one session - they try to sell you a package
When you get the package - they try to sell you on IPL. It's about RM3,800 for 6 sessions, RM900 for one session (1 year maintenance at least). No guarantees on hair growth etc as 'everyone is different'.
During a session they try to sell you after treatment stuff - RM18 'Peace' serum to prevent hair growth, finer hair etc. I tried it this time, total waste btw as few days later no such difference.
Afterwards they will try to sell you miscellaneous after treatment ointments to slow down hair growth, finer hair etc - the Sothys one is RM220 for about 6 months/session usage, to bring it along during your sessions.
If you sign up for IPL - they will still try to sell you something I'm sure!

Sell sell sell! I find it so annoying and uncomfortable. It's kind of like hovering sales people but with this you cannot escape!

Treatment also comes with really strange disparaging comments to 'help' you sign up and buy more. For example did you know that doing regular brazilian waxing will eventually make 'things' .. 'flabby' .. because of all the pulling so IPL is sooo much better can't you see?! I kid you not, this came from the 'aesthetician'. Meh ... total horse manure.

At least I can ignore that stuff as I'm used to it ... but not the hard sell tactic. Hopefully they will slow down with the selling as I don't think I can handle such things for the other 8 sessions in the coming months.

Pricelist

IPL brochure

CROON A SONG meets HELLO KITTY

2011-02-21T08:34:00.001+08:00

Yep had to get the Croon A Song meets Hello Kitty mag. Kinokuniya has restocked all their Japanese magazines, lots of new stock available in-store.

This one is a little expensive RM 69.60 (Kinokuniya KLCC). Do note that with an Isetan card you are entitled to a discount on Japanese mags. I didn't know this! For the next trip will have to go sign up again as it is only RM 25 for 2 years so the savings really do add up.

Looks quite small there right? Posing as modelled in the promo makes it look big instead.

It would be nicer if it was a little bigger as it's just too cute! The material is thick cotton canvas with a lovely black and white polka dot pattern. Included with the bag is a little metal apple charm, which I don't quite care for one way or the other. Dimensions of the bag - 35 cm width at the top, 18cm at the bottom, height 18cm, handle drop 12cm, depth 14cm.

You can't fit too much into the bag but it does have space for all the essentials - wallet, moleskin, cosmetic bag etc. There is no clasp or zipper but I'm going to add a magnetic clasp in the middle, and then it will be perfect. The rim is very solid so it can probably be hot glued right on there. The interior has hot pink piping against black. Again very good quality feel.

The stitching is very neat inside and outside. It helps give the bag a structured shape with a very solid unlined bottom. Also instead of being emblazoned with huge logos or lettering, there is only a tiny logo on the bottom right of the bag.

So it is a little expensive but think it's one of the better quality 'free' bags out there. The magazine itself is only about 50 pages - a promo of the for Croon A Song's collaboration with Hello Kitty.

Almost picked the Steady mag with 3 Snoopy pouches, but passed as I don't really need .. uh, want any more pouches. Maybe :D

EcoTools 6-Piece Bamboo Eye Brush Set

2011-02-19T21:27:00.001+08:00

Eco Tools 6-piece Bamboo Eye Brush Set

This was an order from a spree way back in November. It took a couple of months to arrive for some reason, but I wasn't too impatient about receiving it.

1. Large Eye Brush

2. Angled Crease Brush

3. Petite Eye Shading Brush

4. Highlighting Brush

5. Smudge Brush

6. Travel Case with Mirror

Comparative size when closed

The brushes were smaller than I had expected but in the end they were perfect. It's just the set to throw into a bag to go, especially for travel. The bristles are typically Eco Tools - very soft and lush. I can't get enough of them really especially for the price.

Price: US $7.99 from drugstore.com, around RM35 through spree.

Want! CROON A SONG meets Hello Kitty

2011-01-24T11:30:00.002+08:00

Did a search for mooks today and stumbled over something that I just got to have!

CROON A SONG meets Hello Kitty (mook).

It's polka dot. And black & white polka dots at that! Cannot resist!

I don't have an affinity for Hello Kitty per se, as I do not have a single Hello Kitty item anywhere - yes this is a travesty to my gender and Asian heritage :) I did have a few items as a kid but nothing in adulthood. This tote doesn't scream Hello Kitty either and honestly I am just in love with the polka dots.

When we were there last Thursday, Kinokuniya KLCC didn't have any new mooks. Maybe they're waiting for the new stock to come in ... hopefully it is soon ...

Lorac Box Office Sensation Xmas '10

2011-01-21T21:31:00.003+08:00

The Lorac Box Office Sensation has been out for close to 2 months now but it's brand new for me ... so here's swatches and what-not about it anyways :D Be warned that this post will be pretty picture heavy.

Lorac Box Office Sensation (2010 Xmas)
Full Face Train Case
Retails: $56 -- "a $660 Value"
36 Eye Shadows (0.05oz / 1.4g ea)
3 Blushes (0.15oz / 4.3g ea)
1 Bronzer (same as above)
9 Lip Gloss(0.04oz / 1.2g ea)
@ Sephora

The case is beautiful. It is PVC (i think) and made to look like metal with croc-leather accents, kind of like a makeup train case. The top lid does not hold up by itself which makes the decent sized mirror pointless.

The individual trays can be propped under the bottom layer to keep them open - but they still tend to swing back closed. The trays have magnets at the back so they snap in perfectly each time.

The palette does take up quite a bit of space on the table, and I am having trouble finding a place for it. Dimensions: 7" width x 5" depth x 4" height closed. You may need an extra 5 - 7" on each side to swing out the trays.

Eye shadows - top left

(no flash)

(flash)

Eye shadows - middle left

(no flash)

(flash)

Swatches - top layer

(flash)
1st row - top left layer
2nd row - middle left layer
swatched L-R, top row to bottom
primer - MAC Prep+Prime Eyes

Eye shadows - top right

(no flash)

(flash)

Eye shadows - middle right

(no flash)

(flash)

Swatches - middle layer

(flash)
1st row - top right layer
2nd row - middle right layer

Eye shadows felt very smooth but as I have yet to try them out, can't quite comment on them yet. This is my first Lorac product. The only thing I disliked about the eye shadows was the repeating white-eggshell (highlighter?) in each square. They all looked fairly similar with the only difference being matte or shimmer. The plus point is definitely the variety of colors you get in this palette, all nicely segmented into 4 'complementary colored' trays. Perhaps each tray can be detached and taken along for travel instead of packing the whole case?

Bottom layer - left (lip glosses)

(no flash)

(flash)

Swatches

few very transparent so doesn't show up even with flash

Bottom layer - right (bronzer + 3 blushes)

(no flash)

(flash)

Swatches

L-R as above

On the side of the box there are 2 looks each for left side shadows and right side shadows. It's not really helpful as there are no real directions. A tutorial for 4 different looks was released on Lorac's website sometime during the release but it's not available there right now. Instead you can view it at this post at Musings of a Muse. I'm definitely going to try one of the looks.

Ingredients

Phew .. that took awhile! This post took 2 hours+ to get done on my tiny netbook ... eeek. The good news is that we have a PC coming in the next week. The husband decided to get one just yesterday - not at my prompting btw :) - as the 4-year-old laptop is on its last legs. Our netbooks simply cannot do the stuff we would like to do with our respective hobbies. So .. I promise that I will be back to blogging regularly then.

Thank you for sticking around!

Finally Naked!

2011-01-18T15:30:00.008+08:00

I've not gone in hiding but mostly been adjusting to all these changes for the new year. It's made my life surprisingly busy but am enjoying every single day.

Anyway some blog fodder. Today the UPS man showed up a day early and I got Naked!

That quote is so overdone, sorry! Indulge me a little as this palette is long overdue to arrive in my greedy little hands. Although I didn't expect the palette to be quite so small ...

The Lorac Box Office Sensation was beautiful. Regrets I felt before ordering went away once I cracked it open. It was packed perfectly inside the box, lined, snug .. every single thing intact .. not a single speck of powder anywhere it wasn't supposed to be.

I have yet to admire it closely or even swatch them yet. Just opened them up to check that they were all okay.

Huge thank you to my wonderful in-laws for these lovely Xmas gifts.

Also in 'Reasons why I'm a bad blogger':

No PC at home - just tiny 9" netbook with broken track/mousepad which makes it hard to edit pictures and as such have been unable to get all the lost photos up on the blog quickly.
Not facing the computer all day. Now it's maybe 30 min per day. Seriously.
No extra moolah to spend on frivolous things :(
Icky voyeur dude. 'Nuff said.

It's not just the blog ... I was off xbox live for 14+ days. Seriously. That busy. But enjoying myself sort of busy :D

Incoming

2011-01-06T11:39:00.006+08:00

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year (a little late!)

Sorry for lack of updates .. the past few weeks running up to Xmas + New Years have been majorly busy. It was also my last month at work so there was lots of things to get done before my last day at the end of December.

Anyway I have these two beauties incoming, thanks to a very generous Xmas gift from the in-laws.

Lorac Box Office Sensation (US$56) - choice between this and the Tarte Jewelry Box

Tarte Jewelry Box (US$52)

- still 50/50 on it as the Tarte e/s are full-sized and has 5 mini-eye liners
- lack of blusher and ugly packaging for Tarte palette deciding factor
- have never tried Tarte or Lorac though so it's somewhat of a toss up

Urban Decay Naked Palette (US$44)

- no intro necessary
- finally!

Xmas was great, we had company over .. hosted our first Xmas dinner including baking a turkey, homemade mash like MIL makes it etc and everything turned out great. As for gifts husband really hit it out of the ballpark. My favorite item was the card he selected, it was pretty cheesy but really touching and I will treasure that forever :D Inside was also a RM100 MAC gift certificate which I promptly used the next weekend to purchase a lip liner (Dervish) and a replacement powerpoint (Engraved).

He also got me a Jaime Oliver cookbook as this will be part of my 'job description' for 2011 :D My new hobby is collecting recipe books - and well cooking things! I've had so much fun the past week trying out new dishes.

Major Malfunction!

2010-12-21T15:23:00.003+08:00

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

2010-12-21T14:35:00.004+08:00

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

2010-12-11T16:50:00.016+08:00

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

2010-12-09T21:51:00.006+08:00

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

2010-12-06T10:20:00.010+08:00

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

2010-12-03T15:14:00.003+08:00

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

2010-12-01T09:20:00.001+08:00

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

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
Caravan Master - win 30 games of caravan -- ok if you like Caravan
Artful Pocketer - pickpocket 50 pockets -- had to use an exploit with Sarah at Vault 21

Good

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

Bad

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

Non-no November 2010 Mook Magazine

2010-11-27T16:27:00.011+08:00

November 2010 issue of Non-no magazine
includes the To B by Agnes B tote bag.
Price: RM 36

I love my husband! He indulges me in my girliness - and extreme indecisiveness. I would not have gotten this if he didn't march me back into Kinokuniya insisting that he would find this magazine for me (repeating nonno in an exaggerated Texan accent). We had already bought a bunch of books but on the way out towards the escalators passed the display a 2nd time ... where again I mulled over it! He even paid for this silly girly magazine.

The bag was well protected as it was inserted between a thick cardboard layer inside the thick magazine. Despite that not much creasing once removed out of the box, these pictures were right after I unboxed it the first time.

No flash - flat

With flash - with books

It is very sturdy and can be filled with quite a bit of items. The Non-no magazine fits sideways with room to spare - dimensions are 28cm x 45.5cm x 11.5cm.

It's got canvas-ish upper with plastic lining. The lining has a tacky-sticky feel with no weird plasticky smell - pretty much like Longhamp interior. It has short canvas handles. There is no zipper or clasp so it's a perfect beach or book bag.

The funniest thing today? I never knew Kinokuniya had a whole other huge section behind the graphic novels. Kinokuniya has one of the best selections of graphic novels so I've been there many times over the years but never spotted saw that doorway. I totally thought the one near the travel books was the location of the mooks! Once you went through that little doorway it was like walking through the wardrobe doors into Narnia. That was such a magical discovery! More mooks for me!!!!

Should have bought the Steady December 2010 issue as well. That includes a very classic black Agnes B tote along with a bag hanger. Perhaps in mid-December if it's still available. Have heard that it is flying off the shelves in Singapore!

FOTD

Extreme fallout. Tried to use a bit of Uzi but glitter went everywhere. Guess anything with glitter in the UD BoSIII that has to be skipped (and wasted).

- UD BoSIII Haight, Perversion, Uzi
- NYX Aloha
- MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
- Revlon Grow Luscious mascara (lil clumpy)
- Lens: GEO Angel brown

Revlon Haul - Beyond Natural + Grow Luscious

2010-11-26T20:48:00.010+08:00

A small Revlon haul from Watson's last Friday.

The new mascara Grow Luscious claims to make lashes grow stronger.

Picked it up on a whim as I somewhat fell for the free gift - other item was over RM60, so well you know the spin. Mascara was priced at RM29.80 (sale price).

This was the main purchase - Revlon Beyond Natural 2-Way Foundation. Price RM 61.90 during sales (regular RM69.90).

With a purchase of over RM80 free gift of pouch and eye shadow - but one of the purchases needs to be the Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara. It includes a pouch and eye shadow. The pouch is quite pretty, quilted, black and solid feeling. It's got a little mirror inside and comfortably fits the foundation above, lipstick, lipgloss and even pencils (at once!).

The eye shadow on the other hand is a disappointment. The poster features a wonderful blue and green color but this skin-toned beige was the only one available. The very helpful SA there in Watson's Sunway Pyramid went through about 10 of them trying to look for something different but they were all the same color.

Maybe it can be used it as a base or highlighter? Looks very skin-toned and chalky to me. It's usually priced at RM30+.

Still evaluating the mascara and foundation, do check back for a review post in a few weeks.

Primer Showdown: Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel Vs Loreal Studio Secrets

2010-11-21T10:42:00.013+08:00

I've had a few weeks to evaluate these two primers from the last sgdrugstore haul so here's the verdict. The plan was to do this evaluation at the end of October so sorry for the delay.

First up some details about each product.

Loreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base

Ingredients: G788656, cyclohexasiloxane, dimethicone, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, silica, acrylates copolymer, disodium stearoyl glutamate, aluminium hydroxide, (may contain CI77891 titanium dioxide, CI77491 iron oxides)

Price: US $10.36 (RM50.04 spree)

Content: 0.5 fl oz (15ml)

Back of Box

Side of box

Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel
Ingredients: Dimethicone (1.2%), inactive ingredients - cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, silica, tocopheryl acetate, trisiloxane.
Price: US$ 7.99 (RM33.79 spree)
Content: 1.5 oz (42g)

I was a little skeptical about the usage of Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel as a makeup primer because as we all know that that is not its intended use. Somehow makeup artists and beauty bloggers found out that the ingredients are exactly the same as the Smashbox face primer, but so much cheaper and as such a dupe is born. I do not have experience with Smashbox primers so am unable to offer any sort of comparison but Connie of Skin Deco recently did a great post about this, so check it out for more information.

The Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel is as it's name suggests a gel and is easily squeezed out of the tube. Not much product is needed for a full face application.

For the Loreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base it needs to be scooped out with fingers or with the use of a spatula - like the one that came with the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch.

Comparison out of tube/pot

L: Monistat, R: Loreal

I did plan on doing a real world test section showing comparison on the face between the primers but it was not noticeable in the pictures so we shall have to skip that.

My favorite out of the two is the Loreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base. It has a nice creamy-mousse texture which is very similar to Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch. It is not as thick or fills in lines as Clarins but it feels pretty much the same on the skin. It goes on smooth, feels great and has no discernable scent. It is also about half the price of Clarins (approx RM100 and price keeps increasing).

Although if you're looking for the effect as a primer the Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel wins hands down. Post makeup application it just looks fresh somehow. It is extremely cheap at 1/3rd the price of the Smashbox equivalent. A tube will last ages as not much is needed for one application.

Unfortunately I cannot overlook how it makes my skin feel. It's as if I have a mask on and it leaves a strange oily feeling on the face - but not actual oiliness on skin (so weird). I'm not a fan of feeling layers on my skin as if it does not belong on my face. Perhaps my skin doesn't breathe so well with it on.

Both seem to last for the day and are good bases to help with makeup application. Do keep in mind that my skin is not very oily so these possibly have not been tested to their limits.

Tip - For the Monistat gel, please give your brow area a wide berth. For my brows I use the Shu Uemura Hard 9 brow pencil where the color only comes out against hair/brows, and it was a little tough to get them done.

Products were purchased from drugstore.com through sgdrugstore spree.

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Soft Nude (070)

2010-11-20T09:14:00.002+08:00

Revlon Color Burst Lipstick in 070 Soft Nude

Swatch - outdoors, no flash, in the car

On lips - indoors, facing natural light no flash

Don't let the name 'Soft Nude' scare you. It's a perfect peachy-natural lip color that does not look washed out against Asian skin. It looks really nice with a smidge of lip gloss.

J said that it reminded him of 70s fashion, whatever that means :D Picked this up on a whim at Watson's on Wednesday - while stocking up on Biore Cleansing Oil and Wipes (total HG both of them). It was a toss up between Soft Nude and Mauve although now I'm still thinking of the Mauve and will probably pick it up when we hit the mall next.

No full face picture as I'm still sick .. a total of 1.5 months and counting ... feeling pretty crummy all the time.

Revlon ColorBurst is priced at RM 32.90 (sales) and RM39 (regular price).

Previously - Revlon ColorBurst in True Red

False Lashes - Ardell Fairies

2010-11-19T09:04:00.022+08:00

This is one of the Ardell falsies from the haul earlier this month. The Ardell Invisiband Fairies.

(Source - Ardell)

As the name suggests the band is completely invisible. I loved this as for a semi-newbie to false lashes - especially application thanks to being such a klutz - the invisible band makes things so much easier.

Very subtle and natural.

Ignore da brows, please. Tq.

Everyone at the family lunch complimented me on the eye makeup - even though the color combination was quite boring and smudged to oblivion. I'm always running late and have to rush! The eyes 'popped' thanks to the falsies.

Lenses - GEO Angel Brown

Eyes - UD BOS3 Snatch + NYX Aloha + MAC Carbon

Ardell lashes were purchased for RM15 from CosmoCrazeWoman (blog). They are also available at Sasa but with a minimal selection for approximately RM23+.

Weekend FOTD - BoS III

2010-11-15T12:05:00.002+08:00

Third post in the row for today! Guess am making up for the hiatus :D

As the husband had an event all day on Saturday decided to head to the parents place for mom's cooking - and a bit of shopping afterwards.

Simple FOTD

Smiiiizzze!

I am loving the Urban Decay Book Of Shadows III, it's been in heavy rotation these couple of weeks although I tend to alternate between the same few non-glitterbomb shades.

Money + Kush with a tiny bit of Loaded

Loaded is a actually a very deep dark green.

While taking these pics in the entertainment room - while watching Star Trek on HBO HD (love it! need B.yond now) - my sis walked by and said "What are you doing?" laughing all along of course. As in why are you so vain wtf.

Quickly said that I was testing out features on my camera!!! Don't know why I need to lie but maybe it's an Asian thing. Like people will think why do you need to be so vain do you actually think you're so beautiful, why are you so big headed. Kind of like a modesty shame thing. It's not something I can explain apparently. Think if you're Asian you'll sorta know what I mean ;)

Anyway felt ashamed that I'm *such* a cam 'ho that I only took 10 pictures - all of iffy quality with no close up of the look :( It was unfortunate as I loved how it turned out and am starting to dig the dark hair :D

Previous looks with BoSIII

1. Neutral/Browns (Suspect, Snatch, Haight, Radium)

2. Pinks (Bordello, Psychedelic Sister, Last Call, Rockstar)

P.S - If I was skinny beautiful, wouldn't feel too shamed by that. Quite sad eh?

GEO CK-107

2010-11-15T11:10:00.003+08:00

Out of all the circle lenses I've tried, my favorite has been the GEO Angel Brown. I've discovered my preference for a more natural look and so this time around decided to try out black lenses - the GEO CK-107.

GEO CK-107 Black

Base Curve (BC): 8.60

Diameter (DIA): 14.0

(source - Geo Medical website)

No flash - facing natural light/window, morning

Flash - indoors, quite overcast

Full face - No flash - facing natural light .. slap dash morning work makeup

Very alien-like. This pic was the morning after dying hair black, the day I lost my mojo :D

Flash - indoors, overcast .. post-work sweaty + hair everywhere!

The flush? Shu Uemura Blush Tint, it lasts awesomely.

Personally did not like these as they had a strange look as if my pupils were extra dilated. These will not be a repurchase. Neither will I wear them as often as GEO Angel Brown. Now on the lookout for another brown lens.

Lenses were purchased from Momolens.net for RM35 with free Pos Ekspres shipping within Malaysia. It was shipped on Thursday and arrived on Monday.

Monsters

2010-11-15T09:27:00.003+08:00

Sorry for not blogging anything interesting in awhile. I have been sick all of October and now into November as well. Been on 3 rounds of antibiotics which is a major no-no ... even then I have not kicked this 100%. If it keeps going for another 3 days have to head back to the doctor and go on a 1-month treatment. It's possibly bronchitis so nothing too serious though it is very annoying with all the off-on sniffles, coughs and general tiredness. Major blahs.

Second thing is knowing that monster still reads here to 'check up' on me. That pretty much disturbs me. Makes me not want to blog much imo.

Monster: Yaaaargh! I found your blog, I will proceed to devour it once a week! Your feelings? Who cares about such things I'm a monstaaaaah.

He 'gets off' on all this sharing. He 'gets off' on hurting and laughing at me. He 'gets off' on violating and forcing his presence on me - he very well knows just how disgusting I find this behaviour, no matter how many times I have told him to stop - each time with promises that he will be an adult but it never ever happens for 7+ years. I can imagine his excitement at being able to find me after a 2-3 year drought there where I managed to escape and live in peace.

Do I really need to contact his wife by this point? Honestly what does he think, he can explain it away? That oh there's a 'crazy' ex-gf from years ago ha ha she's so crazy - but how am I crazy when I'm not the one that seeks him out?! He's the one that keeps Googling tiny morsels of information every week for any glimmer of me he can find - old usernames, my name, whatever else .. then immediately pounce once he finds that.

Crazy behaviour that. You. Not me.

To think he cannot fathom why I hate him even more today than I ever did when we broke up. He is 40 and still behaves like this. On top of that a mere few months after being married. Shameful. He is a pit full of lies and deceit at every turn. His words are worthless and mean nothing.

Revlon Colorsilk in 11 Soft Black

2010-11-09T10:03:00.004+08:00

I went all out and did the jet black. Wise decision? Probably not.

Revlon Colorsilk in 11 Soft Black

Expected results - all 3 on the right look the same, basically as black as you can get

Before - flash incandescent light, was around 8:30-9pm

This was the result from Orange to Revlon Colorsilk 33 Dark Soft Brown on Friday.

After - no flash, natural light (but blurry shot)

After - flash, very 'flattering' flourescent light at office

Looks so damaged! Dying hair twice in less than 3 days is possibly not recommended.

After - flash, 'flattering' office light

It is dark dark dark. J likes it very much. As for me, not sure I like it yet. Feel like I lost my mojo or something :( No idea how to do my makeup either hence the awesome pink starred face.

Colorsilk was again a winner. It did stink a little compared to the previous one but nothing noticeable. I will say that dark(er) dyes are a total pain.

Tip - With any dark hair dye please apply Vaseline liberally all along hairline, shoulders and wherever your hair may come into contact with skin. It will stain your skin easily. I did my darnest to scrub them off with soap + tissues after application and got most of it out but it was not fun. If I had spent the 2-3 minutes to apply Vaseline would not have to worry about that.

Important - Like any other hair dye it is important to do a 48-hour skin test, so be sure to read the instructions and follow them carefully.

Jet Black Hair - Yay or Nay?

2010-11-08T13:38:00.008+08:00

Last Friday I dyed my hair from the garish 'orang utan'-esque hair to a more human-like medium brown using Revlon Colorsilk 33 Dark Soft Brown. It ended up very similar to my natural hair color. A tad darker with streaks of brown and looks quite good overall. See the post below or click here to read about it - includes pictures of before/after.

Now I'm itching to completely burn that ~~auburn~~ orange hair out of my mind by going completely black!

Latest hair inspiration is the always lovely Kristin Kreuk.

Her hair is not completely jet black as it has slight highlights but that's not something that can be achieved with a boxed dye from the drugstore. I'm not willing to go to a salon just yet especially as the orange hair came from a salon and past experiences have not been good with snootier salons that try to force things on you.

After doing research on the Web about what the best black hair dye would be .. these were the options.

Loreal Feria Starry Night, Loreal Feria Black Leather

Garnier Nutrisse Soft Black/Black Tea, Garnier Nutrisse Black Licorice

Of course found none of them in the store ... so went with this instead.

Revlon Colorsilk in 11 Soft Black

RM21.90 @ Guardian

Speaking of which the whole Garnier range was completely different from what was found on the web. They must have a whole different range just for Asia? The darkest black for Garnier Nutrisse was 'Ebony' but the pictures on the box of Garnier looked sorta cartoony and the before/after range wasn't very helpful. It was cheaper RM19.88 but in the end had to go with what worked for me.

Feel like I am being completely impulsive as I want to do it immediately. Tonight!

So .. poll time ... Jet Black Hair?

(a) Yes - do it! tonight!

(b) Yes - but wait two weeks

Revlon Colorsilk in 33 Dark Soft Brown

2010-11-05T20:05:00.015+08:00

I had touched up my hair color in mid-October a little more than 2 weeks ago. The lady at the salon tends to re-color the whole head focusing on the roots. The last two times decided to be un-boring so tried a new color but each time they both ended up really light and very auburn.

Thought I could live with it until the next appointment in about 4 weeks but last week my sister mentioned that it looked real bad and since then it has bugged me so much! Honestly didn't think it looked that bad as in the picture above. Total ugh.

Today while out on an epic shopping trip with my mom, sister and husband at MidValley picked up the Revlon Colorsilk in 33 Dark Soft Brown at Watson's for RM21.90.

Description from box -
Revlon Colorsilk gives you natural-looking, even color from root to tip that stays beautiful between colorings. It is formulated to penetrate every strand with its gentle, ammonia-free formula and after-color conditioner with nourishing silk proteins. Hair looks silkier, shinier and healthier than before you colored. 100% gray coverage. Leaves hair in better condition. Available in a range of 40 brilliant shades. Colorsilk permanent haircolor can be used on natural, color-treated, relaxed or permed hair

Revlon Colorsilk is an ammonia-free formula. It contains the same items as most hair dye kits - ammonia-free colorant, cream color developer, nourishing after-care conditioner with detailed instructions and disposable gloves.

An estimation of the results according to your hair color with this box of 33 Dark Soft Brown. Guess-timating mine to be like #2.

Follow the instructions - mix colorant and developer, shake well, wear gloves etc The best tip about dying hair is to apply Vaseline all around hairline on face and neck. Wear an old t-shirt and have a few old towels handy.

During dye process. Sexxxay.

For re-coloring of the whole head it needs to be left in for 25 minutes. If there are stubborn greys an extra 5 minutes. Lighter shades may take up to 45 minutes total. There are also additional instructions for touching up color.

You may need 2 boxes for hair longer than shoulder-length. I should have done this as the hair didn't feel 'wet' enough all through from root to tip. The end result shows this mistake.

Once done rinse through until water runs clear. Your hair will feel like it's completely fried and really rough at the end of this. Don't worry! Apply the conditioner in the little packet - which will not tear off at the tab so have a pair of scissors handy. Wait 2 minutes and just like magic it's all smooth.

After - hair towel-dried, still damp

Don't have a real after picture as once hair dried it was after dark with no natural light. (see end of post for updated pictures). The color looks very even and is a marked improvement from the before picture.

The husband loves it as he likes dark asian hair! I just think that lighter hair looks a tad unique and makes me look a wee bit younger ;) Whatever the case it's a nice change up for now. A perfect reset to zero as this is quite close to my natural hair color.

The best part about Revlon Colorsilk is that it doesn't stink! As it doesn't have ammonia it does not smell at all. I have previously used Loreal Feria and Garnier Nutrisse, these have made the whole room smell really bad like ... uh ... cat pee. It was also very gentle on the skin, no stinging or burning feeling.

Pros

ammonia-free
no smell at all
really gentle on skin and hair
cheap! RM21.90, others are over RM30
magical conditioner

Cons - nothing really serious imo

cheap gloves, attached flat to instructions
conditioner pack will not tear easily, need to fumble with scissors

In addition to the regular Revlon Colorsilk there is a new range called Revlon Colorsilk Luminista. The box is somewhat similar except with the addition of the words "Luminista".

Description -
Revlon Colorsilk Luminista saturates dark hair with vibrant, shimmering color while subduing unwanted brassiness. This gentle, ammonia-free formula contains shine-enhancing mango butter and leaves hair in better condition than before you colored. And with its extra-creamy, moisturizing after-color conditioner, hair looks healthy and bouncy – not flat, frizzy or dull. 100% gray coverage.

It was not available at Watson's MidValley or I would have tried it out instead. As it is very new it is available in few drugstore outlets for now. Priced the same as regular Revlon Colorsilk.

Note - it is very important to do a 48-hour skin test before using any hair dye as serious allergic reactions may happen even if you have used hair dye before.

Update - more pics

Day after, natural light.

Coverage is not 100% especially at ends. Should definitely concentrate more on ends and/or get a 2nd box. At least it looks somewhat natural compared to the 'eye-catching' auburn (ick). I plan on getting one of the black shades (11 Soft Black) in a couple of weeks to go darker.

From this on Friday morning

To this on Saturday morning

Such a different look! Changed the hair part that morning to try something different but it's back to the usual now since it looked very odd. Excuse the morning bloat and stressed out look - last week was majorly stressful for both of us .. great stuff all around.

The color does make it look like I aged a couple of years, or a decade .. fml.

Disclaimer - This post is not an ad for Revlon or Revlon Colorsilk but is merely a reaction to the hatred felt for the now expunged orange hair. Thanks.

Shu Uemura + Aya Takano Miracle Cherry Blush Tint

2010-11-01T14:10:00.005+08:00

The only item I purchased from the Shu Uemura + Aya Takano Abracadabra Fantasy Holiday Collection is the Miracle Cherry Blush Tint.

The cute illustration of the girl on the box, flattened out. It's also wrapped around the tube.

Swatch, unblended - no flash (L) vs flash (R)

Swatch, unblended - with flash, bad picture but to show how much product used so the picture after it will make sense ;D

Swatch, blended - no flash, natural light

Back of box - with details, ingredients etc.

Available at all Shu Uemura boutiques while stocks last. Retails for RM90.

Can't stop sniffing my hand now! This blush smells *so* good. Like I mentioned in the post over the weekend, it really does remind me of my childhood, scented erasers, bubblegum .. totally cutesy stuff.

Oh do keep in mind that a little goes a long way with this product, the amount squeezed above in the swatch was a little too much as you can see.

Skipped the Reindeer Kiss xxxxx palette since I could not justify the price of RM198. It only contains 3 eyeshadows, 1 blush, 1 cream eyeshadow/eyeliner and 1 cream highlighter. I'd much rather get the Urban Decay Naked Palette :D The colors are so pretty though .... sigh .. need a sponsor ...

(source)

As my sister wanted to pick up the blush herself tomorrow, I couldn't very well walk out of the store with only one item right? :D As such I bought the Shu Uemura drawing pencil in ME 02 Brown.

The Shu Uemura Drawing Pencils are priced at RM65. There are two different brown eye liners - one metallic (ME 02 brown) and matte (M 02 brown). The matte was very similar to the MAC Stubborn Brown Powerpoint so chose the metallic ME 02 brown as I wanted to try something different.

The drawing pencils are very smooth. This is my first Shu eye pencil so will need to use it for a little while longer. I have always stuck by MAC ones - for no real reason except they were the first non-drugstore brand I tried and they worked well so no reason to change. The eye pencils from the Aya Takano collection were available but as they were auto-pencils was not interested.

Also swatched the ME-11 B-Gold (not the pic above) and it looked great. It's not gold gold, really pretty and unique so of course now I am thinking about getting it too .. ruh roh :)

Do remember that if you are a Citibank cardholder you can convert your points to cash at all Shu Uemura boutiques. Instant Citi Rewards where 180 points = RM1. The SA was busy on the phone today so I did not want to press about the points when she immediately took the card and swiped, while still on the phone. She's a great SA/MUA and very helpful but very busy as people were calling up to ask about products. Perhaps let them know about it beforehand if you want to use your points so there will be no mixups.

Falsies Haul + Shu Abracadabra Fantasy coming soon!

2010-10-30T21:33:00.016+08:00

I'm on a false lashes kick lately. At the moment it is mostly acquiring them rather than putting them on! This post by Beauty Scribbler really inspired me to start using falsies. Immediately grabbed those Taiwan handmade falsies last week.

There was a time when I was really interested in Shu Uemura lashes but seeing as how I'm a fairly boring individual that barely goes out to night events, there was no point to such dramatic falsies. I never felt comfortable with them on and always worried I would look too freaky or they would fall off. One of the first horror stories about falsies was from my mom when she was on one of the first dates with my dad. How she got all dolled up including wearing false lashes for the first time, and they ended up on her cheek during dinner!

Since starting this blog I've felt like trying different things. No point putting yourself in a pigeon-hole, using one safe look and not trying something because you think it might be too young/old or think about what people might say. Plus practice really does make perfect.

Especially with falsies.

Ardell Wispies

Ardell Fairies

Daiso Individual 8mm

The Ardell lashes were purchased through a forumer at RM15 each. They are also sold for about RM22 in Sasa but only available in a few styles.

Daiso falsies and dark glue were RM5 each. They do have quite a huge selection of lashes but the quality isn't like the handmade lashes. The ones bought previously were very plasticky and scratchy. For RM5 it's good for experimentation.

I'll use these lashes in a look sometime. Very blah makeup mood these couple of days :( So much drama ....

Also went on a hunt for lash glue. Had decided on the the Koji Dolly Wink Lash Fix. It is priced at RM45.90 and available at Sasa 1 Utama (old wing) but not at Sasa Selective, Empire Subang.

In the end passed on it for the Shu Uemura lash adhesive partly because of the price. The nifty applicator was a good selling point but as there are not many reviews out about this product am unsure about going with something that may irritate the eyes. I have had great experience using the Shu lash adhesive so not point messing with something that's not broken. From online reviews have heard that Shu is the least reactive/irritating to the eyes and easy to remove. Shu Uemura Lash Adhesive retails for RM38 at all Shu Uemura counters and stores.

Gosh sound like such a fangirl ... just love their products though :D I probably don't spend as much as some other Shu fans though ...

Of course I've yet to try Duo glue yet. It's like the HG lash glue for almost everyone. Will give it a try with the next spree or when I head to the MAC store next Friday.

Ooh big news managed to check out the Shu Uemura + Aya Takano Abracadabra Fantasy Collection at 1 Utama on Friday evening. It will only go on sale Monday, 1 November and is Limited Edition. I had checked a day earlier at the Shu store in Empire Subang and items were in store but not available for sale yet. So we were lucky to be able to see them in person at 1U. We weren't allowed to swatch the palettes but were allowed to test the Miracle Cherry Blush Tint.

(source)

My sister and I fell in love with it immediately. The color on the skin, how little product is needed ... omg. It's kind of like Origins Pinch Your Cheeks (not available in Asia anymore .. sniff) but more translucent red, much more melty smooth. Come Monday morning, I'm going to grab one for each of us.

The smell was divine! It reminded me of bubblegum, scented erasers and inexplicably reminded me of my childhood. Priced at RM90.

The palettes - Reindeer Kiss and Bowwow!Magic Queen - were priced at RM198. Did not check out the other items as I was not interested in them and by then a crowd had gathered. Hope I manage to get there early on Monday to get those cheek tints. Am so in love with them. They need to be permanent!

Bioware Store - Mass Effect T-Shirts

2010-10-28T10:45:00.007+08:00

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll usually find me tweeting about things I've purchased online - usually how I'm waiting for them to arrive, fingers crossed that they don't get lost in the mail. I'm paranoid and pessimistic like that but then having been burned so many times by our lovely postal service you can't quite blame me.

A couple of weeks ago I finished Mass Effect 2 on Insanity to complete the final achievement - 59/59, 1255 points including all DLCs to date. It was a little tough as my character was an Adept which is one of the toughest builds to play on Insanity. So played the game like mad for about a week & a half on my 2nd playthrough specifically to get this achievement. Poor J has had to put up with my video game obsession. It was so bad that once done completely burned out on video games for over a week until Fallout New Vegas showed up.

So somehow at that time off the high of that I stumbled across the Bioware Store and just knew that I wanted to get a Mass Effect t-shirt. I don't usually wear t-shirts because I cannot pull it off with my body type. You know girls everywhere that can rock a tank top/t-shirt + jeans/shorts? Yeah I envy them so much.

Geekdom knows no bounds though so I thought they could be worn around the house. Or if I somehow miraculously lose the weight to get to perfect 'euro waif' proportions then I'd wear them out. Great logic huh?

I chose these two shirts - pics credit to Bioware Store.

N7 Logo Ladies Shirt - Pink - (US$12)

(stock pic)

Come on .. did you think I would skip the only t-shirt they had in pink? :D I might be geeky but I love pink now - thanks to J who always makes me feel girly and feminine.

Shepard's Favorite Ladies Shirt - (US$24)

(stock pic)

Chose this mostly because I loved the N7 on the back (shown below), but the slogan is a super cool inside joke only Mass Effect freaks would get ...

(stock pic)

I went with size XL because well I am XL. Went off from a Threadless t-shirt I had which had the approximate dimensions. According to the Bioware Store size chart an XL is 18.5" width and 27.25" length.

Real model time! First up I admit that I am not a model and am so not good at cam'ho-ing. These full body pics had to be done through the mirror and are suitably blurry. These were the least blurry ones .. gawd, why can't i figure out this camera.

The length of both t-shirts is perfect. It is quite long and covers well, so when you bend over or reach up it doesn't show your midsection or other bits like your g-string.

They fit perfectly. Better than the Threadless t-shirts. I'm gonna talk about my bust size right now so if you want to skip this paragraph go ahead. I am a 36DD and XL fit right. Not too baggy but not straining trying to burst out. It fit right. That's also with extra poundage to lose.

Although with the black shirt if you wear a nude bra and take a pic with flash, you can sort of see through the t-shirt. Some of the pics for the Shu Uemura Abracadabra Fantasy Look on Friday ended up like that. Do not recommend wearing this with anything but a black bra.

The quality of the t-shirts is okay. They're very soft. Held up to washing okay but don't throw them in the dryer as it is preferable to hang them up to dry. The pink one feels a little thin and you can sort of see your bra (black) through the cloth if you look closely - not in the pics here, don't be a perv ;) That's possibly why the pink N7 t-shirt was cheaper at US$12.

Unfortunately because of our 'lovely' postal service shipping was US$30 for Priority. First Class would have been half the price but no tracking. As such each t-shirt cost RM20 extra each, approximately RM90. But trust me if you ship t-shirts or clothing, make sure there is tracking as they have a tendency to just disappear. Someone out there is wearing countless t-shirts, vintage slips and swimsuits - all on my dime.

I don't regret paying that little extra as even with priority the tracking was uber glitchy. When it arrives in Malaysia it will be taken in as a Pos Laju package so you can track through their tracking system. First it said they had attempted to deliver which was total b*llsh*t as there is always someone in the office. Later that evening it switched to pickup from counter. Okay I have to admit that I was over-excited about getting the t-shirts and worried too so the first thing next morning I went to the counter. The package had only arrived there that morning! Amazing stuff. At least the lady there was nice, told me to wait for about half an hour so they could sort through things and process the package.

So if you're into Bioware games like Mass Effect or Dragon Age, check out the Bioware Store! Besides t-shirts other merchandise is available as well.

By the way the Bioware Store is run by a 3rd party - Treehouse Brands - but that was no issue as the order and shipment went smoothly. Although for the customs form they overstated the value of products at US$96, with postal fee $25.18. Why did they do so when the t-shirts were only $42? No idea. The problem with that is that customs will stop anything over a value of RM300 or RM500. Even if it is not above that when proven with the invoice, you still have to make a long trek to the KLIA customs office. It would be a good 2 hour drive just to pick up your package, a total waste of money (petrol, toll) and time.

Some failed attempts at cam 'ho / selca - as I am too old to be that sorta cute imo

Whazzzat???

Awww .. yeah ... (Futurama URL)

Crazeee 4 dees gamez

I am not a 'gamer girl'. Trust.

Note - all items paid for by myself, this is not an advertisment but a review just for sh*t & giggles as a fan of Mass Effect - marginally a fan of Dragon Age, and previously NWN & SW:KOTOR as well.

For reference model is 5'5", Size 10-12 US (14-16UK) and 50lbs overweight. Girly XL fits nice - not tight, not baggy, great length.

Shu Uemura Abracadabra Fantasy Inspired Look

2010-10-23T22:23:00.008+08:00

Posted a teaser for this look late yesterday evening as I wanted to end the day on a high note.

The poster of the Shu Uemura + Aya Takano Abracadabra Fantasy Collection

My interpretation of the look - model on right

(same pic as yesterday's post - flash)

For the eye products used
- MAC Painterly Pot for base
- JEP Milk
- NYX Aloha
- Urban Decay Uzi
- NYX Irises
- MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
- Taiwan Handmade Falsies #198
- Lancome Hypnose mascara in Black

(no flash)

To be honest it looks quite bad when the eyes are closed because of my lack of skills at putting on falsies. The left eye was so messed up. Truly the look would have been better without falsies. But then it is all about practice isn't it?

Speaking of falsies, I need your help guys ... what eyelash glue is best? Preferably one available locally so it can be bought this weekend. The Shu lash glue is all congealed from lack of use. Thanks!

Unfortunately out of those 150 pics taken, most were unusable. It did not help that I started at 9:30pm and had to leave by 10pm to go pick the husband up from his guy's night out. No natural light for pictures either so tons of ugly pictures with bad light. Will work on pictures.

Still had fun doing the look! It's good to try new things and experiment. The husband said the look was very sci-fi - guess because of all the blue and the color on top of the brows :D

The rest of the face most of the usual suspects

Brows - Shu Uemura Hard 9 pencil
Cheeks - Shu Uemura Glow On in M 30 Pink -- applied from temple in close 'C' under eye like in poster but did not show up in pics even though piled it on
Base - Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel
Foundation - Revlon Colorstay in Medium Beige
Lips - Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited + NYX lip gloss

I'm Commander Shepard and This is My Favorite Makeup Look on The Citadel

The camera angle making me look horribly ... disproportionate .... body not matching head. I took some other pictures making uber goofy faces and pointing to the slogan .. on my chest ... yeah, that wasn't the brightest of ideas at all.

A wee bit disappointed that the pictures did not turn out as I loved the look. The pictures do not do it justice and it's something I would wear out again - even the color on top of the brows. I'd ditch the falsies as there is no way I can make it as seamless as they did in the promo poster. Photoshop a part of it, perhaps? Without the falsies the eyeliner can also be thinned down so more of the blue would show as well.

Shu Uemura Abracadabra Fantasy - Inspired Look (Teaser)

2010-10-23T00:55:00.000+08:00

I am not going to let him win again by making me run away again. If he wants to spend his whole workday checking out my extremely girly blog, be disrespectful to me (7 years & running) and to his wife .. then so be it.

Enough of that stuff. Now onto more crazy things.

I've wanted to do the look from the Shu Uemura Abracadabra Fantasy poster ever since I saw it on Miu's blog a month ago.

It's the look on the right. This is what I came up with on Friday evening ...

Left eye wonky ... yeaaah

I even put a paper star on my head! Told ya this was a crazy post. Not quite the same as the poster but I'm happy with it as I pushed myself to do something different.

Took about 150 pictures but as it is 1am right now and have had a long day I'm not in the mood to edit pictures. Will update more tomorrow. Close ups of the eye area and detail on products used. Do check back if interested.

Drugstore Haul - Makeup Primer/Base

2010-10-22T21:38:00.001+08:00

Guess most have been bored with my last two posts which had nothing to do with makeup. I've been unwell with no mood to shop for what feels like forever - 3 whole weeks for most of October. FOR-EVAH! Don't worry as we're back to regular programming now ...

There will be a battle of drugstore primers! Dun dun dun!

Loreal Studio Secrets Secret No. 1 Magic Perfecting Base (15 ml/0.5 floz) - drugstore.com

Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel (42 g / 1.5 oz) - drugstore.com

I had heard great things about the Loreal Studio Secrets and the Monistat is a dupe for Smashbox at 1/3 the price so it's something everyone has got to try. I'll use these products alternating for about a week or two - so they can be evaluated fully, then will post up the findings.

For the record my HG primer/makeup base is Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch. Unfortunately it had run out about a month ago, hence the purchases, so am unable to do an ultimate comparison.

Before settling on Clarins, I had done extensive research about makeup primers. Shu Uemura, MAC, drugstore locally .. whatever. Nothing fills in fine lines and minor divots in the skin (i'd rather not call them 'h*les') as well as that did. I'm a worrier by nature and I am over 30 so these two vertical lines above the nose have been there since my late-20s. It's not too bad (yet) but one application with Clarins just fills them in and smooths them out. Ditto with the lines from the nose to the mouth - the technical term is nasolabial lines, had to Google it cos I'm not that smart :)

The only sort of downside to it is the price which is about RM90. The price typically keeps increasing. The little jar does last awhile for about 6 months since only a tiny spoonful from the spatula is needed for the whole face.

Also picked this up from drugstore.com for the spree

Crest Whitening Flouride Anticavity Toothpaste Plus Scope

You're thinking whoop-dee-doo big deal, it's toothpaste. Buuuuut it's got a flip top lid so that the toothpaste can be squeezed precisely onto the toothbrush. Do you remember back in the 90s when Crest came out with those pump bottle toothpastes? I loved them! Whenever we were in the US I had to grab one. Although it puzzles me why it never caught on. Who doesn't hate having to squeeze out toothpaste from the tube and having it get everywhere? Or having to do the roll to get to the final bits of toothpaste at the end of the tube? Seriously.

Gosh I'm writing a whole paragraph of nonsense about toothpaste! Buuuuuut the Crest toothpaste is awesome, totally minty fresh and one only needs to use a teensy bit. Of course it's like double the price of an equivalent-sized Colgate tube but I personally think it's so worth it.

Oral hygiene is important kids!

*this post was edited to change from AM to PM, so that it will be on top of that .. other .. drama-filled post.

Game Review - Alan Wake: "The Writer" - Special Episode 2 DLC

2010-10-20T10:11:00.008+08:00

The Writer is the 8th and final episode for Alan Wake. This essentially concludes 'Season One' of Alan Wake and sets the stage for Alan Wake 2.

Be warned there may be minor spoilers ahead.

The Writer continues from the end of the last episode The Signal. Alan awakens at the Cauldron Lake Lodge and after a big fight - to a warped rendition a favorite performance - must make a long journey to the lighthouse. While trying to reach it your eye will always be drawn to the lighthouse in the distance, and you really do want to try to make your way there as soon as possible!

Zane will make an appearance, in the Light with the Diver's suit, providing guidance through manuscript pages that assist Alan and help trigger memories. Alan is going insane and falling deeper into The Dark so Zane is trying to help him control his mind. Because of this the path is made up of twisted environments of familiar places like Stucky's Garage and Diver's Isle. I won't delve too much into the story as the game is better enjoyed when you play through an experience it yourself.

LIKED

Warped environment - It looked stunning from the first tornado section all the way to the end at Diver's Isle with the intricate windy path.
Good shocks - A few Taken jumping out of nowhere - without the 'slow-mo' sequence with the ominous sound to let you know they're coming for you.
Dark sewer section - It was short but it was total pitch black darkness. You'll see Taken run left and right out of the beam of your torch light, then just disappear. You just knew they and their buddies were gonna sneak up on you. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Shining light on words - To make a path from various items. It's been used a lot in the previous DLC but it's still pretty cool.
Final approach to lighthouse - using the sweeping light, timing and disintegrating rocks to kill Taken
Barry's back baby! - 'nuff said

DISLIKED

Spinning house sequence - it was very disorientating but that was probably the purpose. At the last door I would head the wrong way and then have to double back. I had to stop playing for the evening as it was too dizzying.
Not many Taken - as compared to The Signal where you felt completely overwhelmed.
Environmental hazards - use of the environment to kill Taken, easier fights
Boss fight - Anti-climactic since it's not as challenging.
Play time - felt somewhat short
Barry! - yeah love him and hate him ;D

There are Nine achievements added for a total of 250G points.

1. Whirlwind (20G)

- "Make your way past the tornado in under 60 seconds"

2. Ding (5G)

- "You took a little elevator ride"

-- automatic achievement

3. Heartbreaker (20G)

- "You heard what Alice had to say"

-- wait until the end of the whole reel and achievement pop up before leaving the room

4. Creative Space (25G)

- "Discover the secret area"

-- right after crossing over the airplane wings, head left towards the rocks there will be a path going downwards to a certain secret area

5. Go Gentle Into That Good Light (25G)

- "Make it through the approach to the lighthouse without firing a weapon"

6. Licensed Properties (30G)

- "Discover 10 Night Springs video games"

-- Hate collectibles! Especially as they aren't all in the way you're going, sometimes you have to double back to look for it specifically. At least on subsequent replays it does not reset to zero.

7. Iron Will (25G)

- "Survive the final encounter without being seriously hurt"

8. Kill Your Darlings (50G)

- "You put your imagination in its place"

-- automatic achievement at end game

9. No Punctuation (50G)

- "Complete the episode without reloading or restarting a checkpoint"

That brings the total achievements to 67/67 for 1,500 points.

The Writer was released on October 12th 2010 and is available for 560 points on Xbox Live.

Eeebuntu 4.0 Beta (Aurora) for Netbooks

2010-10-19T21:15:00.010+08:00

My trusty netbook, an Asus eeePC 900a has been going on strong since late 2008. J surprised me with it for Xmas with help from his dad to order it from Best Buy. Asus was the pioneer of netbooks and this was one of the first few that came out from late 2007-2008. The eeePC 900a is running with a measly 4GB memory - as in hard disk space (SSD), but with 1GB of RAM and a 1.6 GHz Atom processor.

J's Dell Mini 12 netbook bought in mid-2009 is running with the same amount of RAM and processor speed but it can't play Youtube videos without stuttering. It's gorgeous with a 12" screen and huge (comparatively lol) hard disk space but has so many little problems. Do not underestimate this little eeePC as it is is still a powerful machine despite its woeful amount of hard disk space. It's chugged along perfectly all this time without need to call tech support. The only issues with it is that the battery depletes fast (2+ hours), the battery sorta depletes on its own even unpowered and the left mouse button is sticky/broken.

The out-of-the-factory Xandros OS was only in use for a couple of weeks as I was always wanting more space. The eeePC was immediately supplemented with a "always-in" 8GB SD card which was okay to keep media and documents but I was still hungry for free space to keep everything super smooth. Xandros would take up to 3.5GB leaving less than 500MB of space.

After doing some research I settled on eeebuntu 3.0. There were 3 variations of eeebuntu - NBR, Standard and Base. NBR (Netbook Remix) would have a similar layout to the out-of-the-box Xandros OS (Simple desktop). Standard would look like a standard Windows desktop with taskbar, icons on desktop etc. Base would be like the name hints absolutely basic but look like Standard.

Each one had a different set of applications pre-installed and setup from install. I tried all 3 and in the end settled on Base. It had the minimal amount of pre-installed applications and after setup left over 1GB of space - even after installing some apps like Gimp, Irfanview, VLC and other essential things. You do need to play around a teensy bit to get some things working but it wasn't a big deal. I've been using eeebuntu 3.0 since then but decided to check out eeebuntu 4.0 beta.

How to install eeebuntu from a thumb drive

You need a thumb drive larger than 1GB. Make sure it is blank or contains no important data as it will be wiped clean through this process.
Get unetbootin. Windows version is preferable as I had a hard time trying to get the Unix one working on the eeePC. Just use it on another PC.
Get the .iso of the eeebuntu version - all versions here
Run unetbootin, select the .iso and then select the thumb drive. Let it run.
Once finished remove the thumb drive from the PC and plug it into your netbook.
When you hit the loading screen (Asus or whatever manufacturer), hit Esc.
Select to boot from the thumb drive.
The OS will load directly, live demo, you can play around and give it a try to see if you like it.
Once ready click on the 'Install EB4.0'. Follow the steps - select language, timezone, partition and other stuff like that
Wait for installation to finish approximately 15 minutes, reboot and voila you've got eeebuntu installed!

Of course the installation wasn't 100% seamless.

The first problem was 'grub install fail' at about 87%. To fix that right before confirming install at the last step, go into the 'Advanced' tab at the bottom right. Select dev/sda not dev/hd0 or dev/hda
After installation plugging in an external hard drive and not having permission to write. For that one had to go into terminal and install ntfs-3g (sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g). Fixed.
Earlier this evening some characters were switched around -- @ = " and # = something else. To fix this, I changed the keyboard layout to US -- even though it was specified in the install it did not take then.
As it's only been less than 24 hours since install, am sure will stumble across more little issues, if any will edit and add them at the end of the post.

Other than that (so far) everything works right out of the box compared to eeebuntu 3.0 base which needed some fiddling around to work perfectly. Eb 4.0 beta seems to run faster as well but that could be as it is a fresh install. Strangely it has more pre-installed apps though it doesn't quite cut too much into the amount of free space. Right now there's about 771MB of space which is less than what I'd like but have not yet started culling unused apps or clearing out space. May be able to get it up to about 900MB which is fine by me :)

This is my usual setup. Western Digital 320 GB External Hard Drive + X-Mini speaker + USB wireless mouse + 8GB SD card.

I don't do anything hardcore on this as it is supposed to be a netbook. I use it in bed to browse the net or watch shows off the hard drive. The X-Mini is a powerful little thing btw, totally recommended for netbooks. A somewhat odd use for the eeePC is while cooking - it's nice to leave in the kitchen to look up and follow recipes! It's also great to travel although I am a tad embarrased to pull out my obsolete netbook next to all those sexy shiny Dells and Acers.

It may be time to retire my relic of a netbook but I'm still in love with it as it keeps things simple. It's a netbook not a netbook trying to be a desktop. The eeePC was also J's present for our first Xmas so it's not something I can discard so easily because of the sentimental value. Perhaps he shall get me a new one this Xmas then? :D

The developers are gearing up for the full release of Aurora soon. Eeebuntu 4.0 beta is basically close to what Aurora will be perhaps without some of the final kinks. For now at the very least give the live demo a quick spin if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Taiwan Handmade False Lashes

2010-10-17T09:08:00.010+08:00

I've wanted to try using false lashes more often lately as am envious of everyone with their skills at putting on falsies daily :D Ordered these Taiwan handmade false eye lashes last week to get some practice in!

#198 - #007

Each pack has 10 pairs of lashes. RM8 for one pack.

Left - #198, Right - #007

These Taiwan lashes are advertised as being 'handmade'. Are they? Maybe as they are so much softer than other cheap falsies I've tried from Daiso or Face Shop. The 'bone' is very pliable and easy to shape around the eye. What I really mean about that is the bone isn't too stiff or pokey and absolutely does not feel like creepy insect legs :)

#198

The #198 went on smoothly, looks natural and covered up from up front although am not sure about the short-long effect its going for .. do i like it or hate it? Hmm ...

#007

The #007 was a beast to get on, alright just a little difficult. Had to trim off a bit at the edge then that part towards the center ended up strange - should have trimmed more. These lashes were more lush, in an even pattern.

Bottom up view, lil scary

Compared to Shu Uemura lashes, these ones while not as thick do feel similar to that in 'realness' or softness. Did I mention how much I love the bone part of these lashes? Other cheap lashes are so stiff and straight at that part making it hard to fit the natural curve of the eye.

Like all false eye lashes these do need to be trimmed at the edges to fit accordingly. They are a tad delicate when manipulated and may get bent out of shape especially at the edges but those parts are where you need to chop them off anyways.

Full face with me looking thrilled and including crazy hair - just got back from day out but wanted to try lashes immediately :D

I'm still a newbie at false lashes but have made it as mission to get it right so there will be lots of practice in the next few weeks. The left eye (#007) went on a little wonky which you might see in the pictures if you look closely.

These Taiwan Handmade False Eye Lash packs were priced at RM8 with 10 pairs in each box. Purchased from Kawaii-fullhouse.com (link). Items were ordered on Thursday, shipped on Friday and received on Saturday. Their website is a little messy and confusing but they reply to emails, keep you updated and shipping is fast within Malaysia.

Pros - so soft, easy to shape to place around eye, cheap (RM0.40 per lash)
Cons - may get bent out of shape, one time use

The transparent lashes and the Princess Lee ones are on my wishlist next. These RM8 packs were great to experiment as those are priced between RM25-50. There is a mix pack available, one pair of almost everything in the Taiwan range, for RM37 which is a great way to try them out. They also have Ardell lashes for RM18 a pair.

Eyes - UD BoSIII -- Suspect, Snatch, Haight, Radium .. smudged off so much tho
Lenses - Geo Angel Brown
Lash Glue - Shu Uemura
Images not manipulated besides cropping and addition of watermark, keepin' it real ;)

Longchamp Le Pliage Coin Purse in Bilberry

2010-10-11T21:35:00.004+08:00

I couldn't resist and had to get one of these! The Longchamp Le Pliage Coin Purse is tiny - 3" x 2.5" - but oh so cute with such a distinctive silhouette.

(no flash, looks almost black)

The flat bottom is stitched into a perfect shape making it sit really well.

(with flash, va va voom)

The fittings are gold with dark brown leather trim. The pull zipper is awesome as it is nicely sized and tapered, so when you grip it fits right to make it easier to pull.

Although Bilberry is a great color am glad I chose Navy for the Le Pliage bag. So in love with the Navy color Le Pliage, it goes perfectly with any outfit.

This was purchased through the same helpful 'personal shopper' in the UK. This time I opted for shared shipping instead of direct which saved only about RM20 from the price but it added a wait of about 2-4 weeks. She included free local shipping too so was a little surprised when it just turned up today. It's so nice to receive (sorta) unexpected packages in the mail.

It was priced reasonably and is about RM50+ less than the Longchamp boutique in KL. Retails for GBP20 in UK. Maybe for something so small it might not be worth saving that little but oh well I'm a cheapskate - in a way, I save up what was saved in that to spend on something else instead!

FOTD with Urban Decay Book of Shadows III

2010-10-10T17:47:00.011+08:00

FOTD for Sunday using the Urban Decay Book of Shadows III - check out the earlier reveal post with swatches and pictures. It's a little overdue as I haven't been feeling that great this past 2 weeks. Still sick with a bad cough on top of work stress so haven't really felt or looked good enough to take pictures.

Anyway instead of wallowing in my Hello Kitty jammies all weekend playing Mass Effect 2 decided to "blow the stink off" (as J would say). It's amazing how just putting on some makeup and dressing up to go out can brighten your day.

Eyes were done using the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol III. Eyelids primed with MAC Painterly Paint Pot. Bordello (1) was applied all over the lid but mostly on inner corner. Psychedelic Sister (2) patted on mid-outer lid. Then Last Call (3a) on the edge, outer-V and crease. It was deepened with Rockstar (3b). Should have put more Last Call, Rockstar to be more defined. I'm a little afraid of the outer-V section.

Shades used

Close up - know i don't have a cute nose :(

Eyeliner on the waterline and upper lid was 24/7 in Zero, smudged with Suspect (4) - can't really see it but just felt like it. MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack was applied on top of it all. Bottom waterline a smidge of the 24/7 eye pencil in Ransom to just give it a little purple to tie in with the upper lids.

Surprised face

Brow highlight - skipped Uzi (glitter!), used NYX JEP in Milk

Usual suspects -- Mascara - Maybelline Volumexpress in Very Black; Lipstick - Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in RD148; Blush - Benefit Posie-tint, Shu Uemura Glow-On Blush in M Pink; Concealer-Shu Uemura Mark Cealer for under eye area; Foundation- Revlon Color Stay in Medium Beige; Revlon Loose Powder; MAC Fix+; Brows - Shu Uemura Hard 9 in 05 Stone Grey; no makeup base as out of Clarins; moisturizer Neutrogena SPF15

Lenses - G&G BT03 Gray

Outfit of the day

Paired it with black heels and Le Pliage in Navy. Accessories was kept to a minimum, nothing except these cute pink chandelier Diva earrings I picked up on Friday.

I was glad to finally be rid of the 'swimsuit mark' that I had from swimming twice a day but it's back after running swim classes for a few weeks earlier this year. I kinda hate it as it will take forever to go away. Unless I go sunbathe nude somewhere so that everything will be even :o

The Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. 3 has been great so far. Must watch out for the glitter though. Used it all through the work week and by the end of the day there were always some sparkles here or there. This was the only combo that didn't leave any glitter on the face.

NYX Eye Shadows for October

2010-10-07T22:20:00.002+08:00

More NYX eye shadows you're thinking? Yes, although this will be the last batch for some time.

L-R: ES10 Champagne, ES116 Wild Fire, ES150A Utopia Gold, ES47 Kiwi, ES122 Morocco

(no flash, incandescent)

(flash)

(no flash, incandescent)

(flash)

Here are the swatches.

(no flash - incandescent)

(flash)

Although all the colors are gorgeous, Utopia Gold is the top runner. It may seem basic and boring as it looks mostly brown but you can see how it changes with the light. It's a fairly new shade.

NYX eye shadows were priced at RM13.37 through an online spree (sgdrugstore). These were ordered back in late August so it took some time to arrive.