Saimese

Metallic Green Charcoal Look

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:10:00 +0000

While browsing through the Eye Graffiti blog last night I saw a look by Azure that I wanted to try. I've been wanting to use my 88 Metal eyeshadow palette from Sedona Lace for a while now since I hardly ever use it & the palette had all the colours that I could use for this look, so I did an inspired look today. Since all the colours used were metallic/shimmery, I think it threw my camera off because the colours didn't show up nicely, but enjoy!

I wish the blue showed up a bit darker instead of the frosty blue that it showed up as. I still liked the look though.

Click here to see the original look by Azure on the Eye Graffiti blog. Azure's look has such pretty reddish-gold flecks of glitter.

Warning: once you visit the Eye Graffiti blog you are going to end up spending tons of time browsing through all their wonderful looks. Seriously, I'm not kidding.

Have you tried the 88 Metal eyeshadow palette?

How do you like it?

Review: China Glaze Magnetix Nailpolishes

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Wed, 02 May 2012 05:00:00 +0000

If you've read my nail related posts on this blog before, you might know that I openly admit at being horrible at nail art. My nails are usually bare & I hardly have the patience to let one coat of nailpolish dry completely. That's why it seems like the China Glaze Magnetix collection is made for people like me! I mean the concept is simple: apply nailpolish, hold magnet over the damp nail, & seal with a top coat. That doesn't sound too hard, right?

I was presented with the opportunity to try out & review 2 of these nailpolishes + the magnet by NailPolishCanada.com, which is a great site for Canadians who want to avoid paying ridiculous shipping & custom charges. Of course, I wanted to see whether these worked as easy as the concept sounded, so I agreed. When I was picking out the nailpolish shades online, I was not impressed with colours in this collection. I really wish they had brighter or bolder colours, but the two shades that I ended up picking out are Drawn to You & Instant Chemistry.

The night that I opened the package, I tried Drawn to You on one nail right away with the diagonal lines design on the magnet. The magnet was easy to use & I was impressed with the outcome.

Using the magnet itself wasn't a problem for me since I had read the instructions & watched a tutorial on YouTube. I made sure I worked on one nail at a time & held the magnet over the nailpolish right after applying the nailpolish on my nail. At first I was only holding the magnet over my nail for the recommended 5-10 seconds, but I found that holding the star & chevron design over my nail for 15-20 seconds was a better option. The only problem that I had with the magnet was that at times I held my nail too close to the magnet & some of the nailpolish got on the magnet, so it might take you a while to figure out the perfect distance between the magnet & your nail.

China Glaze Magnetix nailpolish in Drawn to You

As with all China Glaze nailpolishes, the consistency & application is nice. I found that Drawn to You wasn't as opaque as Instant Chemistry, which might be a little disappointing to some because the magnet works best when you have just one coat of nailpolish on. If you apply a thick coat of Drawn to You, however, it looks fine in my opinion.

China Glaze Magnetix nailpolish in Instant Chemistry

As for the designs, I knew I wouldn't like the star design as much even before I tried it & I was right. Since the design shows up different on each nail, the star design doesn't look as nice when you apply that design on all your nails & I had problems getting it to show up nicely with the Instant Chemistry nailpolish. Another design that was hard to work with, especially with the Instant Chemistry nailpolish, was the chevron design that I had thought I would like the best!

The diagonal lines ended up being my favourite design because the outcome is always sharp & you only have to hold the magnet over your nail for 10 seconds for the design to show up properly. When I tried the diagonal lines design on all 10 fingernails, I couldn't believe how good my nails looked in such a short amount of time. It actually looked like I went to get my nails done! That's definitely a winner right there.

Which nail design do you like best?

Review: Dotting Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Since I'm pretty much hopeless at doing my nails, I thought I'd try out the dotting tool from BornPrettyStore.com. I haven't come up with any breathtaking designs yet (haha), but let me show you what I did so far.

I used the dotting tool to make a snowflake design on my nail in a previous post in which I did some nail art using rhinestones. I've tried to do coloured tips with them too & even though it works to do nail tips, it takes too long to get a proper & even line & the tips aren't as smooth.

The cute dotting tools that I was sent for review came in a pack of 5. They are double ended with different sized heads/tip. The tools are easy to work with & the size of the dot will not only depend on which sized head you choose, but also on how much pressure you apply while using the tool. After using it once, I was cleaning the head off with a cotton ball that had some nailpolish remover on it & the whole silver part came off. It happened once again on another head, so I think they need to use stronger glue.

Even though these tools can be handy, they're only worth the $4.74 if you like coming up with creative nail designs or are planning on doing nail designs with a lot of dots. If you'd like to try these dotting tools, click here more information & you can use the code SAIMESEK31 to receive 10% off your order.

Do you do nail designs with a lot of dots? Is this a tool that you would find useful?

Glamourizing Browns With Colour

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:00:00 +0000

When I started to do my eye makeup today, I knew I wanted to use brown eyeshadows. I started off by applying a lighter brown eyeshadow to the middle of the eyelid & then moved on to applying a darker brown shade on the inner & outer thirds of the lid & above the crease. I could've just left it there & it would have been a fairly simple look, but I decided to glamourize the look by adding colour. The pink goes well with the browns & the blue brought the look to life.

The look would be incomplete without bold, dark eyebrows & thick eyeliner. & of course, false eyelashes added to the whole glam factor as well.

In the picture below, the sun was shining through the window, which made me frown & look like I'm angry. I thought I'd include the picture since you can kind of see how the eye makeup would look on someone with hooded eyes. You have to remember that your eye shape might be different than mine so try to figure out what works best for you!

Products Used:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original [lid till under the brow + tear duct area + lower lashline]
NYX Cosmetics' Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk [lid till under the brow + tear duct area + lower lashline]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS01 [middle third of lid]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM02 [inner & outer thirds of lid + crease]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM17 [outer third of lid + outer V + crease]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM08 [inner half of browbone]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM20 [outer half of browbone]
Sleek's Paraguaya iDivine Palette - Parfait [under the brow + inner corner]
Annabelle Cosmetics' Smudgeliner in Electric Sapphire [waterline]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS18 [winged out on lower lashline + on top of eyeliner in the waterline]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM20 [lower lashline - very close to the lashes + used to fill in the brows]
Maybelline Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Black [upper lashline]
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black [upper & lower lashes]
False Eyelashes

Which colours would you use to glamourize your browns?

Review: BH Cosmetics Eye Brushes

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 06:20:00 +0000

I've been trying out 3 eye brushes by BH Cosmetics since the beginning of the year and I feel like I've used them enough to be comfortable to review them.

I wasn't sure if I'd like these brushes since I haven't heard much about them & also because they're priced pretty low, which made me wonder about the quality. I'll be reviewing each brush individually, but in general, I experienced very minimal shedding and I've washed these brushes 4 times already. I like that the handles don't have a shiny finish, however, I wish the handles had the names of the respective brushes on them. Also, it would be nice if the bristles were a bit softer.

The comparison pic shows a pencil & MAC 217 brush so you can tell how long the handles are & how big the bristles are.

BH Cosmetics Blending Brush

Regular price: $3.95
"Equipped with impossibly soft, fluffy bristles, this elegant brush seamlessly blends your most glamorous color choices for eyes, cheeks, and brow bones. The ultimate effect? Exquisite" - BH Cosmetics

This brush is my favourite out of the 3. It works best when I'm blending colour on my browbone or above the crease. I've used this brush to apply & blend eyeshadow as a highlight on my cheekbones & on the bridge of my nose as well. Another great use for it is to set my under eye concealer & the concealer around my nose with powder. Even though this brush is multi-purpose, I've grabbed it the most on days when I'm in a rush & just want to add a dark brown eyeshadow to my crease for a bit of definition.
If you're not using a brush guard, its bristles splay a bit after a few uses, but that's the case with most fluffy blending brushes till you wash the brush & reshape it. This brush has only shed 1-2 bristles in the past few months.

BH Cosmetics Smudge Brush

Regular price: $6.95
"Smoldering beauties need just the right amount of glamorous eye shadow smudge. That's why we're so excited about our new smudge brush!" - BH Cosmetics

This is my least used out of the 3, but it happens to be the most dense. It works best to pack on the colour in the crease since it's a small dome shape. I've used it in the tearduct area, but I've found it a bit big for my liking. Personally this brush works well for me when I'm trying to pack on the colour in concentrated areas, but I like to blend the colour out with another brush. The main reason why I don't blend with this brush is because it's bristles aren't as soft since it's a smudge brush & not a blending brush. I mainly use it to pack colour because I prefer smaller brushes when smudging on the lower lashline. I don't smudge the eyeliner on my upper lashline, so I can't say how well this brush would work for that.
This brush hasn't shed at all.

BH Cosmetics Angled Shadow Brush

Regular price: $3.95
"Here's a new angle on beauty: now you can apply your favorite BH Cosmetics eye shadows with sleek precision. This brush's plush, silky bristles, crafted at a jaunty and oh-so-effective slant, make sure of it." - BH Cosmetics

This brush is pretty dense and I've used it the most while doing smokey eyes since it packs on the colour, but I can blend the colour upward with it too. I like using it with dark colours in the outer V because I can easily create a wing with the eyeshadow & use that as a guide. It works really well while packing colour in the crease, browbone, or under the brow. I've also used the tip of the brush to place eyeshadow in the tearduct area & that worked out fine. I like how the angle on the brush isn't too steep so I can use it to place colour in the crease area as well.
This brush shed 1-2 bristles in the past few months.

So those were my thoughts on the 3 brushes. The brushes were sent to me by BH Cosmetics & even though they were probably expecting me to review these a lot sooner, I wanted to test them out a little longer for shedding & quality, but they held up pretty well. As always, my opinions haven't been swayed & I am putting out this review after a few months of testing.
I've already posted a few looks using a customized palette from BH Cosmetics & I will be doing a review on that as well. For now, you can check out the products on their website, Facebook page, &/or Twitter & take advantage of their Birthday Sale (40% off all 120 eyeshadow palettes).

Anyway, I think I'm just a little biased toward blending brushes in general. They also have a fan brush that I've been eyeing.
What kind of brushes do you like the most?

Trying Out the Colour Blocking Trend

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:40:00 +0000

On my last shopping trip I wasn't in the mood to shop. Instead, while browsing around at Winners, I saw a pink maxi skirt & decided I'll try out the colour blocking trend. I grabbed a few other things & headed for the fitting rooms. Here are the outfits in the order that I tried them on:

The colours are completely off in the pictures because of my phones non-flash camera & the fitting room lights.

I absolutely fell in love with the first outfit & didn't want to take it off. I thought the outfit was fun & made me look younger. My mum thought it was a bit too circus-y with the yellow top, but it was definitely my favourite combination & the whole outfit is just under $100 (before tax, of course). I've included a little price breakdown of each item in the look.

I ended up buying the jacket since I can't resist a good winter coat, a jacket, or a blazer that fits well. I'm thinking of going back for the skirt & getting either this pink or another beige-ish colour by the same designer.

My phones camera really doesn't do the colours any justice. The green is actually a St. Patrick's Day sort of green & the skirt is a hot/dark pink, not red.

Which outfit do you like the best?
Have you tried this whole colour blocking trend yet? Do you like it?

#marchphotoaday challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:25:00 +0000

If you're following me on Twitter or you have liked my Facebook page, you might have noticed that I've been posting images with the #marchphotoaday tag. If you don't know what it is, it's basically a challenge where you snap a picture per day based on the topic/word for the day. More info on the challenge can be found here.

The challenge was an excuse for me to log in to Twitter more & it worked! During March I tweeted more & interacted a lot more with people on Twitter than I ever have before. I've posted my pictures for the month below & each picture is linked to the respective tweet so you can check out the bigger picture &/or what I had to say about it.

Is this something that you'd be interested in? The list for #photoadayApril is up if you'd like to join in on the fun. Let me know if you plan on participating in the challenge so I can check out your pictures too.

Minimal Makeup

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 08:30:00 +0000

I want to play around with makeup, but I'm trying not to because I have an annoying pimple on my cheek! It's been there for a few days but its getting better since it reached its peak/worse stage about 2 days ago. I'm trying to avoid touching my face, hence this is the first time I've worn makeup in days. A lot of people continue wearing makeup when they get a pimple, but I'd rather leave my whole face alone & not risk touching it more than I have to especially since it's in such a visible spot. So the makeup looks will have to wait for now.

My hair looked like a mess today & I had it up, but I was going out & didn't want to look like I just rolled out of bed so I did something that didn't look like I put much effort into it. I was only going to apply an eyeshadow in the crease + some mascara, but I decided to smudge some brown eyeliner as well. I've always loved how smudged eyeliner looks on people, but whenever I try it out with black eyeliner it never looks quite right to me. I tried it out with brown eyeliner today & didn't mind it as much.

Products Used:
Eyes
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion [all over eyelid till under the brow]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM17 [outer V + crease + lower lashline]
MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Stubborn Brown [smudged on the upper lashline]
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black [upper & lower lashes]

Face
Revlon ColorStay foundation for Combination/Oily Skin in 320 True Beige
Annabelle Cosmetics Zebra Bronzing Powder in Haute Gold [used mainly to contour + lightly applied on cheeks]

Lips
Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in 063 Eastend Snob [lined lips & filled them in]
Marcelle Cosmetics Rouge Xpression Creme Lipstick in 853 Jezebel

Do you continue with your usual makeup routine when your skin starts acting up?

My 1st Apothica.com Haul (Nov 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:30:00 +0000

If you look at my sidebar, there's an ad for an online cosmetics company called Apothica. A few months ago I got a few items from there, so I thought I'd do a little review. Before I start, I'd like to add that even though the company advertises on my blog, my opinion in this post hasn't been swayed by that.

I had browsed through the site before I let them advertise on my blog to ensure that the site was selling products that I would be interested in purchasing myself & I was pleased with their selection. When it was time for me to purchase, however, I noticed was that a lot of the products could only be shipped within the U.S., which was a bit disappointing. Even though this meant that I couldn't order the Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector that I wanted to try so badly, I still managed to find a lot of things that I wanted to get.

Here are the items that I ended up checking out with:
Too Faced Smokey Eye Palette 2011 (I got 2 - 1 for myself & the other as a present)
Too Faced Natural Eye Kit
Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eyeshadow Primer
Too Faced Teddy Bear Hair Mini Brush Set
Laura Geller Blush-n-Brighten in Roseberry
Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Lipstick in #25 Soft Beige
Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Lipstick in #23 Luscious Pink

I used the coupon code PACK10 for 10% off my purchase + the shipping charge was a little over $25, which brought my total to around $256. I kept checking my account & they took 12 days to just get the stuff together & ship it, which annoyed me a bit. After they sent the items out, it received it in a little over a week. Once the mail lady arrived at my door with the parcel, I also had to pay a little over $27 for customs. If I lived in the U.S. (it takes me 30 minutes to cross the border), I would have avoided the custom charges & the shipping charges as well since shipping to a U.S. postal address is free when your order is over $49. So if I lived in the U.S. I would have saved over $50 & would have probably purchased something else with that money.

Moving on, the items itself were packaged very well & none of them were damaged. I noticed that 2 of the items (the brush set & the Natural Eye Kit) were back-ordered & one of the YSL #23 lipstick could not be shipped so the money for it was refunded. I found it really weird that the site let me check out with the lipstick when it couldn't be shipped to Canada.

The brush set & the Natural Eye kit arrived later. I was upset when I noticed that the eyeshadows had already been swatched before since I could clearly see shimmery fingerprints in the matte eyeshadows. The next morning, I got on the phone & spoke with someone from Apothica & they sent a new palette out right away. The lady on the phone was polite & quick, which I liked.

Once again, I love some of the items on the site & they are priced competitively. If you see an item listed for a lower price on another site, get on the phone & Apothica will match the price for you! Their customer service is great. The negatives are that the wait time after you order items is a bit long if you don't live in the U.S. & that online shopping makes me wish I lived in the U.S. If you're already living there then this would be a good site to shop from.

I plan on reviewing some of the items that I bought, which is why I've just included small pics for now. I thought I'd do a 1st experience/haul post since I advertise their site, so I wanted my readers to know about my experience with the company.

Hope those who are planning on purchasing from Apothica.com found this review helpful.

Swarovski Inspired Spring Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:30:00 +0000

Spring's here!

I had received an invite in the mail for Swarovski's spring fashion event & I really liked the makeup look for spring. I knew I wanted to try the look & I just got around to doing it 2 days ago.

The picture below is scanned, but if you click the pic it will take you to the picture on Swarovski's site where you can see the look a little better.

Here's the look that I came up with. I used the orange/coral on the lid, darker shade in the crease, light blue on the lower lashline, & lighter colour in the tearduct area. I added a few elements of my own though: winging out the blue & orange + coloured eyeliner on the waterline + a purple-brown shade blended upward & out instead of keeping the dark colour in the center of the crease.

Products Used:
Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion [all over eyelid till under the brow + tearduct area + lower lashline]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM09 [all over lid + between both wings]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM02 [crease + browbone]
Sedona Lace 88 Metal Eyeshadow Palette - light blueish-gray shade [lower lashline]
Sleek's Paraguaya iDivine Palette - Sandstone [tearduct area + lightly under the brow]
Annabelle Cosmetics Smudgeliner in Atomic Surf [waterline]
Annabelle Cosmetics liquid eyeliner in Black Out [winged slightly on the upper lashline]
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black [upper + lower lashes]
ES A134 false eyelashes [1 eyelash cut in half & applied on the outer corners of both eyes]

Face
Revlon ColorStay foundation for Combination/Oily Skin in 320 True Beige
Maybelline's Dream Matte Powder in Honey [only on the t-zone]
Annabelle Cosmetics Mineral Powder Bronzer in Terra [used to contour cheeks + jaw + temples]
Sedona Lace 88 Metal Eyeshadow Palette - a mix of the cream shades [cheekbones + bridge of nose + under the eyebrow arch]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM09 [cheeks]

Lips
Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in 063 Eastend Snob [all over lips]
Senna Cosmetics Cream Lipstick in Plush
Marcelle's Vita-Lip Plumping Gloss in 40 Rio Rose

I actually applied lipstick this time & that too a lighter shade. I used the bold orange eyeshadow on my lids & on my cheeks as well & I'm loving the way orange blush looks on my skin tone.

I can't believe I haven't tried an orange blush yet considering how popular it seemed to be last spring/summer. After seeing how good orange looks on my cheeks, I definitely need an orange blush in my life. I'm thinking Rome by Cargo Cosmetics.

Got any recommendations for an orange blush?

Lots of bright colours & vitamin D ahead ;)

Gradient Orchid Look

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:00:00 +0000

I haven't ever tried this style, but I love the black eyeshadow winged on the outer edges with the purple blended in between the "wings." It made my eyes seem big even though I applied black eyeliner on my waterline.

Products Used:
UDPP [lid till under the brow + tear duct area + lower lashline]
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk [lid till browbone +lower lashline]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS06 [inner third of lid till the browbone + tear duct area + inner third of lower lashline + between both the "wings"]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS16 [middle third of lid till the browbone + middle third of lower lashline]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM06 [outer two-thirds of the browbone]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM20 [outer third of lid + outer corner/triangle + outer third of lower lashline & winged on the corner]
Sedona Lace 88 Metal Eyeshadow Palette [a mix of the cream shades under the brow]
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip eyeliner in Carbon Black [slightly winged on the upper lashline]
Almay Blendable Eye Pencil in Black [tightline + waterline]
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black [upper + lower lashes]
Falsies [upper lashline]

When I wear coloured eyeshadows I tend to use a lot of purple shades. Which colour do you reach for the most besides brown?

Birthday Girl's Look

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:00:00 +0000

It was my birthday on February 26th & I thought I'd share the look that I went for. The whole look along with the hair made me feel glamourous.

Poser:

For my eyeshadow, I used a mix of shimmery cream shades under the brow as the highlight. I applied a matte white in the tear duct area & the inner half of the lower lashline. I topped the matte white just in the tear duct area with a shimmery white eyeshadow. In the crease & on the outer two-thirds of the lower lashline, I applied a dark brown & blended it out. Applying the brown eyeshadow & then lots of mascara on the lower lashline gave me the big doll eyes kind of look, especially with that hair.

You can see the brown eyeshadow best in this picture:

Here's my favourite part about the look (makeup-wise): the cheeks! I used Annabelle Cosmetics' mineral bronzer in Terra, Laura Geller's Blush-N-Brighten in Roseberry, & a highlight right above the blush.

I'm going to try remembering to use a highlight on my cheekbones because it really does make the biggest difference & you can notice it in pictures too. For my lips I used a pink gloss that had almost worn off by this point since I took these pictures late at night. I usually ignore my lips in makeup looks & would have been okay with just wearing rose salve too though.

What part of your face do you spend the most & the least time on?

Lately I've been spending more time on my face since I've started wearing liquid foundation now, so I actually have to put effort in to it because I'm always afraid that I won't blend it in properly, especially on the sides of my face & neck area. I then create those natural "shadows" on my face back again with the help of a bronzer since using liquid foundation almost erases those.

I've always spent the least amount of time on my lips. As long as I have my rose salve or lip balm, I'll be fine.

I'd love to know your answer to the question so leave a comment below.

Midnight Sky

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

I hardly wear blue eyeshadows but I love the 2 shades of blue that I used in this look.

Products Used:
UDPP [all over the lid till under the brow & on the lower lashline]
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk [all over the lid & till under the brow]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS18 [lid + blended above the crease]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM19 [outer V & outer half of the lower lashline]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM06 [inner half of the browbone & inner half of the lower lashline]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM20 [outer half of the browbone]
Prestige Cosmetics eyeshadow in C-153 Angel [under the brow & tear duct area]
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip eyeliner in Carbon Black [upper lashline]
Brown pencil eyeliner - I don't remember the brand [waterline]
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black [upper & lower lashes]
Falsies [that didn't want to blend well with my own lashes no matter what I tried to do]

Do you like wearing blue eyeshadows?

Photo Booth Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I got a haircut & since I was in need for a change, I decided to chop off around 4 inches off my hair length & get a fringe/blunt bangs. I've had blunt bangs twice before as well, but this time I don't like them as much. Actually to put it rather bluntly (ha-ha!) they're annoying me more than anything.

Anyway, winged eyeliner is something that I think looks great with blunt bangs & I've seen a lot of women with this hairstyle rock bold lips too. Maybe this time around I'll break out of my comfort zone & try wearing some bold lip colours on a regular basis as well.

Here's what half my face looked like after I tried out a new eyeliner & a light pink lip (that I wouldn't usually wear out):

I wasn't wearing any makeup on the other half of my face, but I think the Kaleidoscope effect on Photo Booth made the pictures look quite nice.

Have any suggestions for a bold lip colour?

Make sure you let me know what colours you'd like to see on the eyes along with the bold lip colour too.

Fashion Show at the 9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

This is going to be my last post about the fashion show at the 9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show. This will be a mix of designs that I liked from the remaining 3 boutiques. I'm not sure which boutique each of these outfits are from because of some confusion, but they're from Chunri Creations, Herz N Hiz, &/or Raja Fashions.

I want the outfit on the left. It's so beautiful & I'm completely in love with it.

I can see myself wearing this. It's definitely my style because of the high collar, long shirt, full sleeves, & the colours!

Elegant!

This isn't something that I would wear because of the short top & short sleeves but the colours are pretty & the work on the top makes it stand out a lot.

If it wasn't for the red dupatta, I wouldn't have picked this outfit but the red makes it look amazing!

Those were my top picks from the rest of the outfits that were showcased on the runway. I only have 2 videos because I forgot to record the outfits presented by one of the boutiques.

I hope you enjoyed this little series of posts on the fashion show at the 9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show. I really liked the fashion show & seeing all the vibrant colours, beautiful materials, & heavy embroidery. I'm looking forward to visiting another South Asian fashion show :)

That's all for now. I think I've posted enough this week, so I'll be taking a break till next week.
Take care lovelies ♥

9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show - featuring Frontier Heritage

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Here's more from the fashion show at the 9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show. If you read my blog you might have seen my past two posts featuring Naz Fashion Bug & CTC West's designs. If not, I have linked the names of the boutiques to the posts so check those out.

Today, I'll be posting about Frontier Heritage - a boutique that I've visited before & loved. Some of the outfits at this boutique are so pretty & the boutique itself is nice & spacious. I'm including pictures of my favourite outfits from them at the fashion show & a video as well. The photos are shown in the order that they appeared in during the show.

I didn't get to capture the first 3 outfits in the video, but the first 3 outfits featured in this post were actually the first 3 outfits that Frontier Heritage presented on the runway.

Which one of these outfits would you like to wear?

9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show - featuring CTC West

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

2 days ago I posted about my favourite designer at the 9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show. Today I will be sharing my 2nd favourite boutique, CTC West, that displayed its designs at the fashion show. This is a boutique that I haven't heard of before but I spoke to one of the guys at the exhibition area on the floor & he said that all the outfits can be customized,which I thought is pretty neat. In this post featuring CTC West, I'll only be posting my top 5 outfits of the night by this boutique, so here they are (in the order that they appeared in the show):

The host, Veronica Chail, wore one of their outfits.

I'm not sure how the first outfit would look once the bride is seated because the model was holding the front of the outfit the whole time.

This second outfit isn't something that I would pick for myself since it would bring unwanted attention to my big hips, but the model carried the outfit so well. Also, this model was absolutely stunning & one of my fav at the show!

The outfit below didn't photograph as good as it looked in person.

I didn't really like the gold body at first but this outfit is simply stunning.

Here's a video with all the outfits that were shown on the ramp.

Let me know if you'd like me to post the rest of the pictures by CTC West on my Facebook page. I'll be posting more pictures & videos from the fashion show soon.

Happy Valentine's Day - Coral, Pinks, & Purples Look

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Since pink is a colour that's often associated with romance & Valentine's day, I thought this post would be perfect for today.

Products Used:
UDPP [lid & till under the brow]
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk [lid & till under the brow]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM06 [inner third of eyelid + tear duct area + inner third of lower lashline + above the purple on the browbone, but under the white highlight]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM08 [middle of the lid ]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM20 [outer third of lid]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM08 [browbone]
BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS16 [outer half of the browbone + outer two-thirds of lower lashline]
Prestige Cosmetics eyeshadow in C-153 Angel [under the brow]
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Purple [waterline - my eyes were getting watery & the eyeliner refused to show up properly]
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip eyeliner in Carbon Black [upper lashline - winged on the outside & a slight tip on the inner corner]
Falsies

The winged eyeliner & falsies make this eye look seem more girly & flirty.

How do you like to do your makeup on Valentine's day? Do you tend to opt for pink & red shades when picking out your makeup & outfit?

9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show - featuring Naz Fashion Bug

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

This past weekend (Sunday, February 12, 2012) I attended the 9th Semi-Annual Kismet Wedding Show. It was my first time attending a South Asian wedding & fashion show, so I was really looking forward to it. The fashion show was a nice experience & 6-7 designers/boutiques showcased their designs. My favourite designer of the show was Nazish Khan of Naz Fashion Bug. Her designs stood out the most to me because they had a Pakistani flare as compared to the rest of the Indian designers. Also, I've always been attracted to bridal outfits with longer shirts/tops & it's something that I would look for in a bridal outfit for myself, which is another reason why I loved these outfits as compared to most of the others at the show.

Enjoy the pictures & the video as well!

Which outfit from this post did you like the most?

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette - Look 3

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

This is going to be the last look that I post using the Too Faced Natural Eye palette before my Too Faced giveaway ends. It's also your last chance to gain an additional entry toward the contest if you comment on this post before 11:59pm EST tonight (Tuesday, February 07). Keep reading to find out more.

This is my favourite look out of the 3 looks that I've posted using this palette so far. It's really simple to achieve as well. I started off by applying the highlight colour (a mix of Silk Teddy & Nude beach) under my brow. Then I patted Sexspresso (a matte brown) on the lid. Once I got the lid colour to the intensity that I wanted, I started blending it up toward the browbone. I also used Sexspresso on the lower lashline. Since I don't like using shimmery colours in the tear duct area, I applied Heaven (a matte off-white) in the tear duct area to brighten it up a bit. All the eyeshadows mentioned are from the Too Faced Natural Eye palette.

I added brown eyeliner on the waterline, black eyeliner on the upper lashline, & black mascara on my upper & lower lashes. I finished off the look by cutting one of my falsies in half & used the halves on the outer corners of each eye.

You can now win a Too Faced Natural Eye palette along with other Too Faced goodies through my Too Faced giveaway! You will also have the chance to gain an additional entry by commenting on this post.

If you haven't already entered the giveaway, then go to my Giveaway: Win Too Faced Cosmetics Worth $137 post to enter the giveaway & then come back here to complete the extra entry.

If you have already entered the giveaway, just leave any comment on this post that's related to this makeup look. Remember, constructive criticism is always welcome. Also, leave your Twitter name so that I can match your previous entries to this additional entry.

For example, I love this eye look, but wish you chose another lip colour to go with it - @Saimese.

Good luck for the giveaway & hope you liked the look!

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette - Look 2

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This look is almost identical to the previous post: Too Faced Natural Eye Palette - Look 1. The only difference is that the colours look so different. I don't remember which eyeshadows I used, but they were from the Too Faced Natural Eye palette as well. All I remember is that I used 1 colour (either Erotica or Cocoa Puff) in my crease & kept adding the crease colour little by little & kept blending it out.

You can now win a Too Faced Natural Eye palette along with other Too Faced goodies through my Too Faced giveaway! You will also have the chance to gain an additional entry by commenting on this post.

If you haven't already entered the giveaway, then go to my Giveaway: Win Too Faced Cosmetics Worth $137 post to enter the giveaway & then come back here to complete the extra entry.

For example, I love this eye look, but wish you chose another lip colour to go with it - @Saimese.

Good luck for the giveaway & hope you liked the look!

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette - Look 1

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

I did this look 2 months ago so I don't remember the exact eyeshadows that I used. I wish I had written it down, but for now I'd say that I used Heaven under my brow, Push-Up or Honey Pot on the lid, & Erotica &/or Cocoa Puff in the crease & blended it up toward the browbone. All eyeshadows mentioned are from the Too Faced Natural Eye palette.

You can now win a Too Faced Natural Eye palette along with other Too Faced goodies through my Too Faced giveaway! You will also have the chance to gain an additional entry by commenting on this post.

If you haven't already entered the giveaway, then go to my Giveaway: Win Too Faced Cosmetics Worth $137 post to enter the giveaway & then come back here to complete the extra entry.

For example, I love this eye look, but wish you chose another lip colour to go with it - @Saimese.

Good luck for the giveaway & hope you liked the look!

Closer Look At My Too Faced Giveaway Goodies

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Since there's less than a week left to enter my Too Faced giveaway, I thought I'd give you a closer look at the prize items. Keep reading because there's an opportunity to gain extra entries.

The brush set comes with the case & the case is great because it can fit one of the eyeshadow palettes pictured above & it still has room to fit more makeup products. This makes it great to carry while you're on a short trip or to carry everyday if your purse is big enough.

Over the next few days I will be posting looks that I have tried using the Too Faced Natural Eye palette and by commenting on each one of these posts, you will be able to gain extra entries for the contest as well.

For now, if you have already entered the giveaway, leave a comment on this post and let me know what your favourite shade of eyeshadow is from the Natural Eye OR the Smokey Eye palettes pictured above. Also, leave your Twitter name so that I can match your previous entries to this additional entry.

For example, my favourite eyeshadow is Silk Teddy - @Saimese.

If you haven't already entered the giveaway, then go to my Giveaway: Win Too Faced Cosmetics Worth $137 post to enter the giveaway & then come back here to complete the extra entry.

Cake Pops Disaster Turned Good

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:30:00 +0000

In a previous post on my rushed & simple New Year's eve eye makeup look, I mentioned that I decided to try making cake pops for the first time.

Well, as you can tell from the title, the cake pops were a disaster! Most of the cake pops recipes that I read online listed frosting as one of the ingredients but I refused to buy frosting because a) I strongly dislike it, & b) I thought the cake pop would be way too sweet if I mixed frosting & chocolate cake & then dipped that in milk chocolate & topped it off with some more sweet decorations.

So leaving out the frosting, I decided to crumble some cake mix & make balls out of that. The balls weren't binding as well as I wanted them to & when I placed them on a lollipop stick & tried dipping them in melted milk chocolate, they started falling apart. The process was so time consuming & messy that I was frustrated & was ready to throw away the cake mix, the balls, & the broken balls. My mum, dad, & uncle kept me going though & I decided I'd make cake balls instead of cake pops.

I used Betty Crocker's Super Moist Devil's Food cake mix & baked the whole cake, but ended up using only about half of the cake for these chocolate balls. While making the chocolate balls I mixed in some of the melted milk chocolate, which helped bind the balls. After I was done making all the balls, I dipped a few of them in chocolate all the way around & I dipped the rest only halfway. I put them in the fridge for the melted chocolate to set a bit so that the decorations/toppings wouldn't sink in to the chocolate. I took the balls out of the fridge after 15 minutes or so, decorated them with coloured round sprinkles & stars & put them back in the fridge till about half an hour before it was time to serve them.

I just thought I'd share my experience since I've been seeing pictures of cake pops pop up everywhere, but my first time trying them out wasn't good. I'm glad I was able to make it work though & if someone out there ends up having problems with cake pops, I hope you don't give up & make some cake balls instead because they're delicious!

Have you tried making cake pops? How was your experience?

Review: OPI DS (Designer Series) Exclusive

noreply@blogger.com (Saimese) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

If I review a nailpolish you should know that I really like it because I don't review nailpolishes since I don't wear them enough. So let's get right to it...

Colour:
The OPI DS (Designer Series) Exclusive nailpolish is a berry/fuchsia/plum tone with rainbow holographic particles. The colour depends on which light you see it under, but the berry/fuchsia/plum tone isn't too dark or too light so I'd feel comfortable wearing it in any season. I usually don't like wearing nailpolish that has shimmer or glitter particles on all my nails but the rainbow coloured particles are so fine & look so beautiful under the sun that I would gladly wear this on my nails any day. Any other nailpolish that has rainbow coloured particles would look a bit childish or like something that would be suitable for someone in their early teens, but this nailpolish is a beauty!
My camera along with the lighting didn't capture the rainbow particles as nicely on my nails, but you can see them in the picture of the nailpolish bottle itself.

Wear:
In this picture I've only applied one thick coat since the nailpolish is opaque. The brush is great and it goes on smoothly, which I love because I hardly wear nailpolish & tend to get rather impatient while applying it. The only downside to this nailpolish is that it chips easily & it started chipping by the end of the 2nd day for me.

Aftermath:
The micro glitter particles come off easily unlike other glitter nailpolishes & it doesn't stain the nails even though it's a fairly deep shade & I didn't have a base coat on. To add to all that, this might hurt your pocket a little since OPI nailpolishes are a bit expensive, but if you wear nailpolishes a lot, then this is definitely one that you'll love!
P.S. I won this in a giveaway, so I don't know the exact price.

What's your favourite nailpolish?