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

A thousand apologies for being MIA for so long, lovely people! I've been busy visiting places, eating, shopping, then getting from New York to Canada and finally settling down for school here in Montreal.

I've been away from home for.. hmm, almost a month now. Things are awesome here, Montreal is a lovely place to be in! Of course I found the time to upload loads of pictures onto my FaceBook, but I guess only the onsugarettes who are on my friend list can vew them. I'll try posting the FB link on a separate post later.

Without further ado, let's show you all what I bought while I was in the Big Apple for 1 week!

Yeah, that's all the stuff and I crammed it all in that Sephora carrier. It may not look a lot, but it burnt a big hole in my wallet!

First up, mascaras!

I bought all the mascaras that I've heard so much hype about and isn't available in SG. From left to right, that's the Maybelline One By One, The Falsies Flared and 2 Covergirl Lashblast. The mascaras averaged about US$7-8 each, which isn't expensive considering how much mascaras cost in SG.

Then I got some Milani stuff!

Actually I wanted to get way more, but I either couldn't find the items I wanted or the lack of money in my wallet prevented me from doing so. I got 3 of their baked blushes (Luminoso, Rose D'oro and Bellissimo Bronze) and 1 Liquif'eye liner in "Black" (ha ha, how predictable!).

My Wet N Wild purchases more than made up for my inadequate loot on Milani. I went crazy on the brand!

Aside from that single gel eyeliner, which I've heard SOOO many good things about, the rest are their eyeshadows.

I got 3 trios, which only differ by a bit given the fact that they belong to the same colour family; it is practical for me to buy these though, since these are the colours I will reach out for more frequently.

And I managed to fulfill my aim of getting a "Comfort Zone" back-up! Together with the "Blue Had Me At Hello" and the two famous 6-pan palettes, "Vanity" and "Lust". I'm still aiming to get the "Petal Pusher" palette though, maybe when I return to New York in December...

Then along came my Sephora haul. Seriously, I spent money like I drink water when I'm in the Sephora's in USA, seeing how I don't purchase much from our local branches.

Another mission accomplished, and that it getting my Naked palette (like finally)! I was at Times Square's Sephora on the day they launched the Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV, and I was this close to getting it...but after seeing how much I had left in my wallet, I decided to be practical (come on, the colours weren't that fantastic; the packaging the shadows were in were another story though).

I bought the sample set of liquid tints from Benefit, a travel size tube of Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer and a makeup set from LORAC, which came like this (but I threw the packaging away):

The set includes a baked eyeshadow trio which I love using (the quality and pigmentation is simply amazing), a mascara (3D lashes or something), a marker type liquid eyeliner which I also adore (it's even better than the Japanese one that I own, quality is fantastic), a blush (beautiful matte mauve shade) and a lipgloss. All for US$39, super reasonable can?

Aside from that, I got my first MAC fluidline from New York too. It's in the shade "Avenue" from the MAC Me Over collection that recently launched.

I was still in NYC when it launched so I popped by a MAC boutique and swatched all the goodies from the collection. I was really tempted to get one of the lipsticks and the much-hyped-about "Stunner" blush... but nah! Budget budget!!! This gel liner was US$16~ after taxes btw, which is so much cheaper than the price in SG.

I got some necessities too, nothing much to say about these items. There's the teeth bleaching gel, Mario Badescu's silver powder (freaking cheap here in the states), a bottle of Seche Vite and a small tube of Queen Helene's Mint Julep mask to try.

Last but not least, how can I not try Lush when there are so many Lush shops here?

So I got me some "Big" shampoo and some "Porridge" bar soap. The friendly sales girl threw in a sample of the "Veganese" hair conditioner for me to try out with the shampoo, good customer service I must say!

So that's my haul from New York. Don't fret, I bought even more cosmetics here in Canada! I'll be sharing them with you guys soon. Also, I'll be tryin out the FB photobook links, not sure if they will work here. It's better to view them via FB cos there's so many pictures, it's impossible for me to upload them onto Onsugar, ha ha!

Anyway, thanks for reading, you guys take care in SG! I'll write again soon~

Sometimes, the makeup industry can be a place that harsh and full of deceit (heck, most industries are like that), but from the experience I've gained so far, I feel that I'm able to write an accurate insider's account on what's going on. To clarify things, I'm not trying to toot my own horn. Afterall, I've only been working there as a temporary BA. However, I do know a few stuff and it's fun to just let you guys know what truly works and what doesn't. :)

Favs and Nays of Sephora BA's

Fav #1. Sephora Flashy Liners

There's the 24/7 pencil liners by Urban Decay and the Aqua Eyes liners by Make Up For Ever (MUFE), but they're so expensive for just a simple eye liner. The next time you visit Sephora, do check out the in-house line of "Flashy Liners", cos they work just as well (if not, better!). I've tried all three brands, and honestly, UD's 24/7 liners suck big time. They don't stay on my waterline and they migrate everywhere in Singapore's hot and humid weather. MUFE's Aqua Eyes are only a tad better. Sephora's flashy liners work great, and they only cost $14 each. Plus, the electric blue, forest green and peach shades are so pretty and pigmented!

Fav #2. Sephora Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencils

Ha ha, I've always amused myself at how Sephora launches certain products that are uncannily close to a product of another brand.

*cough* rip off *cough*

One such case is Urban Decay launching their jumbo e/s pencils, and a few weeks down the road, Sephora has their own version of the jumbo e/s pencils! While the former cost S$33 each, Sephora's only cost $17 each and they work pretty much the same. The only difference is the colour selection - if you prefer more BOOMZ colours, go for the Urban Decay ones; otherwise, the Sephora ones are a good bargain!

Fav #3. Sephora Mattifying Powder Foundation

Truth to be told, I haven't tried this product myself as I don't use powder foundations, but I've seen a lot of customers and colleagues use it, and it's good. My assistant supervisor, who's been with Sephora for 3 - 4 years, swears by it! The powder is finely milled and the coverage is full, so it gives you a very natural and flawless finish without looking cakey of too made-up. It also comes in pink (R series) and yellow-based (D series) tones, and ranges from the very fair (R/D10) to the very dark (R/D55). Plus, the oil-controlling property is really not bad!

Fav #4. Sephora Hair Mask

Again another product that I personally didn't try, but I've heard tons of Sephora BA's singing its praises. The display shelf for it is almost always empty, hence it's frequently sold out, and when stocks do come, the BA's will reserve 2-3 tubs for themselves at one go. I heard that the moisturizing and repairing ability of the mask is really good, and it comes ina huge tub at a relatively low price (S$25+) too. However, I haven't been seeing it instore lately, so there's a possibility that it might have been discontnued. =/ Just keep an eye out for it lah.

Fav #5. Federic Fekkai Hair Products

Ha ha, I'd be lying if I said we love just the in-house brand of products; of course we adore the high end brands too, and one tried-and-tested brand is Fekkai's range of hair products. Let's just say that anyone who've tried their products never went back to the previous products again. It's that good! I love their hairspray, my colleagues rave about their Apple Cider Clarifying shampoo, and I've got customers that swear by their Technician Color Care series. Yes, it's pricey but it's worth every penny!

Fav #6. Make Up For Ever

More often than not, when a Sephora BA is deciding which instore products to use for the day, she/he will head straight for the MUFE counter. Simply because the quality of their products is amazing and most of their products work so well. For me, I love their eyebrow pencils and Smokey Lash mascara. My colleagues love their HD elixir, HD primers and All Mat foundations. MUFE is a true gem amongst the other gimmicky products in the store, and we know it. The only downside is the price of their products... -___-

Nay #1. Amazing Cosmetics concealer isn't all that amazing.

[Picture credit to cosmetic-candy.com]

Well, it actually depends on your skin tone and what purpose you want it for. I'd admit the concealer is not bad - it's smooth and liquidy so it won't cause cakiness, the coverage is excellent, and it's a good investment since a little goes a long way. However, most of their shades are too orangey for us Asians. Thank god I match well to one of their few yellow-based shades, and that is "Light Golden". Most of my darker skinned customers have great difficulty matching, simply because of its weird orange tone. A pity, really, as it's quite a good concealer.

Nay #2. Clinique skin care

I'm not gonna say much in fear of what may happen to me, but people with sensitive skin, just avoid the brand. You can test it out if you want, just go to Sephora and swab some onto your neck. But in general, just take my heeding. No matter what the brand claims to be (allergy tested, fragrance free, blah blah).

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Pet Peeves

More specifically, mine actually. While I'm pretty pleasant to majority of the customers, so really do get my goat. I know that it's our job to serve you, but there's no reason to be mean or degrading or rude or just plain unreasonable.

Pet Peeve #1. "Is it good?"

Ha ha, I had this customer who asked me that question for every product she laid her hands on. I don't mind if you ask me on specific products, but to do this for 10 products ranging from skincare to makeup to body care, it's just... NO! (see, I've ran out of words to describe that horrible feeling) I mean, I am paid to say that every product is good, but do you really want to hear that? I sure don't, cause what I want to do is to tell you the truth. Don't make me lie in your face.

Pet Peeve #2. Learn to speak at least some English, goddamnit.

This has always been bothering me. Why is it that most Japanese and Korean customers bother to learn english and even try to make their point across with their limited vocab (I do appreciate the effort, I'll always try my best to help them)... but the China customers don't?

They walk into Sephora expecting every single person there to be fluent in Mandarin. When half of the Sephora BA's are Malays. Even the MUFE BA at our store is a Malay. I alright with my mandarin, but I'm not trained in speaking cosmetic terms. What's "serum", "toner", "lash tonic" in mandarin? I've got no idea. Singapore is a multi-racial country and our first language is English, so please learn to at least utter some words. "Thank you" and "Please" will be a good start.

Pet Peeve #3. Treating BA's like servants.

Seriously, this does not go down well with us at all. Yes, it's our job to serve you, but as a customer and sales assistant. Not as a owner and slave. Will you make your friend run around to fetch things for you at a single command or a wave of your hand? Will you expect your friend to bend down and pick up something you've dropped at your feet, just because you don't want to mess up your dress or you're actually trying to balance on 5-inch heels? No, right? That applies with us, and all the rest of the human race.

For me, if a customer is nice enough, I'd voluntarily run around the store for her and even bend down at her feet. But if you're showing me a haunty look and expecting me to do so, sorry. No go.

That being said, do try to make friends with the BA's. Cause once we feel at ease and friendly with you, more often than not we'll throw in a lot more samples and goodies into your shopping bag. And we might even let you in on good products that only the BA's know. At least that's what I do. A single heart felt "thank you" and smile goes a long way!

Pet Peeve #4. Please acknowledge our greeting.

Even if you turn towards our direction after we've greeted you, we appreciate it! A nod of your head or a smile makes the greeting even more worth doing. I love greeting caucasian customers as they often return our greetings with a wide grin and a cheerful "Hello, how are you?". Most Singaporeans do nod or flash us a brief smile. There are some that just saunter in, ignore our greeting and us in general...and then turn around and say we didn't serve them.

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Ohh, before I forget, let me show you this cute souvenir my assistant supervisor got me when she went to Bangkok a while back!

Ha ha, isn't it cute??? I love her silky long red hair and her dress, even though I'm not really good at taking care of it (her hair is much messier now than when I just received her, ha ha!).

Thanks for reading this post, if you do have any comments/feelings on what I've just written, please leave it down! I'd love to hear what you have to say!

I had been working as a temporary beauty advisor in Sephora (kinda obvious from my series of posts) for the past two months, and I've finally stopped work last week. It will be just another 2 weeks more before I leave for USA and Canada for a 5 month exchange trip, so I needed some break time to get my things in order.

Surprisingly, it was a relatively uneventful experience this time. I wasn't involved in any of the animations (over-time shifts that the BA's do to revamp the display shelves and put up new products) and my manager didn't send me for any training (seeing as I was temp anyhow). Plus, there weren't any makeup themes and we didn't have the hair styling station to play with. However, I did serve a few interesting customers (Ris Low will forever top that list) and I'm satisfied with my work.

One perk about working in a beauty store is that you kinda have 'unlimited' excess to samples and products.

Which is how I ended up with all these...

...and I must say it's very timely of me to pick up these miniatures, as they'll come in useful for my upcoming exchange trip!

There's some Biotherm products: (from left to right) the cleanser, a microscrub cleanser, serum and tub moisturizer.

A bit on Biotherm - I don't really have a good impression of it. Most, if not all, of their products contain alcohol denat., which dries out skin. I don't even get why they put it into their moisturizers, kinda defeats the prupose doesn't it?

I got some For Beloved One stuff! (left to right) Treatment lotion, Vit C essence, night jelly, toner and the BB cream.

The brand just arrived in the store a few weeks back, but one thing I have to say is that their stuff all smell really good! Like their toner don't smell like toner at all, smell like some kind of perfume. *swoons at scent*

Some assorted products here, the top row are Kose samples. Grabbed the refining lotion 1, and two tubes of washing cream and makeup base each. There's two Lancome Bright Eyes base (SPF 50, woots!) and a couple of Libote Sakura cleansers and exfoliating gel.

I've tried a tube of the Kose makeup base, and I must say I'm quite impressed with it. It's got SPF 25 but it isn't greasy at all; in fact, it gives a semi-matte finish. Also, it's got enough coverage for me to use it on its own if I'm not going anywhere special.

Should have grabbed more of it... Ha ha!

Last but not least, these I find extremely handy for my trip. Travel size Clinique makeup removers! Such a good time to grab these, I was wondering how to smuggle in my full size L'oreal makeup remover the other day.

On top of these cosmetics, I got a free Ralph Lauren umbrella. It's a wonderful umbrella, being made up of thick and sturdy material and being incredibly big. I can foresee my family using it for years ahead. -___-

All in all, it was certainly a good thing to go back to Sephora to work this holiday! Ha ha, thanks for reading!

Basically, this was the last notable LOTD that I wore to Sephora for work. I only had a day left after that and I happened to fall ill, so I didn't do any fanciful eye works.

Close-ups of the eye:

It was the pair of Elise lashes that I bought half a year ago, the pair at the bottom.

It was going for only S$2 (R.P. at $12.90) at a Sasa sale, and I swore I would wear it at least once if I do return to Sephora for work. Well, I fulfilled that promise to myself and I totally didn't regret buying this pair of lashes. They look amazing and they're quite comfortable to wear. Not heavy and pokey at all! I'm definitely bringing and wearing these to NYC!

Other than these lashes, I kept the whole look simple with some light contouring and a winged liner.

Ahh, I love how they complement my silver frames!

Ha ha ha at my narcissism. But thanks for looking anyway!

The past week was actually my last week with Sephora as a temp staff, and that kind of tipped me into a crazy, adrenaline-filled mode, so unknowingly, my LOTDs were full of mad fun colours!

They're a bit reminiscent of the makeup Johnny Depp had on as the Mad Hatter in the film "Alice In Wonderland"...

... but maybe not quite as crazy, ha ha!

Here's the first LOTD:

Close-up of the eyes:

I went with a peach shade all over the lids, pass the crease and then concentrating a pink shade on the lid area nearer to the lash line. For the lower lash line, I used the pink shade again but this time adding a bit of purple. A blue-purple eyeliner and lots of mascara completed the Mad Hatter inspired look.

I had on a pure pink blush that day, which is a rarity for me since I favour peaches and corals more. Then, I played around with Too Faced Mood Swings lip gloss, which gave me a true barbie pink lip!

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For the second LOTD, I was still in the whimsical mood, so I drew inspiration from paddle pops and this video by Michelle Phan:

And this is my version:

Close-up of the eyes:

Ha ha, I really enjoyed doing this look! It makes me so happy when I was applying these bright colours~ A customer, this young caucasian teenager, came over to ask me a question and kept staring at my eyes. Then as she was about to leave, she complimented me on the colours.

Anyway, it's a pastel yellow, pink and blue on the upper lids while I did yellow, pink and purple on the lower lash line. I used the blue-purple eyeliner once again, and applied mascara generously.

You can hardly see my coral-pink blush here, cos the lighting washes it out, but you can still see the colourful eyes and very pink lips!

I definitely had lots of fun doing these two looks, and they abated my fears of using bright colours on our eyes. Who says asian monolidders can't play with colours? Ha ha ha, hope you enjoyed this LOTD post and thanks for looking!

So I've been playing with my newly purchased MAC "Warmth of Coral" blush the past few days, and this is how it looks like:

Now, I'm not too proud of this LOTD as the eye makeup did not come out the way I wanted, hence I felt that the colour of the blush wasn't contrasted properly.

My eye makeup looked too bland and silvery...

..when I was trying to aim for something like this:

But anyway, I tried a second LOTD with the blush and this came out a lot better!

I especially do prefer this eye makeup, as the brown and the gold warmed up the blush and complimented it more. Plus, who doesn't like gold glitter? *pfft*

Threw on my orange-coloured specs to matchy matchy the LOTD!

So, what do I have to say about the blush? Well, it does take a bit of layering for "Warmth of Coral" to be seen on me, though I am already quite fair. For normal day use, it's an easy enough blush to apply. You don't need to worry about having pikachu cheeks or the nedd to blend crazily to sheer the blush out. I had trouble getting it to show up in Sephora though, cos the lighting there is horrible and it makes makeup vanish almost completely.

But I'm still glad I got the blush, as it's an unique product in my collection and I love orange/coral blushes!

Thanks for reading, guys!

Once again, a very back-dated LOTD but do enjoy the post, nonetheless!

I super love the blush I had on here! It's a warm peachy-orange shade, a mixture of 2 Make Up For Ever blushes that I used. I thought it complimented the look very well, definitely very hawaii-like!

Close-up of the eyes:

I also super like this colour combi! If I could (and if I had the time and patience), I would do this eye look everyday!

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Additionally, I was messing around with the OPI Shatter polishes.

And I finally found a shatter combi that I like!

I think white shatter over sparkling silver polish is so cool! It doesn't look so..."slipshod", in fact, I think it looks a tad classy! I'd love to pair nails like these with a white chronograph watch! My colleague digs the turquoise shatter-over-yellow combi though. Shall consider getting the white shatter when I'm in the States next month.

Anyway, thanks for looking people!

Sephora updates:

1) Tweezerman is instores! Tweezers are going from S$10 - S$35+ (crappy expensive, but I heard the quality is really good and worth investing)

2) Benefit's Cha Cha Tint has been instores for quite a while, retailing for S$62 per bottle.

3) Urban Decay will be bringing in its Fall collection and the legendary 15th anniversary eyeshadow palette, somewhere in late September or October! The palette will retail for S$80 (as of current info now, may be subjected to adjustments).

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Alright, let's cut to the chase and take a look at the (very belated) LOTD!

Close-up of the eyes:

I wanted to do the bat wing liner so badly, but it would look strange on my single eyelids (the YouTube gurus who taught that all have beautiful creases/double eyelids), hence my modification to this cut-crease version.

In the words of my colleague: "Cheryl, you made a good decision to draw this kind of liner today. Even if you're sleepy, you look damn awake can?!"

Like so. :}

And flaunting the Bare Escentuals T-shirt that we have been wearing for  nearly a month now.

"Try. Believe. Love." What if I try and don't believe, or don't love leh? How??? xD

Ha ha ha, I think I much prefer the more chic Sephora top that we normally wear. :3 Thanks for looking, everyone!

I was really into greens last week, not a colour you see me often spotting on my lids, but here's 2 LOTDs featuring it!

LOTD #1) Smokey green with Wet 'N' Wild's Comfort Zone palette

Close-ups of the eye makeup:

Though this is a green smokey eye, I love how there's this overall hint of gold through out all the colours I used. Definitely complimentary with our warm asian skin tones!

This picture of my eye is just to let you see my very visible lower lashes, all thanks to Clinique's Bottom Lash mascara! The wand is SO tiny, but it coats and thickens each and every lower lash very well! The down side would probably be that it takes much longer to put on mascara that way, but I'm still digging the product!

And... a smile for you~

LOTD #2) CHEAP Aqua-gold look

Why do I say that? Because that beautiful teal shade is actually Daiso's S$2 pigment. Which is the price for 1 big bottle and I only used a smidgen here. All it needs is a good base, which will make the colour really pop. The gold shade is from my very first eyeshadow palette, which is the copper L'oreal Open Eyes palette that has been with me since Nov 2009.

Close-ups of the eye makeup:

Well okay, maybe it's not that cheap, cos I forgot to mention the sky blue eyeliner, which is Urban Decay's 24/7 eye pencil in "Deviant". But I got that for free, so it's still considered 'cheap'!

Pouty face~

Ha ha, but I really like this look a lot. It's very summery and ocean-y! And who doesn't like it when cheap products give you as good a result as high end products? xD

Once again, thanks for looking at this post, people!

It was totally on impulse! Ha ha ha ha, I swear! I wasn't going to do anything to my hair until my trip to Canada, but after watching the korean girl band f(x)'s hot summer auburn hair, I immediately went to buy a box of DIY hair dye.

I used this...

... and 1 hour later, I emerged with red hair. *cue hair picture spam*

This was my matching red LOTD that I wore to work the next day, I was feeling the red dude!!!

Close-up of the eyes:

The shimmery taupe shade you see near the lash line is the new Bare Escentuals High Shine Eyecolor in "Glisten".

Also, I was sporting both the Lash Definition and Volumizing mascaras from the brand. The mascaras have been released quite a while back, but the High Shine Eyecolors and the Pretty Amazing Lipcolor are new items that arrived in our Sephora just last week.

On my lips, I was wearing the Pretty Amazing Lipcolor in "Courage". It's a really amazing fiery coral shade, so complementary with my skintone and my hair colour!

And a final goodbye pic from me, cos I simply loved how this turned out, heh. :)

My hair is getting quite long and it's almost time for me to get it cut! Thanks for reading~