Here’s the box that protects the bottle. Compared to some other beauty products’ thin box packaging, the Dior Capture Totale box is a tad bigger but padded with hard cardboard around the bottle, adding luxury and protection. Great products usually come in great packaging, I think it’s pretty true.

The Capture Totale line not only makes you look good when you put on the product now, it also address a series of skin problems and treat them so you’ll look good in the future. The Serum Foundation is no difference. With its triple action benefit, “WRINKLES are smoothes for a more youthful complexion, DARK SPOTS are discreetly concealed, and complexion enjoys newfound youthful RADIANCE.” On top of that, SPF25 really helps combat with sun damage.

Here’s a comparison with another Dior foundation, Diorskin Nude Skin-glowing Foundation also in color 020 Light Beige. It’s got the same creamy texture and ease of application, but the color is slightly ochre-ish compared to the Diorskin Nude.

When applied on skin, both foundations melts into the skin and the color difference is minimal if none at all. On the top is Capture Totale Serum Foundation and bottom portion is Diorskin Nude Skin-glowing Foundation.

Dior Capture Totale Serum Foundation is one of the best foundations out there that does what it meant for, giving skin an even glowing look with enhanced skincare benefits. The texture is rich and creamy but spreads out easily without looking cakey or streaky. You don’t need a lot for coverage because a little bit goes a long way. It hides away imperfections like fine lines, and dark spots, giving it a even, smooth and radiant look. Also the foundation is long lasting, after hours the foundation feels comfortable on the skin. It does not make your skin feel heavy or wearing a mask, even in the hot summer weather.

If you are looking to upgrade your foundation to a high performance, skin benefiting foundation, the Dior Capture Totale is the one. It’s available at Dior.com, Dior counters Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Selfridges (UK) and Sephora store.

When I first opened the box and took the little critter out, I was like a kid running into a candy shop. I spent hours finding images/projects, and loading/unloading the cutting mat. Since then I made a ton of cards for various events, birthday parties, baby shower, you name it. Most of the time I could get everything put together using the screen on the machine. I was supposed to peel the sticker off of the protective cover, but I like to keep everything in its original form. Nowadays I find myself hook it to the computer more for editing and cut a bunch of images at once then store them in a box. That way it’s more effecient also I won’t ever run out of shapes and cutouts.

I like to cut as much as possible to fit in the whole sheet of paper. When the machine is cutting I can walk away and find more images for my next sheet of images. The only pain is to remove the leftover scraps from the mat especially when I’m just starting to use a new mat. I heard the scraper helps remove those. Is it any good?

Most of the time I keep everything in the box even the tiny scraps like dots, hearts, stars. I can always use them in making something new and the little dots are especially useful for the letter i, I tend to lost the dot easily.

Here’s some stars I cut out from the 4th of July party. I used a twine to hang these up as well as using them inside the invitation cards. I also made some cupcake toppers to decorate my red velvet cupcakes. I wish I still had them.

The good thing about these cutouts is that it’s totally mix and match-able. Even with the same design, you get different effect with different paper.

These are my favorites that I save in my storage box at all time.

I know that Cricut not only cuts paper, it can also conquer vinyl, ion on and even fabrics. I have yet to try those, but I’m really tempted. A cutout appliqué should look so much neater. Anyone had experience with those?

What are my new hobbies, you ask? Buying new jewelries? I wouldn’t say no to a pair of new Tiffany earrings or a David Yurman bracelet. The below piece is not from either house though. It’s totally done by FL from start to finish, using wires, links and umm clay. And it’s my very first piece of all. I picked up this new hobby just a couple months along. I know this is not perfect but I’m so proud of myself. There were so much for me to learn but I’m glad I put things together.

Take a look at some details about my necklace. Since it is my first practice, I didn’t go with very expensive material. I picked up some Swarovski element crystals and pearls, some sterling silver wires and jump rings, and some Sulpey III clays. The result isn’t too bad, isn’t it. I especially like the little Rosettes between the Byzantine links. My clay rose isn’t too shabby either right? I’m glad my rusty fondant technics still works here. I used Sculpey III Deep Red Pearl, Premo Accent Pearl and Magenta Pearl for the color gradation and shimmering effect. I did find that Sulpey brand tends to be a little soft in the summer, maybe I’ll try Fimo next time.

So much talking about jewelry making and necklace. In the future posts you’ll also find out more about my other interests, for example Paper Crafting. I got a Cricut Expression 2 several months ago and totally got hooked. I remembered I spent hours picking images and cut cute things. I went through a ton of paper and cardstock, so I stock up whenever I stop by Joann and Michaels. I haven’t tried cutting fabrics yet but I’m thinking of making some appliqué using it sometime. As for the direction of this blog, it will continue covering beauty and product reviews, but I will branch out into the other areas of lifestyle including sharing many of my hobbies. Instead of using more edited photos from my DSLR, I want to opt for natural straight out of the phone photos with minimum touchup. Hopefully you’ll get to see what everything looks like in REAL life. I find it helpful especially with cosmetic products. Studio like photos do look nice but nowadays the cameras on the phone is almost as impressive too. Besides, phone photos are more realistic than edited ones. On top of that it’ll save me time so I can concentrate on sharing things with you as well as enjoying life. Let me know what your thoughts are and talk to you soon!

This season, NARS comes up with 7 all new multiples, totally matte! Such a great move! Shown below are Exumas (left) – Pink apricot, and Siam (right) – Poppy red. Everything is the same with these multiples, same packaging, same vibrant color, same multi-functional use, same great formula. The only difference is they’re matte.

Like a giant lipstick, you can directly apply them onto the skin and blend by fingertips. They can also be applied wet for a sheer second skin finish.

Here’s a swatch of the two shades swatched side by side with comparison of dry and wet applications. Both are so pretty as a lip color when dry and super flattering on the cheeks when wet. Stay power is quite impressive as well. By the way, skin was prepped with Shu Uemura the lightbulb foundation (preview here) and NARS light reflecting loose setting powder.

NARS Multiples are the best invention for the makeup world. They’re reliable and high performance. Now even better they come in the matte formula, which gives us more flexibility when choosing the finish. For the ones who already own some multiples, these matte siblings won’t disappoint you. Even if you don’t own any, start with these and you’ll  soon have a whole collection.

Head over to narscosmetics.com and NARS counters at Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and SaksFifthAvenue.

Normally people would use a rasp grater like this to easily zest a fruit. It sure is a time saver and I used to use that all the time. But once I started chop my own zest using a knife, never reach back to that grater again. The reason? You get much more zest out of knife chopped rind, about double or even triple the amount. On top of that, the most important thing, the flavor is much more intense. When you rub the fruit against the grater, it crushes and tears, a lot of the juice and oil is lost in the air. When you chop the rind by a knife, it’s less damage hence more flavor. The only drawback, labor consuming which I think well worth it.

Here’s what you do. Choose the lemon with rough surface, which will yield more zest vs smooth surface, more juice. Get a kitchen pairing knife and thinly trim strips of grind off around the surface. Try not to cut any white skin off, it’s the bitter part. If you do, simply lay the inside up and clean it off.

Now julienne cut thin strips lengthwise, then turn the strips 90° and mince. All done!

See the difference? This pile of zest is just from 2 small strips of rind, so you really aren’t spending so much time though it might seem tedious. And apparently the zests are more clean cut compared to the grater zest all sticking together. You don’t smell as much flavor in the air which means it’s all saved in the zest itself. Are you ready to zest some lemon yourself?

This super duper hair mask is made up and comprised of 10 oriental herbs bringing magical powers to the hair. The end result is a silk like texture hair that seems like friction has been obsoleted. It is said that this hair mask repairs, nourishes, hydrates, and strengthens the hair after use. Healthy is the one word to describe all this.

Twisting open the top of this luxurious hair mask instantly fills the air surrounding you 360 degrees with fresh floral scents. The smell is simply marvelously divine. The texture of this hair product is no less than thick, concentrated, and ready to nourish and give the hair intense treatment. This heavy creamy like texture, once applied on the hair after shampooing starts its work by penetrating hair from tip to root. After 5 minutes, a quick rinse leaves the hair remarkably shiny, soft, and smooth. The 3S combined surpasses most conditioners easily.

Sensai Intensive hair mask is the definition of LUXE. For hair enthusiasts this mask is a must to chop down the less than smooth and shininess of the hair. It tops the hair off with a fresh floral scent afterwards.

This super intensive mask for hair from Kanebo Sensai is available online at Neiman Marcus.