All The Things I Can't Live Without...

I haven't been spending much lately as I was saving up for an iPhone. Plus no pocket money during the holidays = even less spending power.

But things have come around! First up, I've finally gotten my iPhone 2 days back (after waiting for half a year). It's an indispensable device to me, cos I love my music and I love my apps. :) And, I've started receiving pocket money again, yay! Plus, I've sold a whole bunch of pineapple tarts (pity I didn't a pic of them, cos I made a whole mountain load!) so I've gotten some extra spending money.

Ohh, and Chinese New Year is just tomorrow...which means ang bao!

So I went to get the 2 items that I've been eyeing for the past month and finally justified buying (come on, they're necessities!).

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Item #1, liquid eyeliner! This is the Wink Up Essence-In Pen Eyeliner. I had to get a replacement after using my Silkygirl Precision liner for more than a year (and it finally dried out).

They claimed that Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen and Pantothenic Acid has been added to strengthen the lashes and the skin around the area... but how effective is that gonna be when the substances are the last 3 ingredients in the ingredients list??? *is skeptical*

But I'm definitely digging the sleek red packaging and the fine brush tip!

Time to test!

As you can see, the fine tip really allows precised and thin lines to be drawn. I could feather out the lashes singly in the eye pic that I drew. And more pressure can be applied to get a thicker line ala Pikachu~

This eyeliner is water-resistant and quite stubborn to smudging when you rub against it. However, I've only used it twice so I can't say much about its waterproof or lasting properties. But so far so good (and that's a plus cos I'm an extremely picky person)!

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Item #2, a new foundation! This is the Bourjois "smell-so-good-I-wanna-eat-it" Healthy Mix Foundation.

Here's the pump and I got it in Shade 52, Vanilla.

I was quite excited to get it cos this would be my very first foundation, giving that all I've been using thus far are BB creams and tinted moisturizers. It's true, I really feel like slathering some on my tongue every time I apply it onto my face - it smells so refreshingly intoxicating!

Coverage is about light to medium; it's light and moisturizing; the finish is dewy but it sets to a semi-powdery finish. I've only worn it once, so I can't attest to its "16 Hour" claim and I don't know how it does in sweltering weather yet. We shall see, but for now, I'm really satisfied with it.

Here are the pics of the foundation after 6 hours of wear, when I test drove it yesterday.

(I didn't toggle with any picture settings this time, maybe only brighten the pic a bit as it was night time when I took the pics and the room was kinda dim. What you see is how it looked on my face.)

In normal room lighting:

Dewy..but not oily. The shine at my cheeks is partly due to my MSF which I used to highlight. But my nose and the area around it does tend to get a bit oilier than the other places.

With flash:

So that's that for now, I'm really excited to wear the foundation out to visitations during CNY!

Here's wishing everyone and your families a HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! It's time to get hoppin' (Year of the Rabbit) and hope everyone eats lots of barbeque meat and pineapple tarts!

P.S. Super excited at what looks I'm gonna be doing this CNY. Last year with makeup was fun~~~

When you can't (or more like, unwilling) to get the real thing and when you don't wanna splurge on the Chanel ones...

..do what I did and draw on some of your own! :) All it took was some liquid eye liner (make sure it's a good budge-proof one) and Etude House's Tear Drop Glitter Eye Liner (given by miwitch). Ohh, and some creative juice!

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A close up of the design at the wrist:

And those at my middle finger, thumb and the back of my wrist:

And how it looks against a black polo tee and denim shorts (sorry had to show you guys my crotch Q__Q):

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A few cam-whoring pics with my creation:

I had on a winged eyeliner and some of Etude House' glitter eyeliner on the inner corner of my eyes when I went out that day. Paired this simple eye look with some orangey-red lips but after dinner and  coffee, it all wore out.

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Anyway, I loved the idea so much that I wore it out to a friends gathering the next day. Of course since these aren't permanent, I had to redraw them but no problem! I had on another design for that gathering (but didn't photograph it cos I was in a rush). And I got a few compliments, even though one of my friends exclaimed "Waste eyeliner!!!"

I was like "Hello, I have been using this eyeliner for 1 year and it isn't even finished!"

"Ohhh, trying ways to buy new eyeliner harh?"

Ha ha, he totally read my mind! But yeah, I think my eyeliner is finally drying out a little after this tattoo thing and it's good! Cos I've got my eye on one of the new pen-type liquid eyeliner recently brought in by Watsons, heh.

So that's my home-made version of the Chanel-esque temporary tattoo and if you want some but cannot afford the Chanel ones, this is a good thing to try out. Or if you're finding ways to use up eyeliner, this is definitely a good way! Ha ha, hope you guys enjoyed the pic spam, thanks for reading!

Battle of the top (and cheap) gel liners!!!

A while back, I decided to switch from pencil liners to gel liners as it's easier to do a wing, and it's less flaky and harsh-looking than my liquid eyeliner. So what's a girl got to do when she wants to try something affordable yet good? I turned to the 2 most common drugstore brand, Maybelline and L'oreal. I did consider on getting MAC's fluidline, Bobbi Brown's or Clinique's gel liners but they were a bit out of my budget, and I wanted to try something low end first.

After using these 2 liners each for a few weeks, I have a clear winner!

Let's go through the routine first though. I started off with Maybelline Studio's Gel Liner.

Pigmentation: A solid black

Texture: I wasn't sure if it's just my tub, but mine was more on the drier, more solid side. It's still creamy, but not like MAC's, which I heard you can stab your brush into. You'll have to run your brush along the surface instead of jabbing into it to get product on. And since it's drier, the product can't be applied on the whole lash line in 1 stroke. You'll have to dip the brush back and get more product.

That being said, it has minimal smudging after application. Good for people with double eyelids and who tend to blink a lot after applying eyeliner.

Hours of Wear: Not too bad, it lasted on me for quite long. But the next problem definitely cut down on the longevity of this eyeliner on me!

Smudge-ability: Omg, it smudged on me like hell!!! It really came as a surprise, cos the first 2-3 times I wore it, it didn't smudge on me at all. I was really happy with the product..until it smudged really badly on me one fine day. And after that ever since, it ran and smudged like crazy!

I was really confused; I thought it was my makeup base since I changed to a more moisturizing (aka oilier) one, so I tried switching back to the mattifying one. It stopped smudging on me once, than the rest of the time is panda eyes galore! Till now, I still don't know what's wrong. Lasted 5-6 hours on me before smudging.

Works on Waterline: Don't know, never tried since it already smudged so badly on me when I use it on my lash line. I didn't want to go to school looking like a drug addict.

Pet Peeve: I really disliked the metal screw cap of the tub. Made the product seem so industrial and crude. Can't Maybelline come up with a nicer packaging?

Cost: S$19.90

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After trying the Maybelline liner for so many times and getting disappointed with each try, I decided to use another brand's - the opportunity came when I got the L'oreal 24 Hour Gel Liner for only S$10 at the recent L'oreal sale. I have to admit, at that time I was skeptical. Isn't L'oreal the same as Maybelline, and won't their gel liner turn out the same?? I mean, their packaged brush is 99.9% identical! Am I making another mistake again?

Well, apparently not, cos the L'oreal gel liner works fantastically on me!!!

[Credits to peanutbutterjellytime~]

Pigmentation: A solid black. I think the pigmentation is on par, if not, slightly better than Maybelline's.

Texture: Oh gosh, I love the texture of this liner! I think this is what Stila's Smudge Pot feels like (according to my friend too) - it's just soft and creamy enough that your brush can jab in a few mm, but not all the way through (aka MAC's Fluidline). And it's definitely not as dry as Maybelline's. While I had to scrape the top of the Maybelline liner, I could actually poke my brush into the L'oreal's and scoop some out. The liner also goes on more smoothly, due to its spongey-er consistency, and you could line the whole lash line with one stroke.

Hours of Wear: I dare say 24 hours, true to its namesake. Well, I wore it for about 15 hours and it was still fine - no fading.

Smudge-ability: Hell no, none at all! Ha ha, I'm so happy with this product!!! Wore it for 15 hours and more, no fading, no smudging whatsoever.

Works on Waterline: A big YES!!! I've got pictures to prove this, and you guys have probably seen my recent eyeliner looks. My waterline in all those pictures is lined with this amazing liner. And the best thing? It doesn't come off the waterline, even after 12 hours! Even Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner can't beat that.

Pet Peeve: Since this liner is more jelly in nature, it takes slightly longer than the Maybelline's to dry, thus it does crease if you blink after application. You can see a faded strip, then a darkened strip because some of the liner that has not dried yet has transfered a little. It doesn't smudge, just creases a bit. Simple solution - wait and don't blink for a while more to let the liner dry thoroughly, or do what I do and go over the faded strip another time with a healthy dose of gel liner!

Cost: S$21.90

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I put it to the test by wearing it on both my tightline and waterline to a Bukit Timah excursion last week, lol! My school made us go there to observe plants, and as expected, I sweated buckets while climbing the hill!

Me cam-whoring when I had the chance to! You can see my rosy cheeks and my fringe sticking to my forehead, cause the weather was friggin' hot!

And pictures of my makeup I took that night after the trip.

Please don't mistake the outer smokey outline to be smudges. That's actually the waterproof MUFE Aqua Cream that I used to create the smokey effect. The gel liner is the solid black line closer to my lash line. You can see the liner didn't smudge at all, and it's even still on my waterline after all the sweating, running, climbing and blinking on Bukit Timah.

I must say, my makeup lasted pretty well! And I am totally happy, and thoroughly satisfied with my L'oreal 24 Hour Gel Liner. :)

It's a pity really, since I've heard so many good things about the Maybelline one, and it didn't work on me. I was wondering if it's my eyes or if the product is just not for me, but I'm glad I tried the L'oreal one. If you're considering between these 2 brands, I'll definitely say go for the L'oreal one!

Ha ha, my bank account is dwindling (hi-5, Michelle!) and yet, I still can't resist buying stuff so I've been sneaking a few small new items here and there into my stash. Just a round up of what I've gotten~

Mascara and eyeliners, who can resist~~~

The Urban Decay eyeliners, Mildew and Covet, are the travel sized ones and I got them from sg_beauty, for a super reasonable price of S$5.00 each. Also, I bought the Smashbox Lash DNA mascara off Jennifer (lillgoddess) and she was kind enough to give me a small discount for it! So happy, cos I don't know if you remember, I was raving about this mascara when I was working in Sephora. And it's currently sold out in the GWC branch (I wanted to get it with my staff's discount), so imagine how happy I was able to get this!

Here's how its very unique brush looks like:

From these 2 pics, you can probably tell the mascara has got a big-ass brush! That'll be one of the few cons of this mascara - you'll have to be careful/get use to using such a big brush as it may accidently smear mascara onto your eyelid.

It's kinda rectangular in shape, not like the conventional narrow-end, fat base kind of brushes - which means that getting to the lashes at the inner corners may be difficult. However the few times I've used in Sephora, it wasn't so at all. In fact, I found it reached my inner corner lashes and coated them more effectively than those tapered wands.

Also in the pic above, you can see its double-helix shape, where the bristles are arranged - long, short, long, short - in the manner of a spiral staircase. There's a special way to using this unique mascara but unfortunately, I'm not starting on this one yet - have to finish up my Covergirl Lash Blast first! Will do a review when I use this in the near future.

And also, this was something I had ordered 2 weeks back and it finally came yesterday! So exciting!

Bella V2 Pro Hair Iron, specially imported from Korea! I've tried it this morning and it's not bad at all~ Next post will be on the details and results of this hair iron! ^__^

Ohh yah, I almost forgot. Just wanna show you guys the goodies I got from my boss before I left Sephora.

I've never seen the Too Faced concealer sold instore before, so I'm guessing it's either an older, discontinued product or it's from the Ion store...? I'm not sure, but I have not used it yet cos I've still got other concealers opened. The Bliss Triple Oxygen mask, on the other hand, I've tried and it's GOOD! :D

Ha ha, these 2 Urban Decay products! There's a small story behind these - we were having a mini game between us colleagues and our supervisor, as to who can sell the most UD products at one go, and the target was S$500 in 1 receipt. Which is crazy really, cos 1 UD product is about S$30+, so S$500 would mean about 15 items? How to sell so many UD items at one go to one customer?! But we all tried our best and in the end, I won the game by selling 5 items for S$210+. So I got these 2 stuff for my reward, lol! I know it's super cheapo, but it's something! I guess I was prouder of my sales persuasion skills than anything else~

So yeah, thanks for reading and look forward to the hair iron review up next!

Well, I was hoping to haul more from Malaysia but after getting a few things here and there, it became quite a big haul afterall, lol! Just here to share with you some stuff I bought and the huge savings I made. :)

First up, 5 Silkygirl Funky Eyelights Pencil Liners!

Lol, I know I went a bit overboard buying so many at one go, but I got these at RM$11.88 (they were having their mid year sale too) which converts to about S$5.20 each! So cheap, you can't even get them at this price in John Little. As you can see, I got the blues, a purple, a dark green and a silver. The others didn't really appeal to me.

Next, mascaras!

I got the Silkygirl Double Intense as a backup, come on, it was selling for S$9.10 after conversion. And also the In2It Lengthening mascara (S$7.40 after conversion) to try out, since I was impressed with the fibres when I saw the tester. So far I've only tried it once to see it's effect, not much I can say yet about it - have to try some more. I was so tempted to get the Rimmel Glam Eyes cos they were selling it at such a low price... but gah, self-control.

On the 1st day when I was in Malacca, I got to go to a Daiso and I picked these up for RM$5 a pop.

I love the small smudge brush to bits. I've been using my older one for 1/2 a year and it's really good for putting eyeshadow on my lower lash line, or at the inner corners and tear duct. Currently, I'm using it to fill in my eyebrows but I've been searching frantically at every Daiso in SG for another one for my tear duct and lower lash line, and no luck so far. Until I found the last piece in Malacca's Daiso and I grabbed it without hesitation! Lol, and so goes the dramatic story behind my small $2 smudge brush. The green eyeshadow palette was bought on a wimp, and I haven't had the time to even open and swatch it yet!

And not forgetting my other love, nail varnishes~ I popped into Etude House - they were having a up-to-50%-off sale - and got these.

2 Darling-something-I-can't-remember-the-corny-name polishes at RM$9.52 after discount = S$ 4.14 each, and 1 petite-I-really-can't-remember-the-name polish at RM$ 4.72 = S$2.05. I just know I got 2 really nice big bottles and 1 beautiful small green bottle of polish at dirt cheap prices, and the colour payoff is extremely gorgeous.

Look at the holographic-ness of the silver glittery polish!

You'll see them soon enough, cos I'll be featuring some NOTDs using them. The colours are too beautiful, I'm sorely tempted to use them!

And of course I had to get an ass-load full of hair products. But it's totally justifiable, cos I finally found TRESemme!

Ha ha, enough shampoo and conditioner to wash my hair with for a lifetime and a half! And the TRESemme volume and lift mousse really works. I'm in awe, cos virtually nothing works on my limpy hair. Either that or I hate the texture/itchyness/smell/price but this really works and I've got nothing to complain about. This whole lot costed around RM$80 (S$35) which is really cheap, since I haven't found TRESemme in SG yet and the only way is to import them in (expensive shipping).

Last but not least, I've gotten stuff for my face and my hair... how can I forget about my body??? Ha ha, I didn't!

Lovely long white skirt for RM$30 (S$13) - it looks really boho with a black tank top. I'm planning to wear it out as a tube dress too!

Just a few more things... 2 items from sg_beauty!

Heh, 1 more Silkygirl Funky Eyelight pencil (got it for S$3) and the infamous Covergirl Lash Blast for S$9. Lol, I think I have to go on a mascara and eyeliner ban but there's so many more out there to try! I'm trying to reassure myself that I'm actually earning my keep now... but I should really save the money... ahh heck! STAGE sale, here I come! :D