BeautyAsia 2015

BeautyAsia is coming to Singapore over the next few days! I have missed out on the past few years due to work commitments and I finally get a chance to go this year. (happy dance!) It will be from 28 Jan to 30 Jan at Suntec Singapore Convention Centre Level 4, Halls 401-403. Timing is from 11am – 7pm and admission is free and open to trade professionals. Website is here for more information.

Some of the highlights include Eyelash Asia 2014 where there will be an eyelash competition going on. NailsAsia will also make an appearance with the 9th International Nail Art Competition and the theme will be “Blooming Nails”.

For me, I will be most keen on having a look at the Hakuhodo brushes 🙂 I know they have a permanent booth at Takashimaya Shopping Centre but here’s hoping that the booth at BeautyAsia will have a wider range or special sets on sale! Will it be too much to ask for slightly lower prices compared to the counter at Takashimaya? Hehe.

It is also a good time to buy some nail polishes too as they will be cheaper than retail, though stocks are usually for past seasons. Brands like Zoya, OPI, China Glaze should be making an appearance based on previous year’s details. So what are you waiting for? Do make some time and get down to BeautyAsia!

Let me end off with a picture of some of my precious Hakuhodo brushes. My favourites are the Kokutan range and the vermilion S range!

A shot of Jo Loves (verbose entry!)

A good fragrance transports you to another place, another time. It can be your first love, a holiday by the beach or a joyous occasion. I find that my fragrance preferences evolves over time. Fragrances that I purchased a couple of years ago do not attract me much now and scents that I shy away previously now intrigue me.

I got 2 items from Jo Loves last December – Bath Cologne Shot Box and Fragrance Shot Box. Going to quickly ramble about the cologne shot box. It comes in 3 x 14 ml bottles bearing the fragrances Pomelo, Pink Vetiver and No. 42 The Flower Shop. You are supposed to pour a few drops into a running bath and soak in it. But wait.. I don’t have a bath tub… Okay, so I made it work in another way. My mum has a huge basin to wash the clothes and so I run warm water into this basin and pour a few drops into the it. Voila, it works well and scents the entire bathroom when the water is hot. Well, I can still sit inside this basin.. my legs are sticking out though and only my butt is in. I will probably bring it along with me when I travel so I can enjoy a nice long soak. In the meantime, I shall be contented with the basin. No. 42 The Flower Shop has the strongest fragrance while Pink Vetiver and Pomelo are kind of light and more drops were needed.

I decided to do a little experiment on the fragrances. They are sample size but they don’t come cheap! I wore the fragrances only knowing the name of it and not knowing the ingredients in it. I wanted to know if my nose details the correct scent(s) or if the fragrances were different from what they actually are. I find that marketing materials sometimes skew our mindset towards a particular fragrance and I wanted to attempt to minimize this. In this way, I will actually figure out what I really like vs what I think I should like. Will be giving the description of the fragrances as per Jo Loves website and then give my thoughts on them and wrap it up with comments. You are going to be reading very very honest, straightforward comments which I penned down while on the go.

1. No. 42 The Flower Shop

JL: For flower lovers everywhere, a stunning bouquet of fresh fragrant blooms and crushed green leaves.

Fragrance Notes: Crushed Green Leaves, Peonies, Freesia, Moss

Me: Green opening notes, like when you cut a bunch of flowers. Green notes without the sharpness of something musky. I find that some fragrances have a green note than then you are hit with a sharp musk. That musk makes me sneeze, this doesn’t. The green does not intrude into your nostrils. About 1-2 hours later, it becomes a sweet note. Gentle and floral. By the 6th hour, can’t detect much unless I sniff the area that I applied the fragrance to directly.

Afterthoughts: I was spot on about the green-ness. I like this fragrance and I kinda of appreciate the green in it.

2. Shot of Thai Lime Over Mango

JL: Ripe golden mango is shot with kaffir lime and black pepper to create this sweet, sharp and zesty scent.

Fragrance Notes: Mango, Kaffir Lime, Black Pepper, Mint leaves, Vetiver

Me: Soft lime with hints of mango. Very fruity yet not too sweet. If this was food, I would have totally eaten it. A little while in, the lime disappears and the smell of ripe mango marches right in. Ends off smelling floral fruity.

Afterthoughts: I couldn’t detect the black pepper and vetiver at all! This was not bad, I was craving for mangoes while wearing this fragrance.

3. Gardenia

JL: Rich and identifiable, this fragrance perfectly captures Gardenia’s elegant floral character

Fragrance Notes: Gardenia Blossom, White Narcissus, Ylang Ylang

Me: 4 spritz of this but by 2 hours I could hardly detect it. It opens strongly – I sneezed, but fades quickly. Smooth scent but floral aspect is weak and dries down somewhat powdery. It is like walking in a field of gardenias, you get a whiff here and there but nothing very strong. Strangely, 5 hours in after lunch, I unexpectedly caught a whiff of the gardenia again and it smells stronger. It was after a short walk in the sun and I was sweating a little. Perhaps heat brings out the fragrance?

Afterthoughts: Not really strong enough for me to love it. It was just okay.

4. Green Orange and Coriander

JL: A blend of bitter green citrus and culinary herbs create an incredibly warm and soulful fragrance.

Fragrance Notes: Bitter Green Orange, Black Pepper, Oakmoss

Me: Very very green smell. Like cutting a coriander and crushing it. A little woody as well. Didn’t quite like it, thought it would be a little more uplifting rather than mellow. The woody notes surface after a couple of hours. I didn’t enjoy this, too sombre for me.

Afterthoughts: Once again, I didn’t catch whiff of the pepper notes. Yes, it was rather bitter..

5. Pink Vetiver

JL: Instantly addictive, the combination of pink crushed peppercorns, cardamom and cumin injects heat, intensity and depth to vetiver.

Fragrance Notes: Vetiver, Pink Peppercorns, Cardamom, Nutmeg and Ginger

Me: OMG so peppery?! I thought I poured a bottle of pepper over myself. Kept sneezing. Some vetiver notes a while in. No way am I going to use this again.

Afterthoughts: I was actually most excited to use this. I like some vetiver in my fragrances but I definitely should have read up on the pepper notes in it before dousing myself.

6. Pomelo

JL: Refreshing and energising, this mouth-watering citrus is fast becoming a cult classic.

Fragrance Notes: Pink Pomelo, Vetiver

Me: Smells like some ancient medicated chinese oil. Ok, it smells like to green rind of the pomelo. Green and tart. I am not sure why medicated oil came to my mind.. Light juicy fresh pomelo emerges after 30 mins and it is like biting into one. But after 6 hours.. uhm, where’s my pomelo?

Comments: Like but not love for this fragrance. But it really does conjure images of fresh juicy pink fleshed pomelo. I am reminded of the time my ex colleague brought back pomelos from Bangkok and we had a pomelo feast in office.

7. Shards of Cedar and Thyme

JL: Warm, sharp and sophisticated, this scent is full of exciting aromatic notes that weave confidently one into the other.

Fragrance Notes: Bergamot, Mint, Lavender, Vetiver

Comments: Smells like soap. Pleasant, a little musky. Reminds me of the old fashion soap you can purchase at the old school type of provision shop that is older than me. At the end of 9 hours, I still can smell the soap if I bring my nose to my hand. Granny soap, I call it.

Afterthoughts: I quite fancy this. Very nostalgic for me. I think it must be the bergamot. I am a bergamot fan. Add in mint, lavendar and vetiver? Give me the big bottle please. I’m not sure where the cedar comes in though..

8. A Shot of Fresh Sweet Peas

JL: This pretty floral fragrance celebrates the summery scent of fresh Sweet Pea season after season.

Fragrance Notes: Ylang Ylang, Rose Petals, Marigold

Me: Smells like fresh vegetables! Light, crispy green smell. Like chlorophyll! 3 hours in, I detected floral scents that pleasant and light.

Afterthoughts: I like the floral notes that emerged a few hours in. The green opening notes were kind of strong! I can see myself purchasing the full bottle. This would be good for days that I want an uplifting fragrance.

9. A Shot of Muguet over Cedar

JL: Classic Lily of the Valley made modern with an unexpected twist of warm and earthy cedar wood.

Fragrance Notes: Muguet, Fig Leaf, Cedar, Amber

Me: I can’t put a finger to how it really smells like. This is really one fragrance that I could not associate it with its name. Light, breezy, no hints of wood. I would think that this is a beach holiday in a bottle, sans the salty taste.

Afterthoughts: I would have never, ever guessed that it had Lily of the Valley in it. A quick google enlightened me that Muguet is french for Lily of the Valley. Was shocked that it had cedar and amber in it because I couldn’t even detect it. I LOVE THIS.

10. A Shot of Oud over Mango.

JL: Succulent mango is shot with aromatic Oud to add a powerful new dimension that is warm, smoky and sophisticated.

Fragrance Notes: Mango, Black Pepper, Freesia, Oud Wood

Me: Grown up version of mango. Smooth fragrance but didn’t last long on me. It is easy on the nose and I detected some vanilla towards the end of it.

Afterthoughts: I completely did not smell any black pepper in it! Surprised that the pepper scents have been popping up quite frequently but I did not really detect it.

 

Wrap up: THANK YOU for persisting till here! Well, I would get No. 42 The Flower Shop and A Shot of Muguet over Cedar in the regular size! Now.. to plough through the rest of my fragrances before purchasing new ones..

First foray into Visee

One of the reasons I enjoy helping my friends buy makeup/skincare is that I get to explore new brands that I may not have chanced across before. Was asked to get some Visee makeup when I was at Hong Kong last month and I took the opportunity to get 2 items myself too.

Was testing out my mum’s Nikon D90 and clearly failed at using it. Absolutely lousy at figuring out aperture.. ISO and all that sorts. My sister is good at it, making it look like an easy task. I just put everything into auto. The swatch photos were taken with my good old S100. The D90 probably shows accurately the lack of light I had in my room as I find the S100 tends to overexpose. However, due to the poor lighting in my room, an overexposure sort of creates the ‘correct’ light balance I want to portray.

Picked up the multi coloured blush in OR-6 and eyeshadow in BR-9. The eyeshadow came with a brush set of 3 eyeshadow brushes. Have yet to use them but they seem pretty decent. The counter I went to did not sell this particular eyeshadow alone. Visee is found at all Kose counters in HK and at Sasa Supreme.

The brush packaging is so pretty! Couldn’t not resist it at all. There is a small brush below the blush pan but I couldn’t get a photo as it blush pan kept falling down into place.

Despite the bright pink and orange, the blush is actually on the lighter side. Swatches: Mixed and then bottom colour upwards. The colour is not very obvious on my cheeks and I felt I should have picked up a brighter one. Nevertheless, the blush is smooth but a little powdery. The embossed prints are still there after a few vigorous swipes but are likely to disappear after some usage.

The eyeshadows are safe colours and don’t be fooled by the name ‘glossy eyes’ in the description on the box. The shades are a little glittery, typical of asian type of makeup. I was pleasantly pleased with the eyeshadow as they blended well and the colours are great for my skin tone. They were smooth and I experienced no fall out. Still kicking myself for not buying the purple shades as well.

If you are travelling to HK, I recommend you check out Visee. The price point isn’t that bad either – the eyeshadow set is about S$30+ and the blush was S$20+. I cannot remember the exact figures outright and need to go drag out my excel spreadsheet which very clearly I am lazy to.

 

Battle of the Essences

I have been using SKII Facial Treatment Essence for a couple of years now. I have gone through about 4 bottles or so and I think they do total up to almost 1 litre in all! I have to say that I am not a consistent user especially a few years ago when I was still struggling with meagre pay. The FTE was something I used when I have a sensitive skin period or bad breakouts. I also mixed it with thicker moisturizers to create a thinner consistency. My choice of application was to pour some onto my palms and slap, I mean pat it on my face. When I travel to HK, I will purchase the 330ml bottle which was plastic and had a pump. Used occasionally, it could last me an entire year.

Recently, I tried two other essences which were touted to be similar, if not better than the SKII FTE. The Albion Skin Conditioner you see here is empty as it is finished. I used it everyday and poured it onto a cotton pad and pat it over my face. I find that pouring it onto my palm and patting it onto my face doesn’t seem to make it absorb well into my skin. It created a sticky film instead which I disliked. I really wanted to like this as many others raved about how it helps oily skin. However, the alcohol content is pretty high for this and it is has a rather strong fragrance. I could overlook both points except that my skin hated it. It did not tame my breakouts and sort of made it worse. I am not sure if my skin was having a bad time when I was using it and thus the angry breakouts or it truly caused a greater scale of nasty breakouts. Anyway, I am glad I am done with it. I have a bigger bottle which I purchased earlier on – I will just try to finish that up soon or if anyone is keen to buy it at a slight discount off me, I will be happy to offload it.

The IOPE Bio Essence was a surprise find at a small Colormix in HK. It was a last bottle and I paced up and down the shop wondering if I should get it. I just chucked it into my basket because, well, on holidays the brain doesn’t work logically. Glad I did because I am kinda loving it thus far! It has been 1 week + since I opened this bottle and this is like SKII FTE without the smell and pocket bleeding price. This bottle is 168ml and it costs approx SGD60. It absorbs well and I can pat it in well. My skin has been behaving well recently, not sure if it is because of this or just that it has decided to be good. If I can get my hands on this, I will stock it up..but IOPE is not available in SG! 😦

Otherwise, I have 2 huge bottles of SKII FTE sitting as backups already. That’s how much I love it.

Gucci Eyeshadow Duo in Amaretto

Before I head off to fold my clothes and pack my things for work tomorrow, I want to show you Gucci Eyeshadow Duo in Amaretto which I picked up during my trip to HK last year. Most of the quads were sold out and left only those that are not very popular.

I managed to pick up this duo and was very excited to use it as I heard many good reviews about Gucci eyeshadow duos.

Aren’t those prints lovely and so luxe? They do not get swiped away that easy! I swatched them rather hard and they still seem rather intact.

This is a very basic duo that cannot go wrong. You have a peachy shade and a brown shade which is easy to match. It allows for a foolproof look and is great for days where you just do not want to put to much effort into your makeup. It may not be the most exciting of colours, but you will enjoy the classic look for this for days to come.

Unabashedly, I love this. I love having peach and browns in my eyeshadows. I can buy them over and over again without being bored of them. The closest dupes I can think of is Jill Stuart Nudy Venus but that is more glittery and sheer. If I could get my hands on the quads…

 

DiorBlush – 873 Cherry Glory / Kingdom of Colours

Before I go into the post proper, let me rant that the lighting in my room has been nothing short of annoying. Ever since my dad decided on energy saving LED lights, photographing items has been tough. The artificial light is patchy and yellow. My dad tells me not to read in dim light but he gave me patchy light. Ugh. It’s still rainy season in Singapore and it means that sunlight is hard to come by. My room has a slight shelter which allows me to enjoy the cool breeze when it’s raining and I don’t have to shut the windows. But it also means that I have completely no direct sun. Overall, my opinion is that the apartment is great, sunlight doesn’t really get it and toast us all and only the kitchen gets the brunt of the sun in the later part of the year. But when it comes to having light to take some decent photos? zilch. zero. none. I can only get more light in the kitchen but that means having my dog nose his way around. He’s very nosey and wants to partake in every single activity I do. Including jumping on me when I am asleep. He’s not allowed in my room but sometimes my mum forgets to close the door and he zips in silently.

I must be on a blush streak recently. I was totally not keen on getting anything from this collection but went to swatch it when I had some spare time at Sephora Ion. Was very impressed with the blush in Cherry Glory as the pigmented is insane but blends out so nicely. I took some time to think whether I should get it and finally took the plunge as I had a 10% discount voucher. Oh, I took the opportunity to start using the Dior My Lady highlighter hehe.

This is my first Dior blush and it seems really good! Wonders why I didn’t get any previously. I must admit that blending was a pain initially but I realised I had used a brush that was too dense. I switched out to a slightly floppier brush, gently tapped and blended like there was no tomorrow. Voila, I looked like I just came in from the cold. Pleased that this filled a gap in my blush stash as I do not have anything similar. It is a bright tomato red with very very slight hints of pink. It is largely matte but in the pan, I can see some sparse shimmers.

Do you want it? Yes, of course! But.. Do you NEED it? Perhaps.. if you do not have something similar, it is good to have a look at this. You’ll be blown away by the pigmentation!

Swatches : Dior My Lady / Cherry Glory, blended / Cherry Glory heavy swatch

 

Chanel Beauty Spring 2015 Collection Reverie Parisienne

Well, I have indeed been good and the only item I picked up from Chanel Spring 2015 is the Jardin De Chanel Camelia Rose Blush. I mean, who can blame me for succumbing to this? Intricately embossed with the camelia rose design, this piece is for keeping rather than using! I was not so keen on the eyeshadows, they look lovely with the sweet pinks but they are not exactly my kind of thing. I had to pretend I didn’t see the lippies because the colours are gorgeous, especially the Rouge Allure Velvet in La Romanesque.

I scoured through my iPhone but couldn’t find the original pictures. This is the collage I did to post on Instagram showing the full collection. Another blush was released as well – Angelique. It is not LE but I kind of fell in love with it so I will probably get it another time. I am going t be frank and tell you that I have no intentions of using this camelia rose blush. I swatched it at the counters and it took a couple of tough swipes to get some colour. It is a dusty pink rose when the two colours are mixed together. Angelique swatches to be a straight up coral with hints of pink. It leans matte and pigmented enough to give decent colour on one swipe.  The counter lighting is deceiving and making the swatches a little more yellow than it should be.

Did you pick up anything from this collection?

 

 

Rounding up 2014

I know, it is kinda perplexing that I did a blog post to usher in 2015 and only a couple of days later, I am rounding up 2014. My apologies that the sequence is messed up but life’s more fun that way, no? Anyway, let’s look into some of the makeup items I have been loving and enjoying. Here’s an overview of everything, one of the rare days where there is sunlight. It has been raining alot in Singapore.

Going to start with the eyeshadows first! Here I have with me, the MJ Beauty Style Eye-Con No.7 in 212 The Dreamer, Suqqu EX-22 and MAC Mortal. These are brands that I did not explore before and were new to me in 2014.

I felt the one with the best value goes to the MJ palette, especially if you can get them during Sephora’s 20% discount. This is my only MJ palette and I thought they did pretty well with this but I must say I have not tried other palettes and I heard that the quality can defer a little. Being a fan of nude eyeshadow palettes, I fell in love with this at first swatch and oh my, the right most shade in shimmery mustard is gorgeous! I can do a simple work appropriate look with the first four shades on the left and add on the bright pink peach or mustard on the right for some glam! The quality is stunning for this palette, with all the shades being creamy and I experienced no fall outs or creasing.

MAC Mortal is an eyeshadow palette that I would take with me for a foolproof look. Although the colours are not insanely pigmented or very creamy, they allow me to do a one wash of colour on my lids without being too over the top. Easy, simple and classy colors!

From zero suqqu palettes to having three in the same year! I had to feature this palette as I love the complex brown-burgundy cream shade on the bottom left. I bought this as I did not have many pink-purple shades in my stash and thought it would be good to fill that gap. Plus, who can resist Suqqu’s holiday sets? I couldn’t! Suqqu eyeshadows really set the standards high. If it fits within your budget, it would be good to have at least one Suqqu quad 🙂

Throwing in this eyeshadow from the Push Button x Laneige collection, just because of the dog print hehe.

Proceeding with blushes, oh what a blush fiend I am!

Chanel blushes have been my first love and still hold the same top spot. There isn’t anyone out there who does a pretty blush like Chanel, weaving in shimmer and pigment into a lovely rose scented blush. The shimmer is very refined and does not emphasize pores while the pigmentation is always just enough. The one featured here is in Fleur de Lotus. My favourite shade of all time would be Frivole but as I have dropped it and destroyed it.. it is not featured here.

Tom Ford Cheek Duo in Stroked is a purchase that is pricey but no regrets about it. I love the darker blush in it more than the highlight portion. It is perfect when I am more tanned to bring out the bronzey glow. TF blushes has the longest staying power amongst the blushes I have and also the most pigmented. I have got to have a light hand while using them!

Nars Domination was a blush/bronzer palette released only at Sephora for Holiday 2014. Thanks to a dear friend of mine, I managed to get my hands on one! Now, who doesn’t love some Nars blush and with so many options too! This is my only blush palette but it not be the last! It just hit me that I have yet to do a review for this..but I am sure there are many well written ones out there, seeing how popular this is.

Now, proceeding on with the face powders. My all-time HG is Urban Decay HD Powder. Flawless? Oil control? Stays on after a hot lunch? Check check and check! Already a little more than halfway through this tub.

Sometimes, I just want to get away with some concealer and loose powder. On days like that, I will go for Ettusais BB mineral powder. It has slightly more coverage than a regular loose powder and its oil control is pretty decent too. There are only a few shades though, so if you are very tanned, it will not work for you.

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder is a pressed powder, highlighter and bronzer all in one for me. Dim light to set, Incandescent light to highlight and Radiant light to sculpt. Slight shimmer, which makes it good to fake a glowing face. The oil control can be better but I am not exactly complaining.

There’s not going to be any foundation loves here.. I’ve stopped using them for awhile or choosing to use them more as a concealer. Opting to let skin breathe free! I do use sunscreen though, except I haven’t found anything I love yet.

This is a heaven sent item! I have not reviewed this though (looks sheepish). This is a new release from Burberry a few months ago and is an eyebrow definer. I believe it cost me about SGD38, far lesser than what you would pay if you get something similar at CdP or TF. I started using it almost immediately and I am lost without it now. It does not need sharpening and comes with a spoolie on other end. Perfect, perfect! Great for people like me who are lousy at draw eyebrows.

I am still not a huge fan of lipsticks. I prefer glosses although now they are starting to annoy me as my hair often sticks to the gloss. I am choosing Burberry lip gloss in Oxblood because I love the colour way too much. Awesome red-pink shade for my skin tone. Laneige Water Drop Tint is a great lip product that can be buildable from sheer to full on pigmented without being too sticky. I have it in raspberry pink, which is a good colour to brighten up my face.

To end off this post, going to talk about Inglot and Surratt beauty, both which have made it to our shores in 2014. I like the idea of customizable palettes as I can choose the colours I want without being limited to what has been decided for me. If I want something ridiculous, I can have it! I know there are some who like to put together a palette of colours that compliment each other. Well, I’m not one of them. I pick whatever colours I like and they happen to go well together. Initially I thought it would be cheaper than buying a palette, but no… the cost ends up almost similar because you have to buy the empty palette. A good option is to get a z-palette so you don’t need to limit yourself to the empty palette.

Alrighty my dears, heading off to bed now! Thanks for bearing me with through this blog post!

 

Belief Advent Calendar

Towards the end of 2014, I got myself the Belief advent calendar. It is the first advent calendar I have ever bought and I have heard so much about Belief skincare that I wanted to try it. There are a total of 25 mini sizes of their most popular items – skincare, hand creams a lip balm and an all-purpose balm. I tore into it excitedly after I got home but was kinda bummed when I realised that the packaging did not really hold the products in place and I ended up with a mess of things. So I have no idea which product was for which day as everything was mixed up 😦

I am going to broadly categorize the items in this advent calendar so you can take a look and see if you want to get this and try it out. Earlier on this week, I walked past Belief and saw them having a 10% discount storewide but I am unsure if the promo is still ongoing and/or if it is applicable to this advent calendar. Won’t be doing much reviews though, time is required to test efficacy of skincare and I just want to try out their items without having to commit to a huge bottle. For the items that I had tried, I will be providing some basic thoughts.

Whitening Range – The True-Whitening Cream 10ml, True-Whitening Clear Toning Water 20ml, True-Whitening Essence 10ml

Moisturizing range – The True Cream – Aqua Bomb 10ml, The True Cream – Moisturizing Bomb 10ml, Hungarian Water Essence 10ml (this is really good! absorbs very well and makes my skin feel well hydrated. I am likely to get the full size)

Peat Miracle Range – Peat Miracle Revital Mask 10ml, Peat Miracle Revital Cream 10ml,  Peat Miracle Revital Eye Cream 5ml, Peat Miracle Serum Concentrate 6ml (didnt like this though. felt like it sat on my skin without being absorbed. sticky after-feel stayed and did not go away)

I believe this is the range meant for combi/oily skin – Bergamot Herbal Extract Toner 20ml (this was a little sticky but absorbed well), creamy cleansing foam moist 30ml, Cleansing Gel Oil Enriched 10ml, Milky Moisturizer Hydra Balancing 20ml (a little too hydrating for oily skin I would feel)

Others (standalone items from their respective range(s)) – Numero 10 Essence 10ml, Cleansing Herb Water 20ml, Aqua Gel Oil 20ml, The True Anti-Aging Essence 20ml, Classic Essence Increment 10ml

Last of all, the stuff that isn’t skin care – Hand creams, 3 x 5ml (Lime-Orange, Rose Garden, Lavender Sky. Well.. they could have been at least 10ml? I think this is only good for a couple of uses.), Lip Balm 2g and The Balm Almighty 2g (No idea why this is one of their best sellers. I didn’t like it, just feels like wax)

I’ll try to come up with a post on the makeup/skincare items to round off 2014 and to start 2015 proper!

 

Ushering in 2015

Before I can blink, 2015 is here, with me wondering what had happened to 2014. I must say that there were couple of unexpected turns of events in 2014 which lead to things for the better.

In 2014, I had to seriously give some thought on what it meant to be committed to another person for the rest of my life, to be part of someone else’s family and life. I have been someone who enjoys doing whatever and whenever at my whim and fancy. My previous relationship showed me what I did not want – having my life choices, my peculiarities and freedom taken away. Part of me feels like I have not had enough time to appreciate this freedom. I am grateful that in my current relationship, I have (plenty) of time to do whatever I feel like doing and someone supportive enough to plough through the aisle of Sephora with me. Very important yeah? He didn’t bat an eyelid at my jaw dropping Laduree Beauty haul so that’s 1 point for him.

I am too comfortable staying with my parents and having alot of things done for me (sorry Mum, I didn’t wash my cup again! hehe) but I also acknowledge that they are growing old and it will be my turn one day to take care of them. The thought of having to plan my own finances, buying a house…ironing.. Gosh, so daunting!

Have been very very fortunate to land a job in a company that quite a fair bit of people consider to be good. It was a difficult process trying to wriggle my way in and I was almost prepared to give up halfway. It took me 5 years of hard work to reach this, to work for a company I can only dream of previously. I am very thankful for (most of) the bosses I have worked for as they have given me opportunities and allowed me to grow into the person I am today. Having colleagues that are crazy helps too!

Bought a dachshund! Absolutely no idea why I agreed to have a dog. I am afraid of them! But ever since that monster of a dog entered into the family, a lot of things have changed. He greets me every morning by sniffing my feet and licking them while I brush my teeth. My mum says he is checking if I bathed..He greets me eagerly when I come home everyday and follows the family around. I have largely gotten over my fear of dogs and even had to dig food from his mouth (he ate a sweet from the floor). But it won’t be in the near future that he shares my bed.

Annndd as a treat for reading all the nonsense above, I am showing you my haul from LM Laduree!

The container is made out of plastic and would be able to take a little rough handling. Isn’t it beautiful? It is larger than what I originally thought and was surprised by it. I had imagined that it was a lot smaller.

Intricate details on the container.

The amounts of petals given were not a lot and when I opened the packaging, I wondered if the container would look empty. I must give credit to Laduree, the amount of petals fit just nicely into the container. The petals seem to be made out of some sort of paper, with the blush pigments pressed onto the paper. They didn’t disintegrate upon pressure so I supposed the petals are not made solely from pressed pigments or the likes of it. In fact, the idea that they were paper came from the bf, after he kept on touching it. It is beautifully scented – a light delightful floral fragrance.

Being on holiday makes my brain susceptible to illogical purchases. I got the Laduree blush brush as well, just because the BA told me the brush head was designed to fit into a petal and hence can pick up the colour better. The brush isn’t the best I have encountered (I still love Hakuhodo and TF brushes the best) but it is soft enough and not scratchy.

I was adamant that I am not leaving the counter without at least one more purchase. I passed on the face powders as they did not seem really spectacular. The Holiday set did not wow me either, so I gave it a few looks and moved away from it. Eventually, I decided to pick up the Glossy Rouge in 03. It is a lovely bright pink. The packaging is matte plastic with pretty patterns. I thought it felt a little cheap but the heart shape at the end of it made me swoon.

At the time when I took these pictures, I have yet to swatch either items. I have started to use them recently but have yet to get around to swatches. It’s been raining non stop without much sunlight and I have been extremely lazy.

Okay, I shall resolve to blog with more frequency!

Have a great 2015 everyone!