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

I initially wanted to do this tag a few weeks back, after I saw Jen's (one of the YouTube makeup gurus that I subscribe to) "Naughty & Nice" list. Basically, it's just telling people which 5 products worked for you (nice) and which 5 didn't (naughty) for the Year 2010 and I thought it would be a nice end to the year. Anyway, everyone was coming up with their "My Favourites For 2010" lists so I'm doing this version of it. :)

Naughty List

[Credits to Zaleha/aizutto for the LUS makeup wipes picture]

1. LUS Makeup Remover Wipes

Yeah, I couldn't wait to throw away the thing after I was finally through with it, hence the "khoping" of Zaleha's picture. To me, it was the smelliest thing that I've ever placed on my face and I'm not even particular about smells at all (I still smother myself in my stinky baby pillow every night). Couple that with a mediocre cleansing ability and its relative small size, and you get item 1 on my naughty list.

2.  Dejavu Lash Knockout Mascara

I was trying to sell it away and am still trying to sell it away, cos it simply doesn't work for me. I know a lot of people raved about this product and the wonderful volume it gives to their lashes but this, for me, it's just clumps galore! Plus, I don't really appreciate the gigantic bristle brush; it threatens to poke me in the eye.

3.  Maybelline Gel Liner

Smudges like nobody's business. That's enough for me to blacklist it. (Read the full review here)

4. L'oreal Elnett Hair Spray

Ha ha, its weird cos almost everyone out there is raving about this product but I just don't get its hype. For me, it doesn't hold at all (a light breeze and my fringe is flopping all over the place) and granted it combs out easily, the other hairsprays that I've tried all comb out easily! Really annoyed with its non-present hold.

5. L'oreal Hair Spa For Dry and Damaged Hair

Once again, it was something that was recommended on the flowerpod forums so I bought a tub to try...and it didn't nothing for my hair. Except smell really nice and coconutty (I think that's the only part I liked about this product). It didn't moisturize and smoothen out my hair, and it weighed my hair down and made it slightly oily after 1/2 a day; it was just a big no-no. I still have 1/2 a tub left and I've got no idea what to do with it.

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Nice List

Ha ha, it seems that I've blacklisted a lot of L'oreal products but it gets better with the nice list. :]

1. Smashbox Long Wear Lip Gloss in "Boundless"

That's that beautiful coral colour you see in the picture. I was using this lip gloss to death when I was working in Sephora cos it's that amazing! And apparently everyone loved how it looked too, cos after I started wearing it, people started buying it and in 3-4 days it was sold out. :) It is very thick and sometimes clumps at the corners of the lips since it's a long-wear lip gloss, but I didn't mind that (just put a thin layer) and it lasted at least 4 hours on me. Still super glossy, the colour still as vibrant, plus it's got SPF15. Too bad it's so freaking expensive.

2. Lo'real 24 Hour Gel Liner

Ha ha, I don't hate all L'oreal products; in fact, I think a lot of their products are actually pretty good! This gel liner for instance. It was everything the Maybelline one wasn't - it didn't smudge, it lasted for more than 18 hours, it's really black and it's all spongey and creamy. And cheap too, if you can get it at S$10 at the L'oreal sale. :)

3. Kerastase Nectar thermique Leave-in Conditioner

I'm addicted to this stuff. One, it smells heavenly! Two, it has this amazing ability to straighten my hair and curl it in so that it doesn't dry all flipping out with cow licks. Three, it makes my hair so glossy and gives me that mush sought-after halo on the crown of my head. Four, it's got heat protective properties. Enough said.

4. MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in "By Candlelight"

Yay, at least 1 MAC item made it to my list and it's the MSF that I've been religiously using every day! Not because I wanna hit-pan on it or something, but I just love the sheer glow of colour it gives to my cheeks. And it's an awesome highlighter! This follows me everywhere I go, from east to west of Sg to Malaysia when I went over for a holiday 2 days back.

5. Tresemme Hair Products

Ok, this is technically not an item (cheating..?) but I love everything from this hair care brand. I'm digging their shampoos, their conditioners are awesome and I love the heat protectant spray. It really makes a difference when I style my hair with my straightening iron, and I think it's this spray, plus my Kerastase leave-in, that still keeps my hair healthy and smooth with my daily straightening/curling.

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So that's my list for 2010, which will be ending in 12 hours time. If you haven't done your favourites list or if you're interested in doing this tag, go ahead and share what worked for you and what didn't! Leave a comment behind on the link so that I can read it ok, cos I'm super kay poh and super interested in your items too!

Happy New Year everyone!

A week back, I headed to Home Club for a flea featuring Smoochiezz and other blog shops - I was prepared to spend some money but I really overshot my budget that day. =___= The flea was not too bad; there were bargain clothing from S$10, accessories, but of course Smoochiezz's stall stole the limelight (swarms of ladies rampaged the small corner that she was at). 

That day, she brought a lot of NYX products (powder/cream blushes, jumbo eye pencils, liquid eyeliners, lipsticks, gloss glosses, e/s and palettes), as well as an assortment of L'oreal, Maybelline, Revlon and Sally Hansen stuff. There's another flea coming up this Saturday (25th Sept) and there's gonna be even more brands like e.l.f and MAC that were missing from the previous one, so try to go if you have the time!

Let's see the damage done!

4 items from her stall for S$20, that's S$5 each. The Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Basecoat is retailing at Watsons at S$17+, but I got it so cheaply with a free pair of nail scissors (can use it to trim eyebrows). The other 3 items aren't even available in SG.

I'm digging the green bottle of varnish (it has gold reflux, omfgcool!) but have yet to try it. Next NOTD? :D

I was super excited to try these 2 items, but unfortunately the mascara was all dried out. The good thing, however, was that I wrote in to Smoochiezz and she immediately refunded me the money without any questions asked! Super good sales ethics! But I suppose she has to do that to maintain her reputation as a online seller. Anyway with the mascara out of the way, the L'oreal Lip Duo was next to be ripped open by my impatient hands!

This lip duo is special - the lipstick is actually a lipstain (solidified) and you're suppose to apply a thin layer, let it set, then sweep on a layer of the gloss provided. On the box, it claimed to be "zero-transfer", super long-lasting and can only be removed with an oil-based makeup remover.

I tried it, the stain is indeed drying but the magic happens when you put on the gloss. This gloss is mainly made up of silicones, this prevents the stain from being too drying and makes your lips so smooth and plump (blocks evaporation/dehydration I guess). When you try to wipe the colour off, it comes out in small flecks - I'm guessing that's the dry skin on my lips rubbing off instead of the colour. It comes off easily with the makeup remover though.

Here's a light swatch, looks like a bite/sore. The colour is buildable though, so you can make it look like its bleeding also.

After that, I walked over to Central @ Clark Quay and bought a pair of Mitju covered shoes (have to, my lab sessions require them). I'll not be featuring that here.

Then I walked some more, over to Chinatown,to find buttons to personalize my shirt. And of course I got side-tracked and spent even more money! Got these at People's Park Complex.

The L'oreal makeup remover bundle is suppose to go for S$19.90, but I got it for S$13.00! Ha ha, what a steal!!! Hooray for remover back-ups~ The 2 Laneige eye creams I bought for S$9.90.

I trawled through the gaggle of shops and finally got my buttons (10 pieces for S$5, so expensive though the buttons are quite fancy). Last stop was Swanstons. I almost gave up finding it, but spotted it when I was about the enter the Chinatown MRT station, ha ha! And I got my bottle of Kerastase Leave-In Conditioner.

This was S$37, my hair stylist in Storm was selling it for S$46 if I'm not wrong. This leave-in is fantastic! It not only makes your hair soft and manageable, it also has heat protection. When you apply some heat to your hair e.g. blow-drying, ironing/curling, its protective and conditioning properties are activated and it creates this amazing shine on your hair! I'm totally convinced after trying the sample pack my stylist gave me.

So that was my splurge back then and I'm gearing up for another one this weekend (L'oreal Expo sale and Smoochiezz flea)! Hope you guys enjoyed the entry, thanks for reading! :)