Bourjois Smile Enhancing Lip Gloss

Bourjois recently released a new product – the Smile Enhancing gloss.

Bourjois Smile Enhancing Gloss

I was at John Little last week and was checking out Bourjois.

Then, the sales staff popped out and said, ‘Looking for gloss? This one very good. Is from Bourjois. Is from Chanel you know? Singapore products, all very safe one. One ingredient not good only, government will not allow us to sell it. You know, I also have customers from China coming to buy Singapore makeup? They also say it is very safe.”

She’s extremely cute, but I am quite terrified of sales people because they talked to me not because they really want to share the product with me. They talked to me because they want to sell their products to me, and sometimes a little overly persuasive.

I hate to feel pressurized to buy anything, so I walked away. Therefore, I did not manage to find out the price of this product. But it should be under $20.

What is so special about this product, is not the lip gloss. This product comes with a teeth-whitening gel on the other side of the gloss.

The colour of the gloss is extremely pretty too! What is a better combination than lip gloss and teeth whitening?

For those who have yellow teeth like me, go try it out! I am waiting to go Hong Kong next month and see if I can get it at a better price. Else, I will come back to Singapore and buy it anyway.

Now, I think I figured why the sales staff kept stressing on the product being safe – No white teeth is worth having if the agent to whiten my teeth poisons me to death.

 

Dove evolution

I know this video is extremely old, but it does not fail to give me new insight each time I watch it.

Enjoy Dove’s campaign for real beauty.

DIY: OPI Muppets Rainbow Connection

I was at Bugis Street a few days ago, and caught sight of this collection:

O.P.I The Muppets

Out of all the bottles, there was a particular one that was glaring at me.

Yes, you guessed it. It is the Rainbow Connection.

I know it is not at all significant in this picture. But I swear, if you walked past it, you would too take a second look at it.

It is retailing at $23.90 and I was quite reluctant to purchase it. Not only the price is steep for a bottle of nail polish, I know that if I had purchased it, I would use a few times and chuck it aside.

Then it struck me – I can DIY my own Rainbow Connection at home!

I made a quick mental recall of what do I have at home that I can use for making this polish and Voila! I have everything I needed at home!

While I was in my own world, I got more and more excited by the minute because this nail colour is so perfect for this season and if it lasts long enough, I can even wear the colour to watch The Muppets which is showing in cinemas from 8th December onwards!

So here is how I DIY my own version:

I store my glitter in this trusty Coach box

Just the set of colours I need. I have another box of glitter stowed away.

All the colours I used

Bought this Rainbow brand nail polish for only $2.

A little clear polish would do!

Use a steady and solid piece of paper to slide glitter into bottle

Something like that.. you get the drift.

Scooped pink, scooped blue, scooped red, scooped green, scooped silver, scooped gold!

Gorgeous rainbow party!

My nail thinner

Used the nail thinner to dilute the polish cause the glitter made it really thick

Glitter in a bottle!

End result. Picture doesn’t do my nails justice. It looks so pretty in real!

Damn happy with the result. I thought it looked even better than the OPI Muppets Rainbow Connection

At the bottom, I stole 2 pictures of the Rainbow Connection from google.

Stolen pic #1

Stolen pic #2

A rainbow connection? Well, indeed.

By the way, you guys know how hard it is to remove glitter nail polish right? Those who had their nails done with glitter before should know that a nail file must be used in order to get every single glitter out of the nail.

That said, I am not going to remove this Rainbow nails by myself. I am going to pay for an express manicure just to get these off. Anyway, an express manicure from Far East Plaza costs only $8.

Can’t wait to see the reaction of the poor manucurist who has to remove all the glitter.

Steal a deal!

Walked past Guardian today, and there was this guy giving out flyers.

Turned out there’s a 20% storewide discount from 12pm – 10pm for Passion Card holders.

Of course I bought something!

..not that I have a lack of those..

Bifesta makeup remover: $13.50 instead of $16.90

Liese hair dye: $17.90 instead of $19.90

(I also bought candies, toothbrush and Po Chai Pills)

***

I’m so excited I feel like going back to grab more steals! But I have to remind myself that I already have a lot of skincare and beauty products at home.

It’s only 3pm now so there’s 7 more hours to grab your stuff. Hurry go get it!

xx

 

Primer: Make your makeup last longer

A reader emailed me earlier on, asking me to recommend a ‘good, affordable face primer’ and I thought I would share it with everyone.

In case you are wondering what a primer is, it works as a base before foundation is used so that makeup will adhere better to the skin. It will also make your makeup last longer. A foundation primer will also help prevent clogged pores, and hence prevent acne, skin irritation and breakouts.

Choosing a foundation primer would depend on your skin type. There are primers out there that can combat dry skin and control excess sebum production. But be careful, because if your skin is oily and you use a primer that is too emollient, your skin can look more oily than before.

For dry skin, it is best to use a cream based primer that contains ingredients such as glycerol. For oily skin, you might want to use a gel based primer which can minimize sebum production.

 

One primer that I like is the M.A.C Prep + Prime skin (Picture shown above)

Apart from making makeup last longer, the smooth texture of this primer hydrates the skin and minimizes fine lines. It allows foundation to glide on the skin, and help it last all day.

This primer also even out skin tone and creates a nice, smooth finish after application of makeup.

Price: $42.

 

For eyeshadow primer, I would definitely recommend the highly talked about, legendary, Urban Decay primer potion in Greed Picture shown above).

This Holy Grail of all primers helps eyeshadow last more than 24 hours. No more touch ups, no more smudges, no more creasing of eyeshadow!

Price: $30

***

xx

 

 

Gorgeous Christmas gifts!

Christmas is around the corner, and I always get excited about all the pretty gift sets that are being sold this season!

I went to Sephora, BHG, Isetan, TANGS, Takashimaya and OG to look at all the pretty gift sets for this year’s Christmas season, and shortlisted 4 of my favourite sets.

These stuff here comes in fabulous packaging, and are totally drool-worthy! I would love to buy ALL of these, but I have to keep reminding myself that I already have more than 1000 eyeshadow colours at home.

***

Okay. Long story cut short. Here are the items:

#1. Body Shop Smoke & Sparkle eye palette

No one can hate this awesome winter makeup collection by The Body Shop. Sparkly smokey eye, what’s not to love about this set?

I especially love The Sparkler in Boudoir Pink. This sparkle dust comes out when I gently squeeze the teardrop-shaped atomizer (damn it, I took about 20 minutes trying to recall what that word is).

4-Step Smokey Eye Palette: $39.90
The Sparkler: $39.90 Now $29.90
Lip & Cheek Stain: $22.90
Super Volume Mascara: $22.90
Mini Hi Shine: $8.90

***

#2. LANCOME Golden Hat Collection

This newly launched holiday set is damn pretty, and I am taking in gulps of saliva! The Golden Hat collection is created by Kate Winslet, in aid of her own charity, The Golden Hat Foundation.

Illuminating Smooth Powder: $70
L’Absolu Rouge: $44

***

#3. Too Faced Sweet Dreams Makeup

I don’t want to look at the colour of the eyeshadow, cause I will stare at the packaging for a very, very long time.

But in case you wanna know what is housed in the beautiful package, it is 15 eyeshadow colours, 1 primer, 2 blushers, 1 bronzer and 1 highlighter.

Palette: $79 from Sephora

***

#4. Wong Kar Wai for Shu Uemura

The WKW for Shu Uemura series is pretty delicious looking. Everything is tempting, and OMG I want it now!

By the way, the eyelashes you see in the above picture costs S$125. WHAT? If you really want it, get it from the States for USD$75.

This pair costs S$45. Really gorgeous.

And finally, the 2 beautiful palettes. I was thinking very hard about which out of the two I prefer, then after a while, I decided that I like both equally much.

Eye and Cheek Palette: $115

***

There you go, awesome gift ideas for your friends or me.

If you’re feeling really generous and kind this Christmas, do throw these into your gift box:

Dear Santa,

I am a good girl. *puppy eyes*

*yells* NOW GIVE ME ALL OF THOSE!

xx

ZA, Revlon, and L’Oreal’s blue eyeshadow palette

Christmas is coming, and glittery, shimmery eye makeup is perfect for the season. Add a dash of blue, smoke it, and we are ready to party the night away!

Here, I put 3 brands of (very affordable) blue eyeshadow to the test. They are from ZA, Revlon and L’Oreal.

The image that you see below are swatches of the eyeshadow colours from each palette. I applied the eyeshadow using my fingers.

***

#1 – ZA Dramatic Eye Colour Palette

This palatte is extremely shimmery! Also, I loved that it is extremely pigmented. Application of this product was super easy as it glided on my skin.

There was also a pearly effect on my skin, and is easily my favourite amongst the three palettes.

However, this product has the ugliest packaging. There you go – don’t judge a book by its cover!

Price: $17.50 for 4 colours

***

#2 – Revlon CustomEyes™ Shadow & Liner

This palette has very matte colours, not as much shimmer as the ZA dramatic eye colour. The dark colours are also extremely intense.

As the dark colours are really intense, more light coloured shadow need to be used to make the look ‘less black’.

It is the most pigmented amongst the three palettes, but it comes off more easily than the rest. In other words, the staying power is not as good as the other two.

The five colours are really complementary and I love the all colours on this palette.

Price: $18.90 for 5 colours

***

#3 – L’Oreal Quad Pro

I don’t know if the product really works for me.

The white on this palette has high shimmer, and I love it. The shadows are also easy to blend, and glided on my skin effortlessly.

Although it is silky soft, the eyeshadows (especially the black one) is a little less pigmented than I expected it to be.

This might work for people who wants to create a soft smoky look, but I would rather my eyeshadow to be very pigmented so a little of the product can be used to create my smokey eye instead of using a lot of product to create the same look.

This product has the prettiest packaging, and this is good enough to entice me to make a purchase.

Price: $22.90 for 4 colours

 

Review: Biotherm Skinergetic

I saw the advertisement of it a while ago, and decided to try out this product:

Biotherm SKIN.ERGETIC

The advertisement targets the modern woman who is going through a hectic work life, multi-tasking, fatique, stress, diet and coming in contact with pollution. It also mentions that signs of fatigue includes loss of radiance, uneven complexion, visible pores, unrefined skin texture and roughness.

This main component of this product is broccoli, which is rich in antioxidants and boosts skin appearance.

“Present in the revolutionary SKIN.ERGETIC serum, it eliminates free radicals and stimulates cellular renewal, effectively “waking up”, tired skin. So it looks radiant, fresh and youthful, day after day!”

So I tried this serum.

This serum is a little different from the rest of the Biotherm series, as it is paraben-free and contains natural ingredients.

I found this serum to be a little special, as there is this activator which I can click and shake before first-time usage. However, product only lasts for 3 months after activating.

The texture of this serum is non-sticky, and feels good on my skin. Immediately, I felt like my skin is very well hydrated. My skin also looks more radiant and refreshed.

I can’t say much about it repairing my skin such that it stop signs of ageing because I could not stand the smell of this product.

After using it a couple of times, I got extremely nauseous after sniffing this product which smells of burnt rubber and wax. The smell is so strong that I could not stand using it for more than a week. Any longer, I will barf in people’s face.

I think most people will not mind the smell, because I have heard really positive things about this particular product. But it definitely puts me off.

Since people have so many good stuff to share about this product, you might like to try it for yourself. It is retailing at Sephora for $99.

Go give this product a shot, and share your experience!

How to look young?

Need motivation to do your skincare? Constantly feeling lazy to do your skincare?

Well, everyone knows how important it is to do skincare and I believe that I need not stress how important it is to do skincare.

Meet Masako Mitzutani, about a woman who is in her 40s but looks like she’s in her 20s.

Her secret formula? Skincare. 5 hours of it everyday.

***

“Guys, if you still can’t understand why your girlfriends are investing so much time and money on their looks, this Japanese woman is living proof as to why it is all worth it.

“Meet Masako Mizutani, a housewife from Nagoya. She may look like a 20-year-old, but that’s actually the age of her eldest daughter. Believe it or not, Masako was born in 1968 — which makes her 43 years old. She is also the mother of two kids.

“So how does she manage to still look this stunning? She spends five hours a day taking care of her skin. And if you think plastic surgery has anything to do with her looks, you’ll be surprised to know that she’s all natural.

“Masako, who has appeared on many magazines, have become the idol of middle-aged women in Japan.

“Here are some tips from her to help women look younger:
- exercise regularly, get enough sleep and don’t smoke
- eat fresh, healthy food
- have a balanced diet and 4 meals a day in small portions
- Drink lots of water and fluids as water helps wash off toxins and keeps your skin healthy
- Apply lighter make-up and shades as you grow older
- Apply vitamin E based cream or lotions on body to keep skin soft and supple
- Always apply sunscreen if you intend to stay out in the sun
- Follow the cleaning, toning and moisturising regime every night before you got to sleep.”

Source: STOMP

***

Feeling motivated enough to do your skincare already?

Because that certainly make me feel like slapping on some eye gel right now.

Why do girls need 1 hour to wear makeup?

I have punctuality issues – mainly due to wearing my daily makeup.

(But sometimes I have to wait for buses and trains, or get stuck in a jam..)

You know, perfection cannot be rushed. Hence, I take an hour just to make sure that my makeup is perfect before I leave house.

I’ll let my pictures do the talking.

Combing and untangling wet hair.

I’m not proud of this. Took me a week to decide if I should put my face here.

Drying my hair – 10 minutes.

Applying BB cream. There you go. Me without makeup.

Errrr, yes. I use this much BB cream.

Lifted up bangs to apply BB cream.

Yes, I know it is a few shades lighter than my skin colour. But that’s how I like it.

Don’t forget the neck!

Just with BB cream, I look more alive and rejuvenated!

No more dullness <3

Concealing – 10 minutes

Concealing my pimple with a green concealer.

Blusher – Bobbi Brown in Apricot
Brush – Estee Lauder

 Adding colour..

Using clear contact lens cause I dropped my  ”big eye lens” last week

And if you are observant, you would have noticed that I have double and triple eyelids today. It’s ok, I can fix that.

Highlighting my nose (not that I have any..)

Time to fill the naked brows

Working the brow

Taming it

Highlighting – I love how this make my eyes brighter!

Brighter eyes!

(How do you fix unbalanced eyelids??)

Adding a darker colour for a bit of depth.

Lining my eyes with my trusty brown liquid liner

Crimping lashes

(this pic damn act cute lol)

Add a dash of mascara

And my trusty Nivea lip balm – I’ve been using this for the past 8 years!

And finally, my signature red rouge!

***

Here’s the after look:

Or if you sick of bangs like me, wear a hairband to change your look!

Back to the toilet where I started

There you go.

And I know people will scroll up and down, up and down, to see how do I look like before and after application of makeup.

So, I will do you a favour and compile the pictures for comparison.

Enjoy!

xx

 

I don’t have perfect skin

Yes, I don’t have perfect skin.

Here are some pictures of my eczema (taken today).

Can you imagine when it was worse 10 years ago and I still have these on my face occasionally?

Sores everywhere

Everyday I’ll get a new wound somewhere

Dry skin everyday

Alot of sores I have

More sores and scars

NOTE: ALL these pictures are taken today.

It was never easy for me to maintain my face with all the skincare products because I was born with dry skin and eczema.

It does not only attack me every now and then, cause I itch every single day. It really is tough for me to go through this, bearing the pain and itch and the scars it leaves everywhere on my body.

Having these sores and scars can make me really depressed because it hurts whenever I move, and I am not able to do anything about it.

I am sharing this because I want you to know that even though I have sores and dry skin, I am able to use makeup to make me look beautiful still. And I am proud of it.

If you can’t embrace your flaws, you may choose to play up your best features so the attention would be on it.

But beauty comes from within, and I embrace my flaws. We all should learn that not everybody is born perfect, and it really is our scars and other physical features that makes us truly unique.

By embracing our flaws, it is learning how to love ourselves.  If celebrities can embrace their flaws, so can we. And my definition of beauty is definitely not physical.

In all, if you don’t learn to embrace your flaws, no amount of makeup could cover up your imperfections.

xx.

 

 

Wrong eye makeup

I have a tendency to observe how girls do their eye makeup wrongly and I dare say that 9 out of 10 girls don’t do it right.

Makeup is subjective, but there are girls who don’t complete their looks.

These few days, I have been seeing many girls who don’t put on their makeup correctly. No one is expected to “paint” a flawless face like makeup counter girls. The kind of wrong makeup that I have in mind is the kind of makeup that will make strangers take a second look – in a negative way.

My makeup is not perfect, I admit.

If my friends are reading this blog, they probably will squint their eyes and say “Don’t bullshit me, lah. Your undereye forever patchy”. That, is absolutely true. But that is because I was born with a physical defect – eczema.

Unfortunately, my eczema does not only cause my skin to itch and flake at my back, arms, neck, back of my knees, inner thighs, back of my hand, fingers, it also causes my eyes to itch and flake. I have been seeing a skin doctor and my skin is under control now.

For someone with horrid eczema caused by stress and the bad weather in Singapore, my skin is extremely well controlled. Even my skin doctor said that my skin is well controlled and nobody would know that I have such a terrible physical defect. And trust me, it’s not a good thing to go through.

It’s a vicious cycle. I am always trying to get rid of the eczema, but the teasing and negative comments from people around me would cause me to be depressed and aggravate my skin condition, making it worse than ever. Some friends I have. If you are a friend who talked about my eczema before, and reading this entry, you better feel guilty!

So, as much as I try to conceal, moisturize and make my eyebags look better. It will still remain dark, wrinkly and sometimes patchy.

***

Let’s get back to the point and I shall list the mistakes of wrong eye makeup:

#1. Eye makeup without concealer – No super eye makeup can look attractive if you don’t conceal dark eye circles.

#2. False eyelashes without curling real lashes – Why do you need a gap in between like a crocodile mouth? Totally ugly.

#3. Too much mascara – It doesn’t give you longer and thicker lashes. It gives you insect legs.

#4. Eyeshadow that’s not blended – Dark brown and light brown goes well together but eyeshadow should not be in swatches.

#5. Unmatching eyeshadow colours – Like red and green, or yellow and blue. It can be extremely gorgeous when blended properly. But most of the time it’s a nay, not a yay.

#6. Heavy eye makeup with heavy lipstick – No focus can be pretty confusing.

#7. Too much eyeshadow – Some people extend their eyeshadow way out to their temples and elongate their eyes, changing the entire proportion of the face. It might look good for a fashion or beauty shoot, but it’s definitely not great for outing with the girls.

#8. Eyeliner on the lower lash line without eyeshadow – For people who want to look as if they’re depressed and suicidal.

#9. Eye makeup without plucked eyebrow – Find girls like that in all the Polytechnics in Singapore. I don’t blame them. Every girl needs to go through that phase. But if you’re 30 and is a veteran in smoking your eyes, heading out with messy brows is embarrassing yourself.

#10. Uneven winged tip eyeliner – Inevitable, I know. Especially when you wake up with day with uneven eyelids. It’s just not pleasant to look at a longer winged-tip on one eye.

#11. Incorrect concealer colour – Even I sometimes have ash-coloured eyebags after using concealer. That is usually an indicator of your concealer being to light. If that happens, select a darker shade of concealer.

#12. False eyelashes without using eyeliner – Nope, we don’t like to see your glue.

#13. Eyeshadow colour that doesn’t match skin tone – Like a Chinese girl wearing only Yellow eyeshadow, and Indian girl wearing only Black eyeshadow.

#14. Mascara which smudges and ruin eye makeup – Like how I was damn disturbed by the guy (yes, a guy) at Sephora with smudged mascara above and under his eyes. Not a pretty sight.

#15. Overly plucked brows – This can be resolved. Just fill your brows with pencil.

Well, wasn’t that something! I think fifteen is a great number to stop at, else I would be repeating my points.

Remember, no makeup in this world is perfect, but there are many ways to ruin perfectly beautiful makeup. That’s why experimenting makeup and find out what we look best in is extremely important.

Makeup is subjective, but we want to make ourselves gorgeous, not ruin how we look.

Hope you are more mindful of your makeup and check the mirrors more often!

Hope you find this entry useful!

xoxo,
JJ.

Daiso finds

All from Daiso!

I have always wondered if the makeup from Daiso really works. Since I have been dying to experiment some of the makeup items, I decided to purchase and try it out.

Each item at Daiso costs $2, so four items would amount to $8 – a pocket friendly price, and in this entry I would discuss how effective these items are and how it worked for me.

Item #1 – Sponge for Foundation / BB cream 

I understand that some people might be paranoid about the makeup they use, especially when buying from Daiso because the cost is only $2 per item and it might be unreliable.

The last thing we want is breaking out in acne the following day after using cheap makeup. Also, price might be a surrogate indicator of quality and hence the perception of Daiso products is that the quality is low.

If you don’t trust the cosmetics from Daiso, there are other beauty products like nail buffer, double eyelid tape, makeup sponges, cuticle remover, etc.

And as you can see in the picture above, I bought the makeup sponge. $2 for 12 pieces. And if I used 5 times per sponge before I dispose it, it’s 5 cents per usage! Great buy, right?

(I am assuming that using 5 times per sponge is acceptable because I know of people who use their sponges for weeks before disposal. Think of the bacterial buildup. Yikes.)

Item #2: Eyebrow pencil

Here’s how the tip looks like.

Tested at the back of my hand. 

Will this cause you to break out in acne? I doubt so.

Firstly, it is used at the brows in little quantities so it can’t possibly cause your entire face to break out in acne. Secondly, the ingredients used are black iron oxide, lanolin, hydrogenated vegetable oil, alcohol, talc, Vitamin E, and some others that you can find in other brands of eyebrow pencil as well.

It glides on skin and isn’t too light or too dark and I like it. I also tried it on my brows and it works like any other eyebrow pencils!

I have no complains, and I wouldn’t mind buying it again.

Item #3: Stick foundation

When I removed the cover of the stick foundation, my first reaction was “dang!” because the colour looks really yellow. As you can probably tell, the colour of the sticker does not reflect the colour of the foundation inside at all.

So I tried it on my skin. Yeap, I was certain that it wasn’t my skin colour.

It was too yellow and too opaque for my liking.

I glided the stick foundation on my skin and regretted big time. The feeling left on my skin was extremely oily! I use BB cream all the time and I am used to the liquid formula. But this stick foundation does not feel like the usual liquid foundation at all. If I have to wear this all day, I’d rather hang myself.

I thought it might be only the top layer that is oily, so I scraped off the top and tried it again. No difference.

After that, I had to use my eye makeup remover to thoroughly get it off my skin. It was definitely a bad experience.

For foundations that are darker in colour, they may be used for contouring. And foundation colour that is lighter than your skin colour may be used as a highlighter. Foundation with a thicker formula can be used as a concealer, or to smooth out uneven skin. But I do not know what to do with a super-duper oily stick foundation.

On the brighter side, this stick is convenient to carry around and that is the only good thing about this little tube.

Do yourself a favour, save your $2 and don’t ever get this from Daiso.

Item #4: Highlighter

Now this little container reminds me of the mineral makeup that I have. I like mineral makeup because of all its benefits (and I will discuss them in another entry).

I picked this up with my eyeshadow brush and brushed it on the back of my hand, and I love how pigmented the particles are. It is shimmery and made my skin look as if it was glowing.

Next, I tried it on my nose bridge and above the apples of my cheeks.

It turned out to be really pretty, and it’s definitely glowing. It also works great as an eyeshadow to highlight the inner corners of my eyes and just below my brow bone.

This is a great buy, and I will not hesitate to buy it when I finish using it (that’s if I ever do cause my makeup seems to last forever).

***

So here are my thoughts about these items I got for at a great price.

If you like to save money like I do, go pick up some fabulous items from Daiso!

..and leave the stick foundation alone.

Etude House Total Age Repair

Warning: Pretty boring entry ahead.

So I tried both the Etude House total age repair activating emulsion and the royal jelly cream.

Etude House Total Age Repair Royal Cream

Etude House Total Age Repair Activating Emulsion

So here is Etude House’s description of the total age repair:

“ Total Age Repair’s special formula utilizes fermentation of Immortelle Flowers and Royal Jelly to nourish and preserve youthful looking complexion with natural moisturizing, anti-aging, regenerative components.

Total Age Repair Activating Emulsion provides ideal moisturizing care for women in their thirties who experience the onset of fine lines, wrinkles and structural damage of derma.

Key ingredients in this exclusive formula include Immortelle Flower extracts, Royal jelly fermented extracts, and Shea Butter.”

***

Use sparingly!

I would not recommend you to use it if you’re still in your twenties because anti-ageing agents like the above is too strong for your young skin and would work magically for you now but in future, you’ll find that products like these would no longer work. Instead, you can try the normal moisturizer, toner, vitamin C essence, vitamin E without the anti-ageing agent.

However, if you are still in your twenties and your skin is cracking up like mine, go ahead and use it occasionally. I don’t use it on an everyday basis because I am extremely afraid that no products would work for me in future if my skin gets too used to all the strong creams or essence in the market.

I tried it, and found it to be extremely moisturizing.

The texture of it is a little like gel moisturizer, except that this product magically firms skin and reduce fine lines. Immediately after application, I could feel the difference. My skin felt more supple and lines less visible though it did not last long.

Priced at $49.90 at Etude House, it might be a little more expensive than other skincare products (I saw L’Oreal’s youth code selling for $25 at Sasa yesterday). But the of this bottle of emulsion does to your skin is probably justified by the good things that it does to the skin.

And once again, whatever works well for me might not do the same for you. Go ahead and try all the skincare out there in the market to find out what’s best for your skin. Good luck!

 

More rude people. This time at The Face Shop.

I went to The Face Shop earlier on, trying to find products which I haven’t seen before.

But what I found so interesting is the sales staff at The Face Shop.

I should have noticed it before, but I hadn’t. Apparently, each time I walk into the store trying to find something to buy, or just browse, the sales girls would stand beside me and stare.

It happened at Plaza Singapore, IMM, and Suntec City. Surely there’s a pattern that is forming.

Instead of telling me the how does BB cream work, why is their collagen botox cream effective or introducing the new arrivals to me, they get out of the counter and stand beside me to breathe down my neck.

Stare and stare and stare.

I think they should realize how rude it is to stand beside me and stare without uttering a single word.

And when they are right beside me, it is already intruding my personal space. So much that I am not able to read the ingredients on the bottle of toner without feeling pressurized to buy.

Come on, why are you staring at me? Are you going to tell me something that I don’t know, or are you going to make your presence felt?

Well, if it is about making your presence known, you’re doing it extremely well. I am aware and can’t miss the fact that there is someone beside me, watching my every move, and waiting to see if I would buy something.

Perhaps buying is the last thing that I would do, because I felt so uncomfortable that I wanted to leave the store immediately!

Staring does not only make me feel uncomfortable, it makes me feel as if you’re saying “buy now, or leave and don’t waste my effort”. And staring with an unfriendly disposition certainly does not help.

I do not expect the staff to greet me when I enter the shop, or to smile, or to say “Thank you, see you again!” when I leave the shop. Honestly, I’d rather be ignored than being stared at (like how the people at Prada ignore me).

If you are a sales person trying to sell a product, where are your sales skills?

Had I all the time in the world, I would sit all of them down and teach them some sales skills (I scored a Distinction in that module, by the way) so that no girl would need to experience this uneasiness and unpleasant feeling.

Now if you’re wondering why is The Face Shop empty when you enter, it probably is because that the staring of the staff made every girl in Singapore so uncomfortable that they don’t feel like stepping into the store again. Also, be prepared to be stared at.

I go to The Face Shop all the time, and I buy their products quite often. If this staring goes on, I might just head over to Etude House, where the staff are more friendly. After all, their products are easily replaceable.

My point is, if you’re gonna stare me down like a fourteen year old gangster (think of the girl who recently boast about slapping her mom twice) the next time, I will ask you to explain the effectiveness, usage, price difference and uniqueness of every single product you have in your store. Let’s see how much tolerance you have for me with all your sales experience (or the lack of it).

Till then, ciao.

Making coloured lipgloss

If you have a broken eyeshadow or blusher palette, fret not! You can re-use the colours by making lipgloss and I will show you how.

I have been clumsy enough to spoil a couple of blushers a few time in my life. And I used to throw them away because my blusher brush will not be able to pick up the blush nicely.

The last thing I want is a clutter of blush on my cheeks. I need to meet people and look good, not resemble monkey’s backside.

Now, I allow myself to recycle them by turning them into other useful things.

Here, I have a tube of clear coloured Chanel lipgloss.

Chanel lipgloss – courtesy of  mom

Only  mom would buy lipgloss from Chanel.

I have no idea why would mom buy a clear gloss from Chanel. I can make do with my Etude House lipgloss.

If I were her, I would have gotten the gloss in a sweet velvet red. For a clear coloured gloss, isn’t it a tad too pricey? I could have worn clear gloss from E.L.F and nobody would know the difference!

Ok, so I digress.

Next step after getting your gloss ready is to get your little container ready. The container will store your newly made gloss.

Glitter, pink, and a cute spatula!

I bought this from Daiso for the purpose of this entry. Now that I have it, it can be pretty useful for storing my moisturizer whenever I travel overseas.

After getting the container ready, I put some clear gloss into the container.

Used the mini spatula to scoop a little of my pink blusher

Less is more

Then, I cleaned the spatula and used it to scoop a lil red eyeshadow.

Still unsure of the colour combination

Mix till colour is even

Ready for usage!

Wasn’t that simple?

I know the pink is not exactly wearable for an everyday look. But you get the drift of how to make something good.

Don’t worry about the bizarre combination, because lipsticks and lipgloss are made from pigment. And if you’re using the blusher or eyeshadow from a reliable brand like Shiseido or Stila, it will work.

Have fun trying!

The texture of my foundation

If you have not tried foundation before, here’s a short summary on the texture of foundation you should get.

Before finding out what type of foundation should you buy, you need to know your skin type (combination, dry, normal, oily).

Oily skin 

L’Oreal powder foundation

For people with oily skin, it is more appropriate to use powder instead of liquid so the sebum that is produced can be balanced out. If your skin is extremely oily, do look out for oil-free foundation. Powder foundation gives pretty good coverage, but it will not look as natural as liquid foundation.

Dry skin

L’Oreal liquid foundation

For people with dry skin, using liquid foundation is more ideal. As a liquid foundation is more moisturizing than powder foundation, and dry skin will look better with a satin finish.

You may also wish to use tinted moisturizer or BB cream if you prefer a light coverage. This is a preferred option among younger women.

Open pores and uneven skin

Unfortunately, most types foundation will not be able to conceal open pores and uneven skin as the coverage is too thin. As maximum coverage is needed to even out the skin, it is best for you to work with a concealer then layer foundation over.

***

Hope this helped you in selecting your first foundation!

Bifesta for girls who appreciate efficiency

Isn’t it troublesome to remove makeup after usage?

After spending a bomb on our pressed powders, eyeshadow and lipsticks, we still have to fork out money to buy makeup remover.

Although we don’t really want to spend money on it, we understand that makeup will clog our pores and we will have bad skin the following day.

Oh, who haven’t heard of the horror stories yet? Doesn’t help when girls who talk about clogged pores exclaim loudly and end it with a grimace.

That being said, I tried Bifesta for the first time today.

Previously known as cleansing express

I am pretty sure that if I continued using this for the next few weeks, I am not going back to my L’Oreal eye makeup remover.

My current eye makeup remover

Right now, I am using this L’Oreal eye makeup remover with cotton pad everyday.

What it is lacking is the pump that Bifesta has. Great for lazy people. But it costs only $5.80 from Chinatown whereas Bifesta costs about $18. Teehee.

With Bifesta, I need not wash my face off with a facial cleanser and then moisturize it afterwards because it already contains moisture. I just need to rinse off the makeup remover lotion with water and I’m done!

Now I am wondering if there is any economical sense for me to use the cheaper alternative, but spend an additional 5 minutes to cleanse and moisturize my face. By the way, my cleanser costs about $20 and moisturizer costs $80.

Then again, it is not possible for me to use Bifesta alone, without any cleanser or moisturizer in my house. Right?

Perhaps I should keep a bottle of Bifesta around for lazy days, and stick to the cheaper alternative for non-lazy days.

Perfect solution. Pun intended.