Epiphany Friday

In descending order of how huge the epiphany was:

5. I am born in the wrong era. I've been watching Pan Am for the past two days and no one can deny that I wouldn't look good in one of those tight-ass dresses and with winged eyeliner. The 1960s man. Those were the days. I mean not if I wasn't a white American though, because if I wasn't that would be shittay...

4. I am a hardcore procrastinator. As in I should have been writing my paper, but instead I was watching Pan Am. To the point where I had to do my final powerpoint presentation in under 30 minutes. It was good presentation though.

3. I can really eat a lot of food. It's just that majority of the time I have intense will power.

2. I really am happier when I don't like someone. I don't feel anxious or get that choking constricty feeling.

1. I look WAY better when I don't line my eyes the whole way round! It looks way better just on top because I think my eyes are getting smaller or maybe the rest of my face is getting bigger?? Is that two epiphanies?!?!

Watch Lisa Eldridge do no eyeliner on the bottom lid:

Makeup To Go!

I can't claim any originality for this, but I needed a good way to store my makeup when I go to NTU and also a good way to move it around, SO I totally copied Giselle and got a plastic faux tool kit to hold my makeup. Isn't it beauteous??

Here's the view from the outside:

Here's the top tray, it's got concealer, powder, eyeliner, mascara - basically the everyday use stuff.

Here's the second tray, its got the lipglosses/sticks, rest of the eyeshadows and primers.

Finally the deep tray, its got my foundation, blushers, tools and backup mascara, eyeliner and concealers.

Here's the whole lovely thing!

Awesome no?? If only I was having the same kind of luck finding someone to stay with in Singapore...

Shopping and Other stuff

It's been awhile because of various health issues and also because I just haven't felt up to blogging honestly. I'm off to Singapore in August and I'm slowly getting ready to go, making lists of things to buy, things to pack, things I wish I could afford to buy :P

It's a bit all over the place at the moment. So in my attempt to "cope" I've become completely obsessed with make-up. Since I have limited resources when it actually comes to buying the stuff I've become totally psycho when it comes to checking beauty blogs. Which just added fuel to the fire. I have recently discovered a much healthier alternative which is doing beauty reviews on Makeup Alley (MUA). Since I basically buy most of the products that I buy after a tip from this website I figured I might as well contribute, because who knows, some other oily, acne-prone make-up lover could benefit from my wisdom. I've done like 26 reviews and I'm going strong. It's only hampered by the fact that I can sit for an hour at a go (health issues).

So anyway I'm going to be linking my reviews for any beauty products to my MUA reviews from now on. Brilliant, I know.

Anyway, here's the stuff I bought that I never got around to posting.

Something Borrowed - got this from The Book Depository for like RM18, super cheap. It's on everyone's fav chick lit list but I kinda hated it. I don't think I can do infidelity. Makes me feel ill.



I got the Shady Lady Vol 2. palette for sale at Sasa. I kinda hate it. See my MUA review here.

I got this great t-shirt for like RM40 from a stall in Empire Mall. It's from China and its super cute, long, comfy and has birds on it.

So that was all my random shopping, I also did a bunch of shopping for my Annual Dinner for work.

Let's start with the small stuff, I got this nail polish from Sasa. It's TERRIBLE. Horrible in fact. The normal Sally Hansen base coat is way better and the nail polish is a lurid fluorescent coral pink.

Got this Charles and Keith evening bag for like RM129 which is awesome, except for the fact that it cant really expand. I have a tendency to cram things into my bags so I think I may have already kind of damaged it.

\
Got a MAC Lustreglass called Flashmode. LOVE IT. Read my review here. You know what? I cant find my review, anyway its a great product. Sheer fuchsia, nice and light and looks great layered on top of lipstick.

I got this Gosh Lipstick in Burgundy FREE with an order from Strawberry Net. Makes me look a bit like a prostitute. Actually it makes me look A LOT like a prostitute but with a bit of mixing or a light hand, its a superb berry color.

Got these ear-rings from black pearl, I wore the rhinestone ones for the annual dinner. A bit juvenile I know but they look really good on.

These Scholl shoes were RM188 so worth it and look amazing even though they're supposed to be comfy. Actually they are quite comfy.

Mum picked out this top for me, it was RM40. Looks really good on. Very asymmetrical, very sexy. A bit hot though.

So that's it :) Will be updating more on all the stuff I have to do before I goooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Strawberry Net DELIVERS!

Priscilla came to visit me this past weekend and I'm going to do a huge post about all the stuff she and I, but mostly just she, bought. Since it's going to take me FOREVER, I figured I'd do this quick post about this Benefit Eyeshadow I got from StrawberryNet.

Right before Christmas StrawberryNet had these crazy discounts on a bunch of their products. I was just browsing one day when I found that they had a bunch of the Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liners for 50% off at RM30, which was BANANAS. They are constantly reviewed as one of the best Cream Eyeshadows on the market so I knew it was a good deal.

I had a huge internal struggle before I just caved and bought one. Only one. One measly one. Which I'm starting to think is a bad idea. In any case I got the color "Get Figgy" which is a mauve/purple/taupe color, I'm going to take it for a spin tomorrow and I'll let you know about it's no creasing claims.

Enjoy the pictures!





P.S. I'm obsessed with the packaging and the fact that it comes in this really hefty glass container. Also StrawberryNet shipping is free. And it takes forever to ship. But WHO cares... when it's free.

The Best Concealer. Ever. Or Maybe that I've ever used.

So I have an acne problem. No biggie. Well sometimes they are kind of big but you know what I mean. On a daily basis I have to conceal my acne because it's red, bumpy, etc. The thing about concealing acne is that while you don't want people seeing it you don't also want to be clogging up your pores while you conceal them thereby making the situation that much worse. Which is why I look for concealers that conceal and heal. Say it with me now, "CONCEAL AND HEAL."

Day before yesterday I was out for dinner with a friend in Empire Shopping Gallery and we stopped by the high end version of the Sasa stores. Lo and behold they were carrying TheBalm make-up line which is famed for having the best under eye concealers. I have a pretty decent undereye concealer so for now I'm not tempted.

The SA tactfully noted that I might be interested in their Liquid TimeBalm Spot Concealer with Tea Tree Oil because well you know... my face. SO I am so beyond getting offended when people suggest acne targeted makeup and skincare so I was like yeah ok, I guess I'll try it and guess what? It was amazing. The shade Honey is literally an exact match for my skin and the texture is a dream especially when compared to the shitty Clinique concealer I've been using.

Here it is in all it's awesome TheBalm glory:



So cute, right?

And I've been using it for two days now and literally I've had people telling me that my skin has completely cleared up. And I'm like no, actually, I just got really good makeup. But who cares right? And not only that the Tea Tree seems to be working because the skin on my face just doesn't feel as tight and unhealthy and the acne seems to be getting better.

So the verdict - this is freakishly good for people with acne. BUY IT!

Shu Shame

About two weeks ago I decided that the usual lady who does my brows wasn't cutting it anymore. My brows had lost their shape and one was definitely smaller than the other and I just needed a change, ok?! So of course I decided I had to visit Shu Uemura's RM30 a pop brow shaping Brow Atelier. Because let's face it, I can really appreciate the finer things in life. I found out about this service after reading a couple of blog posts about it.

Anyway I went to the new Shu Uemura boutique in KLCC and walked up to the first SA I found and was like, "I want brow shaping!" In retrospect, she actually seemed quite taken aback but you know, whatever. So she spent like a half hour plucking, shaving and cutting my eyebrows because I am a neanderthal and was like see! And I was like AH! It's too thin. So then she got me this brow gel stuff and this hard pencil which were both brown and proceeded to make my eyebrows look perfect. Like 60's movie star perfect. So I was like man, ok I'll buy them. Which meant spending about RM140.

See here's the thing, if you spend RM250 in Shu Uemura they give you 2 free eyebrow shaping sessions, 2 free makeovers and you become a member... for life! I mean you see I just kind of had to... ahem. So ANYWAY, I was like alright I need a purple eyeshadow and she proceeded to rub this beauteous eyeshadow on my hand and I was like right. So that's RM65. And then I was like ok, give me an eyelash curler which is RM60. Which was RM265, so perfect right?

But then the SA was all like hey it's 12:00pm so our happy hour has started. You can buy a small cleansing oil and get an eyelash curler free! So for just RM40 more (since the cleansing oil is RM99) you can get BOTH things! I wish I could say that I didn't take the bait. But I did because I wanted the iconic cleansing oil DAMMIT.

Here's my loot:

Brow Manicure - which started the whole mess



Hard eyebrow pencil - you actually need to go in to the store to get it resharpened



Super gorgeous purple eye shadow



And since my picture was quite shit, I got one off the internet:


The ICONIC Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler - I've tried it once, it's quite good really.



The High Performance Balancing Oil Fresh. I can't figure out whether this is overrated or really good. Because it's supposed to make your skin way beter. It is amazing at taking make-up off though. Like almost magical. Kind of sucks with eye make-up though.



The total damage was RM304. which was RM274 more than I was supposed to spend. But I totally made peace with myself when I bought it because you know I deserve it, I work hard. Well kind of hard.

But that didn't mean that my parents would understand so when i came home I



brought home a Kinokuniya bag



inside which was my Shu bag



TADA!

I did tell them about it eventually. Well I kind of had to since it was charged to a supplementary credit card.

Ahem. So anyway I wore the lovely eyeshadow I bought to Tina's Hen's Night which was mad. Here's a blurry picture of me in the mirror. Dunno if you can make it out but that's a lovely dress I got at Dorothy Perkins:



Anyway that was my long post after a longer hiatus. Hope to be back and blogging regularly!

Super Overdue: US HAUL!

I was supposed to do a huge post on all the stuff I bought in the US which I completely haven't delivered. Basically it's been taking me forever because I had to take the pictures (which are not so great) and then I had to edit them and then I had to write the actual post. All of which took some time because, as per usual, I am going through my perennial I-don't-know-what-the-hell-to-do-with-my-life phase.

But lately I think I've kind of figured out what I want to do SO here I am finally writing this post. That and the fact that because I did a chemical peel today I'm at home from work. BTW chemical peels hurt like HELL.

So let's get to it - I'm going to do it store by store.

Online Shopping Haul

Nordstrom
Nordstrom was one of the stores that actually let me buy stuff with a non-US credit card. The initial plan was to go crazy shopping at Sephora online but I was completely thwarted by their US credit card only policy. In any case Nordstrom totally came through and I bought the following MAC staples. Oh yeah, MAC also totally rejects non-US/Canadian credit cards.

So this is the MAC 116 Blush Brush. I got it because it was recommended by Temptalia as a good brush for blush beginners which I definitely am. It has actually totally lived up to its reputation, its easy to pat on the blush and then sweep it to blend. The brush is a good medium size and is quite flat.

This is the MAC 219 Pencil Brush which is supposed to work as a precise crease brush and also as way to work color near the tearducts. Note that I wrote supposed. So far I've found it kind of difficult to work this. It's just so conical shaped and kind of fat that I find it difficult to do anything really precise with it.

This is the MAC 217 Blender Brush. For the longest time I thought this was completely useless because I initially bought it to be a crease brush but its way to big to work on my eye. It does however make a really invaluable blending brush especially when working with dark colors.

The MAC 239 Shader Brush which is like The Holy Grail or as beauty fanatics like to put it HG of all eye brushes. You can really just use this for everything and its just the perfect brush because it gives you a lot of control and you can just pack the color on. It's mentioned on basically every single beauty blog and its totally worth the price. I use it every single day.

Ebay
Again, as the result of not being able to use my credit card in different places I turned to Ebayyyyyyyyyyy. I bought Be Curly which is essential in my hair taming regimen and I also bought this amazing product:

Urban Decay Primer Potion - it makes my eyeshadow stay put all day long and works like a dream in humid Malaysia. Totally lives up to the hype.
























Amazon

Ok I bought Ella Enchanted because my cousins have borrowed this book and never given it back and I loved it as a child and seriously they totally know I want it back and I don't know what the hell is wrong with them.























So this is Benefit's High Brow, which is basically a matte light, light pink pencil that you're supposed to put under your eyebrows to make the shape really pop. It's actually got a really nice creamy texture. I find that it's a little cool on my skin but I'm sure if you're fairer or basically... white it's pretty good. But as long as I blend it well it looks pretty good.



























Now for when I actually got to the U.S.

Dillards
Dillards was actually super fun because the people there were really nice and it basically had everything anyone would need but it wasn't huge and overwhelming which was nice. Only thing, the clothes were fairly hideous. Especially the prom dresses.

Got these Steve Madden sunglasses because I've been looking for like Eurotrash sunnies that are not too glittery or monocle like. These are great they're a little CRon, a little aviator and they look goooood on.



























I got super excited when I found out there was this Lancome special where if I bought stuff worth $32 I would get this free bag and lipstick and some other stuff. Anyway what I did buy where these two eyeshadows above, they are Color Design Eyeshadow in Exhibition and Kitten Heel. To be honest they really don't blend well and don't stand out that much. So they were pretty much $17 a pop disappointments. But I do wear them... so I guess its ok.

Here's the GWP (Gift with Purchase) I got!
















































































I got a Lancome eco friendly bag, a makeup bag, a lipstick (kinda pulls a bit too orange on me - should be good with lipgloss), a dark brown eyeliner, Hypnose mascara (yaay!) and the most gorgeous Juicy Tube- the color is apparently Pink Horizon. Sorry the swatches are so crappy, it was a really cloudy time so I wasn't getting much light. That and I can't take pictures.

Walmart


These are the Revlon luxurious single eyeshadows which I've mentioned before. Technically I bought one of them at CVS and the other two at Walmart but whatever. They're pretty sheer but they are super pretty and really soft and easy to work with. Totally worth the $4.99 pricetag. I got the Perle and Satin finishes. I know a lot of people don't like to wear shiny/glittery eyeshadows on a daily basis but it's like then why bother wearing make-up at all? Plus I think maybe because I have a darker skin color I can get away with more glitter. Right?

Kohl's

I bought this shirt because my Mom made me. Anyway it does look super cute on and I wear it to work pretty much once a week.






















This backpack was super cheap like $20 and I was tired of carrying my Eddie Bauer sling bag around because my back was killing me so I got this crazy pink Adidas backpack. I know I totally look like a kid when I carry it but its so comfy and carries everything so perfectly that I don't care.






















Sephora




























I was looking forward to going to Sephora more than anything else when I found out I was going to the US. I know... but still! It was actually quite awesome mostly because I could actually buy things like Nars and Urban Decay. Also though I didn't buy any, Stila's eyeshadows are beautiful.



I didn't really want this. What I wanted was the Naked Palette but that wasn't going to happen because its only been released like now. So I got this instead. It's really pretty and all but I have two issues with it. I don't think the colors really pop that well on me and also the ones that have glitter have major glitter fallout which means I can only wear them at night. Which sucks ASS.


This is probably one of the best things I bought. It's a Nars Blush in Lovejoy and its this reddish brown blush with gold shimmer. Not flecks of glitter like Orgasm but just shimmer. I thought Nars would be too shiny for my oily skin but it actually looks amazing on, even if I do have to use a light hand.




















Target!

I went insane in Target because of two reasons: 1. It is awesome. 2. It was like down the road. ANYWAY I got a shit ton of stuff which included...

A black Mossimmo dress. Such a pretty dress on me. I know its super plain and I actually have no idea where or when I'm going to wear it given how casual my job is but I really don't care because it makes my body look beautiful.
























I bought 3 Loreal Voluminous mascaras because it actually does live up to its hype. Yes it seriously clumps but its also $5 and gives volume to my lashes without because trashy. And its $5.
















Neutrogena MoistureShine Gloss. Because my mother told me to buy it.


































































I got Sonia Kashuk's eyebrow comb and sharpener, Tweezerman hella expensive ($25!) tweezers and Goody's ouchless hair bands, hair clips, hair pins and scrunchie things. Great staples to have. I've been using the Tweezerman tweezers everyday since I got it. Ditto on the rest.

Store in the The World of Coca Cola in Atlanta

The t-shirt doesn't fit me even though its a bloody medium... the postcards are cute though. Not quite sure who to send it to...





That's pretty much it. I'm really broke post all the indulgent shopping but I really couldn't help myself since I probably wont be going Stateside anytime soon. Here's a picture of ALL the stuff!