Love struck

Room decorative pieces and The Hunger Games!

2012-02-26T12:06:00.004+08:00

My sister Shala has been sprucing up her bedroom lately and I think I've been infected by her decorative mode. I've always enjoyed watching room tours on youtube especially those who really put an effort towards decorating. I know for one Elle from Allthatglitters21 is very much into room decoration but there are also others which are very good!

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Don't we all wish we have the room space to put whatever furniture we wanted in our bedroom and also having various types of furniture to choose from? Most of the time we have to work with whatever space we have and we don't have the luxury of choosing delicate pieces or whatnot because it's not practical to have them in the room. Plus it'll look out of place too. Sometimes. Unless your room looks like the ones above which means you are a lucky b*tch and I hate you wtf

Anyways I went to WW Mart at Citis Square yesterday and saw that they were selling these decorative pillows for only BND$3.90! Before this I was thinking of buying them for my bed and saw that Hua Ho is selling for more than BND$10 for one! I mean sure, of course the ones in Hua Ho are of better quality and stuff but really, I wanted to buy them just for decoration so of course I'd go for the cheaper alternative. Maybe when I'm older I'd go for more expensive ones but for now I'm surviving on a student's budget! lol

Plus the ones sold in WW Mart have different designs, colors and textures depending on your taste and they also sell the cases for the decorative pillows which comes in different colors and designs as well. In case you don't like the original.

Grey decorative pillows from WW Mart

I think decorative pillows are a great way to give your room a more 'put together' look. I used to like really loud colors for my bedding like bright pink or bright anything. Now I just want it to look like the ones you see in the magazine T__T

Also recently I got this in Sengkurong for half its price and had it put up in my room! Love that the painting is in 3D. The only downside is that this piece is extremely heavy I don't wanna put it on the wall over my bed because I'm afraid it'll fall down in the middle of the night when I'm sleeping and ruin my face. Not a pretty sight.

Bought this one yesterday! I really like this painting. I've actually seen images of this on the internet so I'm guessing that they just print it off the internet and made it into a painting? No idea. I'm so glad I found it!

These are a few of the ones that Shala got for her room. I think they're not bad, but I still like mine better! har har har :p

On a random note, I finally got the first book to The Hunger Games Trilogy! So relieved that I booked this beforehand because I went to Time Square's Best Eastern and initially wanna pick up the book there but they were sold out! Then went to The Mall's branch where they told me the book was reserved there. The saleslady told me I was lucky I reserved it because it was sold out there too! I've just started reading this last night and am liking it so far!

L'oreal Color Riche in Beige Creme

2012-02-22T20:30:00.004+08:00

Hey guys!

Been having kind of a writer's block this past week. I can't put myself in front of my computer desk to blog! The assignments are also starting to pile up on my desk now. ugh

Anyhoos, this time around I wanna share with you one of my favourite lipsticks of all time! It's L'oreal Color Riche lipstick in Beige Creme.

L'oreal Color Riche lipstick in Beige Creme

The color looks like a really deep burgundy brown-ish color in the tube but when you put it on it looks more like a plum color. Though it may look dark, I actually feel pretty comfortable wearing this out. Maybe because it's not as sharp as a true red? I get really conscious if I wear super bright red lipstick out. Gah I need more practice wtf

L'oreal Color Riche lipstick in Beige Creme

This is actually one of the first lipsticks that I own when I first started getting interested in beauty products. It's really creamy and moisturizing and goes on really smoothly like a lip balm! Seriously. I don't even remember how much this costs because I've had it since forever!

Me wearing L'oreal Color Riche in Beige Creme

Paired the lipstick with a touch of nude eyeshadow and black liquid liner

L'oreal Color Riche lipstick in Beige Creme lip swatched

This is definitely one of those colors which you can wear out in the day or at night. But then again you can wear any colored lipstick you want at any time of the day right? If you're looking to try out darker lipsticks but don't know where to start, I really recommend this one!

Essence Soft Touch Mousse Make-up

2012-02-16T21:06:00.007+08:00

I was walking through Paloma at The Mall a couple of weeks ago at their new store and this caught my eyes:

Something new for us~! I think they are sold in Watsons as well? I'm not sure but these Essence cosmetics are darn cheap! Each of the products here if I'm not mistaken go for less than BND$10 each? Was really happy to see that they offer mousse foundation as well so I picked it up.

Essence Soft Touch Mousse Make-up in 01 Matt Sand

Essence Soft Touch Mousse Make-up in 01 Matt Sand

The moment I read that it gives a 'natural and matt finish' I knew I had to try this out lol If you don't already know, I have oily-combo skin. My skin gets dry sometimes above my lips but very oily on the rest of my face. Anyways for the price it wouldn't hurt as much as getting for example a Revlon foundation.

Essence Soft Touch Mousse Make-up in 01 Matt Sand

Essence Soft Touch Mousse Make-up in 01 Matt Sand swatched

The texture is a little bit of a mousse texture (doh) and is really soft! It blends quite well into my skin. They come in four different shades and I think the one I bought, 01 Matt Sand is kinda light on my skin especially now as I have gotten darker from walking under the sun on campus. Gah!

Before and after applying the Soft Touch Mousse
(CLICK the image to enlarge!)

My face is darker than my neck so I guess the lighter shade kinda helped in a way to even out my skin tone. #win

I have been using Sigma's duo fibre brush to spread the mousse on my face and buffing it in. It works pretty well but because the brush isn't dense enough, it takes time for me to buff the product into my skin and blend everything together. Also, you'll need to dip your brush/fingers into the product to take out the product from the jar which can be unsanitary especially when you're dipping into the product repeatedly with an unwashed brush.

Other than that, I'm really enjoying this product! It dries down to a matte finish as claimed and stays pretty smooth on the skin I'm impressed! I don't even need to apply a finishing powder after applying the mousse.

I'm really glad Paloma stocked this brand up in their store! I'm totally psyched about trying out other products by Essence! The Soft Touch Mousse Make-up retails for BND$7.90. Very affordable, right? Right?!! :D

After applying Soft Touch Mousse

My rook piercing experience!

2012-02-13T09:50:00.007+08:00

I don't know when I started wanting to have a rook piercing but what I know is that I have wanted to have it done for at least... half a year now? It was always "I'll get it done the next time I go down to Miri." But when I'm at Miri I'll think "Okay, maybe next time." lol Then I saw this blog post by Orchid row (link in the side bar!) talking about DesireSuicide Piercing who offers to pierce your lips, ears and face. Was so glad to have found her because do you know how almost impossible it is to find shops you trust in Brunei to do your body piercings??

The last time I tried to do a sided labret piercing, the piercer used a piercing gun! On my lips! I didn't know then but I found out soon enough that those piercing guns are actually only meant for the ear lobes. wtfff luckily I didn't screw up my lips.

Anyways. I did some reading on the lady and read that she had a medical background so I guess I trusted her instincts and decided to contact her. Made a few arrangements and bobbity-bop, we're ready to do it!

So many varieties of barbells and studs to choose from!

Decided to go for this rounded barbell

All the equipments she used are sterilized including that blue sheet of paper!

She started working on my ear and initially tried using a curved needle because... I forgot the reason. Maybe it's coz the barbell I choose is curved... or something.

Before piercing my ear, she coated the needle with this gel thingy which is used as a soothing gel for the piercing. You can also get your ears ice-sprayed for numbness if you want to. But that will cost you BND$5. So I opted out lol I mean, maybe I have a highter threshold for pain or something but it really doesn't bother me if it's painful or not.

When she wanted to insert the barbell she realised that the needle is too small for the barbell to fit (I think) so it was taken out and we tried once more with the regular straight needle which is a tad larger than this curved one.

After the second time, it came out Okay. Yay!

There was a bit of blood of course... But it was all good. I'm really happy with it. It has been about a week now since the piercing and the area has swollen a little but that's only natural. Can't wait for it to heal so that I can change the barbell! But I'd have to find a place that sells them first :/

As for the pain, I'd say 3/10. Only because she pierced my ear twice. :p It's not painful really, more like discomfort. It feels 'tight' when the piercing was done. But everything will be over before you even realise it so... no complains here lol

My new rook piercing!

Going to get a piercing on any parts of your body is not like regular 'shopping'. It's definitely on a more personal level where you'd have to at least get to know a little something about the person who pierced you and stuff. It's almost the same as getting a tattoo done. So if you ever wanna get some piercing done, do your research!

By the way, I did the rook piercing for BND$40. Pretty decent price if you ask me because I know how expensive it can be especially when you're doing it overseas!

Read about my Industrial piercing here!

Read about my conch piercing here!

Check DesireSuicide Piercing out on facebook here!

P/s: I'm not encouraging anyone to get any piercings done. I'm just sharing my experience! :))

xx, Shely

Etude House: Lipgloss

2012-02-10T22:13:00.005+08:00

So I recently went in to Etude House in Seria and I picked up two lipglosses. I had discounts off then because it was still during the Salebration which has been going on nationwide.

Etude House lipglosses in
Moon Crystal Power and Roll Roll Gloss

Gosh the names they give their lipglosses. smh. They sound like what Sailormoon would say lol "Moon... Crystal... POWER!!!" Maybe that's what Sailormoon uses?

Etude House lipglosses in
Roll Roll Gloss and Moon Crystal Power swatches

Dear Darling Roll Roll Gloss in Tomato Jelly Latte

I really like this one! It has a juicy orange tint with a pretty decent pigmentation. I've been looking for a color like this and am so glad when I found it in Etude House. I think they have the best range of lipglosses! Nudes, Pinks, Beiges, Oranges, Purples, sparkly, non-sparkly, they have it all! I can just stand there and swatch them on my arm for an hour without even realising it.

I also like that it's not too sticky like how some lipglosses can get. I have long hair and it's a pain in the ass when my hair gets stuck on my lips. The only downside to this product is the applicator. It has a rounded applicator which looks very cute but unfortunately it makes putting on the product difficult because of the rounded edges. Somehow I always draw out of the line of my lips with this. Also, this product goes on blotchy with the applicator but you can easily fix that by rubbing your sexy lips together oh yeah wtf

Etude House Dear Darling Roll Roll Gloss in Tomato Jelly Latte lip swatch

Moon Crystal Power lipgloss in Purply Holy Beam

This one looked so pretty swatched! The gloss is purplish with tons of sparkles to it. I feel like a kid whenever I put this on lol However the brush applicator is so tiny it takes time to fill in your lips with the product! So what I normally do is apply this just on the center of my lips to give it a more dimensional look.

I like the color but it's not my favorite lipgloss. It's also very sticky by the way.

Etude House Moon Crystal Power lipgloss in Purply Holy Beam lip swatch

If I'm not mistaken these retails for only a little above BND$10 each. I actually paid only a few dollars for the Moon Crystal Power lipgloss because they were 50% off then. Overall I really like their lipglosses because they have a good range of colors and there are so many different formulations to them it's hard not to find something you'd like. I say go try them out if you haven't already! :)

xx, Shely

Revlon Photo Ready Concealer

2012-02-07T22:12:00.003+08:00

Are you big on concealers? I have only tried a couple of concealers before. The Face Shop's stick concealer and Maybelline's Angel Fit Perfect Concealer. TFS's stick concealer is extremely dry for my face let alone for my under eye area where all the dark shadows come out and play wtf. It did nothing for me so I decided to try a liquid concealer instead and I chose Maybelline's which unfortunately, doesn't cover enough.

I guess after that I never bothered to try out other brands after failing to find one that suits me two times in a row. It was then I saw a lot of you tube gurus talking about this seemingly amazing concealer from Revlon but it wasn't available yet here.

That was ages ago I think because Revlon's Photo Ready Concealer finally found its way to Brunei! Ugh FINALLY.

Revlon Photo Ready Concealer

I first saw it when Shala came back bearing this purchase, telling me how the sales lady persuaded her into trying this product out. I grabbed one myself the next time I went out because I was that curious about it and also kinda desperate at that point. lol

Revlon Photo Ready Concealer in Medium

I got the one in Medium. If I'm not mistaken there are only 3 shades to this concealer; light, medium and dark. Maybe those are all that we need here in Brunei?

Revlon Photo Ready Concealer

As expected, this concealer is extremely creamy and doesn't cake up on my skin at all! I use it to cover the redness around my chin and lips and it's pretty much full coverage!

Revlon Photo Ready Concealer swatched and blended out

For the under eye area I just use the regular patting motion to 'push' the product into my skin. I try not to rub them in because the skin around this area is really thin and delicate and I already have eye bags to worry about. Having even BIGGER eye bags are the last thing I need!!

I really do like this concealer. It works well and isn't that pricey at all! It retails for BND$16.90. Try this out if you're looking for a concealer that performs. ;)

Etude House: Easy Brow Pencil & Drawing Eye Brow

2012-02-04T19:11:00.006+08:00

If it were up to me, I'd always prefer a mechanical eye brow pencil compared to the traditional ones simply because I don't wanna trouble myself to sharpen it. Not to mention those mechanical pencils are shaped nicely for me to draw my eye brows on with the least effort. When it comes to eye brows I like it filled quick and efficient. Whatever that means wtf

Etude House Drawing Eye Brow and Easy Brow Pencil

Gosh why do Etude House have to come up with weird names for their products. Come on, Drawing Eye Brow? Honestly though, this is actually better than the names they give their lip glosses! It's so crazy it'll blow your mind.

Both of the ones that I own are almost the same color! If I'm not mistaken they also have other shades in black and gray.

Etude House Drawing Eye Brow

I've been using this for quite a while now and I like it because of how convenient it is to use. I can just twist the product up and down wtf The shape of the product also makes it easy to fill in the spaces as well as drawing straight lines using small strokes. You can also do a really thin line at the end of the brow, if you want to. Unless you have straight eye brows, like many of the Korean celebrities do.

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Right, right??

Not really a big fan of the spoolie though. It's too soft! Does nothing for my brows but I normally just use it anyway out of habit.

Etude House Easy Brow Pencil

I really like the brow brush on this one! It's perfect. As for the brow pencil when you first got it you will need to scratch the protective coating off the tip of the pencil before you start using it. I think the coating prevents the product from drying out? Who knows.. Apart from that, this is not at all bad! But do keep in mind you'd need to sharpen this if you have arched eyebrows. A dull tip just won't do it.

I have arched eyebrows and I hate having to sharpen the pencil all the time before using it!

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Both of these retails for BND$6.90. I like the packaging of the Easy Brow Pencil (the pink one) better but product wise, I prefer the other. I guess we can't have it all. No biggie, it's just an eye brow pencil! lol

Lush Cosmetics: Mint Julips Lip Scrub

2012-02-01T11:18:00.006+08:00

How often do you exfoliate your lips? I have always wanted to try out lip scrubs after realizing those things actually do exist. Before that I thought there are only products which exfoliates your skin and not your lips. What I always did is to use a wet tissue and rub my lips with them. That's obviously plausible but where's the fun in that??

I have searched high and low in Brunei for lip scrubs and I even went to The Body Shop and all those other cosmetics stores but I still haven't been able to find one. So I guess it's either they don't exist here or I didn't search hard enough. As a consumer (ehem) I don't think products should be THIS inaccessible so I'm assuming they don't sell them here.

Lucky for me I finally got my hands on Lush's lip scrub called Mint Julips!

Mint Julips: Peppermint and Chocolate lip scrub

This product is so cute it's Okay if you don't even use it as long as you have it on your desk for display wtf

Mint Julips: Peppermint and Chocolate lip scrub

Lush Cosmetics is well known for their organic and vegan products and this particular one is no different. This vegan lip scrub is infused with yummy sounding ingredients like Vanilla Extract, Peppermint Oil, Castor Sugar and Organic Jojoba Oil!

It doesn't really melt on your lips so you can scrub them on real good before taking (or licking) them off. I can't help but taste this and its really sweet tasting! If I were to describe the scent I'd say it smelled quite strongly of mint. But the overall scent reminds me of mint chocolate! Yummy...!

Cute!

Mint Julips: Peppermint and Chocolate lip scrub

I've used this for around 4-5 times and the jar is still full! Literally full to the very top of the jar, no kidding man. You'd really get your money's worth for this product. The Mint Julips lip scrub retails for £4.95. The only way I know how you can get this is through the Lush UK website here. They ship internationally!

Of course if you don't wanna bother yourself with so much trouble there's always the DIY method. Check out Michelle Phan's video on how to DIY: lip scrub here!

MUA eye shadow: Day and Night

2012-01-27T15:14:00.003+08:00

Shala bought tons of MUA eye shadows last year and I only kept one of em in my drawers. I never bother to use it because it looks grey and honestly I don't like using grey shades on my eyes. Finally took it out last night to try and I was totally taken aback by it! I love it now and felt guilty for not taking it out to use earlier wtf

MUA eye shadow in Shade 12

It looks like a metallic grey color with maybe a little bit of brown in it but when I swatch it, it came out like this:

MUA eye shadow in Shade 12 swatch

It came out more like a purplish brown and I have nothing like this shade so I'm very glad I picked this color out of around 20 of these MUA eye shadows!

I played around with the shade and ended up with a night look and a day look. Plus it's CNY which means I have an excuse to use makeup day and night!! :p

Night time makeup

Used the eyshadow on my lids and a burgundy eye shadow on the outer v.

Somehow the eye shadow looks greyish here!

Day time makeup

Used the MUA eye shadow on the outer corner and a lighter shade in the inner corner. 2 eye shadows only because I lazyy

The only problem I have with this eye shadow is that it doesn't blend as easily as my other eye shadows. But it's good for packing on colors because it's super pigmented! Plus only GPB 1!! That's like BND$2 wtf so cheap!! Y U NO sell here in Brunei?!?!

Never underestimate the power of a $2 eye shadow! :p

Eau De Parfum: Calvin Klein Beauty

2012-01-22T12:19:00.009+08:00

If given the chance, would you go for a designer perfume or a celebrity's? I have a friend who is very much into fragrances, especially celebrity ones and once she even told me that her mom would fly her off to Singapore just to buy celebrity fragrances for her if she did well in her exams! Talk about motivation! haha I don't have much of a preference as long as they smell good. I mean, that's the point of buying perfumes in the first place, right?!

Calvin Klein Beauty EDP (100ml)

I was approached by an online perfume store from Singapore, PerfumeStore.sg, which is also Singapore's largest online perfume retailer to do a review on one of their fragrances and I chose Calvin Klein's Beauty EDP.

I was pretty skeptical because I didn't know how it smelled. I was thinking, "What if it didn't smell good? What if it's not to my liking? What if it's too strong?" Little did I know I have nothing to worry about because the second I have it in my hands I spritzed it and lemme tell you this.
It. Smells. Won. Der. Ful.!!

Calvin Klein Beauty EDP (100ml)

I wore this fragrance for a week to class to test it out and even received compliments from my friends! :D One of them said it smelled 'really smooth' and 'not too soft or too strong'. If there is one word I would use to describe this scent is that it's sophisticated. It's perfect for use in times when you're going out with friends or going on a date. You know, times where you have to dress up. It stays on for a good amount of time too! Up to more than 4 hours definitely. If you wanna know, the notes in this fragrance are Lily, Absolute Ambrette Seeds, Jasmine and Cedar-wood. I can definitely smell Jasmine.

Calvin Klein Beauty EDP (100ml)

The design of the bottle is surprisingly really simple! When I look at the bottle it surprises me how much different it seems in comparison to the scent of the perfume! I love how Sephora describes the bottle:

"Beautifully feminine, its curvaceous bottle rests upon a luxurious glass heel, suspending the fragrance inside a luminous sphere. A metallic silver ring embraces the glass bottle, expressing sophistication, glamor and confidence."

The perfume arrived just 6 days after it was dispatched! Plus it was a registered mail so it comes with a tracking number where the status of my order can be easily checked at Singpost. Most importantly, PerfumeStore.sg sells their fragrances for a far cheaper rate than stores in Brunei! I did a little research and found out the prices of Calvin Klein Beauty in a couple of stores here in Brunei.

Calvin Klein Beauty EDP (100ml)
Winmark: BND$130
Paloma: BND$155
PerfumeStore.sg: BND$85!! (You save BND$45, 35% off)

But of course, for shipping you would have to add an extra BND$10++ but that would still be cheaper than buying them here locally! More good news: PerfumeStore.sg is having a Chinese New Year Promotion!

Discounts up to 75%!

Their latest deals

PerfumeStore.sg Chinese New Year promotion!

These are some of the special deals that they are having currently on their website. Go check 'em out here!

You can also visit their Facebook page HERE!

P.S.: As stated in their website, all of their products are originals. No knockoffs, copies or expired merchandises. :) They also ship internationally!

Calvin Klein Beauty EDP (100ml)

Disclaimer: The product is sent to me for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Costume jewelry: Shells and beads

2012-01-19T10:58:00.012+08:00

When pairing jewelry have you ever been told that it's never best to pair chunky necklaces with big earrings and one too many bracelets? Even Fashion Police on E! will use the words "There's just too much going on there." to describe an artist's outfit. Just how much is too much? Luckily for me I've never had much of a problem pairing jewelry for my outfit because I keep it simple. Because I am plain Jane wtf

I wanted to write about this because last week I received this cute necklace from Kenny and decided to wear it out to dinner at KB with my family. Then I thought maybe I could share how I usually wear big pieces like this when I go out. I love fashion but when it comes to actually wearing anything fashionable, I tend to stick to the basics. Sadly.

I like how the necklace contrast with the dark green shirt!

The chain is made of broken seashells and beads!

Paired the necklace with faux diamond studs

Pieces like these are really versatile and you can pair them with almost anything in your wardrobe to dress up your outfit! I paired mine with a long-sleeved green T and a pair of skinny jeans and I'm good to go.

Me and Shala before heading out

Dinner with the family at Excapade Sushi

It'd be interesting to know what you guys would pair these kinda costume jewelry with! :D

Skin79 Sea Weed Cooling Mask

2012-01-15T20:39:00.006+08:00

Shala won the Skin79's Sea Weed Cooling Mask when she guessed right the color of the new Vital Orange BB Cream but being the kind lady that she is (ass-kissing), she gave it to me knowing that I will get more use out of it compared to her. Truthfully I have never seen her around the house using any beauty facial mask lol

Skin79's Sea Weed Cooling Mask

From the packaging:

"This moisture supplying mask full of as cool moisture as it was dipped from the ocean, is fit for those who have brittle, sensitive and thin skin. With Fucus vesiculous extract containing minerals and Allantoin in addition to Aloe extract, which is prominent in skin soothing effect, this gel type content promptly has soothing and moisturizing effect on skin as well as maintains the skin healthy by providing freshness and sufficient moisture."

The mask must be really moisturizing for them to find it relevant to mention that it's moisturizing THREE TIMES!

Product looks yummy...

Skin79's Sea Weed Cooling Mask

I love how it came with a cute plastic spoon for scooping the product out! It has a really gel-ish texture and true enough it is cold to the skin. It is on days that are really scorching hot that I like to whip this product out and just slab them on my face for that cooling effect. I'm not sure how often we are supposed to use this but I normally use 'em once a week.

Me ready for my weekly cooling mask session wtf

Directions:

"After cleansing and apply a thick layer of mask to the skin avoiding eye and lip area. Rinse thoroughly after 10-15 minutes with lukewarm water."

I normally use around 2-3 full scoops

Ahh... bliss.

After spreading the mask evenly on the face, wait happily for 15 minutes then rinse with warm water!

3 full scoops might be too much for you guys. After all, my face isn't exactly tiny... haha The texture of the product makes spreading it out really easy and it's also super convenient to use! Totally perfect for those hot days because of how 'cool' the product is and how soothing it is for your skin.

However I do consider this product a 'luxury item' because you don't need this in your life per se. Though I have to say it's definitely a good investment for those who like to pamper themselves every once in a while. ;)

The Skin79 Sea Weed Cooling Mask retails for BND$35.90. Skin79 is having a sale now though, till the end of the month so if you purchase now you will get 30% off! Awesome.

The Suicide Hair Roll

2012-01-12T21:22:00.009+08:00

When I first saw Karmin's cover of 'Look at me now' by Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne, all I remembered thinking was: Damn... that voice!... Damn... that HAIR!!

If you don't already know, Karmin is a band. More like a music duo really, of two awesome people; Amy and Nick. And most of the time you will be able to spot Amy wearing the Suicide Roll which looks really pin-up-ish and extremely cute on her! Her being super gorgeous helped too, of course. :p

Amy from Karmin (source)

She posted up a tutorial on youtube as well explaining to us the step-by-step for this hair style!
Here's the video:

I tried it out coz when I watched it she made it seems so easy! Took me a good 4-5 tries and much frustration and swearing later I managed to make it look at least 1/100 similar to hers wtf

I tried it out that night after Christmas last year. Read about it here.

What I noticed was that she meant it when she said you need a lot of hair spray. And also a lot of hair lol My hair is very fine so it's definitely a lot harder to make it look as voluminous as hers did! Even after teasing it doesn't really work fml

Try this out if you haven't already! It's a ton of fun especially since you can basically wear this on an everyday basis if you want to. It's not too much and it's not boring!

Moving back to the dorm

2012-01-10T10:05:00.015+08:00

I just moved back in to the hostel yesterday morning and decided to write up a blog post last night. So I carried my laptop and stuff from the second floor (My dorm room's on the second floor btw) to the resource room on the ground floor. The air-conditioner didn't seem to be working but obviously I can't do anything about that so I plugged in my laptop and...

The internet is effed up. Again!

Geez guys. Do something about your wifi. I mean, come on! How to be in the Top 50 Universities in Asia when your wifi isn't even working wtf

I had to set my alarm last night in order to wake up early in the morning to shower and walk to the library just to update my blog. Guess where I am now?

Ahh... the things that I do for my blog. :p

Anyways, I decided to spruce up my room this semester. Last semester I printed motivational quotes and stuck 'em all over my room. Things like "Enjoy life." and "Dare to be different." This semester however I used this:

Definitely makes the room less dull! I shall put up more of these next week. ;)

Also went to Giant yesterday as Jessie wanted to get some groceries. Was surprised to find this in Giant!

Circle lenses!

They sold mostly Geo lens, both the normal 14mm and 15mm ones. There are various series that they are selling and I also noticed that they are selling lens with degrees! How bout that?! Some of them are BND$18 and some are BND$10, depending on the brand and I'm assuming these are authentic because they look exactly like those that I bought before. And they also have these 'Authentic stickers'.

I think these were also by Geo. The Mimi Cafe Series.

Geo Mimi Cafe Series in Macchiato. I think they are 15mm wide.

Click to enlarge!

I can't wait to try those out! I'll do a review. Maybe. :)

Sleek makeup palette: Bad Girl

2012-01-05T21:24:00.007+08:00

So when Shala came back to Brunei after finishing her studies overseas she shipped back all her stuff as well. There was a crap lot of things and it was chaos when the shipping company dropped by our house and dropped off 9 boxes of miscellaneous things. The first thing that I looked for was of course her makeup goodies which in the end I found was wrapped hastily between layers of bubble-wrap. #win

I was a kid again. It felt like Christmas. Almost.

Sleek makeup palette in Bad Girl

Sleek makeup palette in Bad Girl

The Bad Girl palette was one of the makeup stuff that I found and I remembered being curious about this palette when it first came out.

Sleek makeup palette in Bad Girl

I love how Sleek makeup is one of the brands which have super affordable prices and pretty decent quality! I mean, look at this!

sho pigmented!

I guess the only downside is that the shadows are pretty soft. Shala sent me two of these palettes before and in each of them, at least 2-3 eyeshadows broke. :'( Bad Girl consists of more blue-ish and grey-ish shades which are perfect for creating a smoky eye whilst I remembered the Good Girl palette has a lot of pink shades! If I were to choose I'd get the Bad Girl because there are more varieties of shades to use.

source
Sleek makeup palette: Good Girl. They all look the same wtf

My version of a smoky eye using the Bad Girl palette

Close up

On my lips are Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Peach!

The invisible shelf dilemma and a Book: The White Queen

2012-01-02T20:16:00.012+08:00

Hey people!

First of all, Happy new year to all of you out there! Hope you enjoyed spending your first day of 2012 with friends/family!

If there can only be one new year's resolution that I can make, I'd wish that I could read more this year! I have always been fond of books but never found it worth my pocket money before, especially during my secondary years where I really begin to love reading books more and more. Thank God for school libraries which kinda helped me save money + read as much as I'd like. lol I remembered that we can only borrow a max of 2 books per week during secondary school if I'm not mistaken and I'd read and exchange them for different books every few days.

That habit broke last year when I started UBD. I didn't even bother to borrow any books from the library during my first semester because I didn't know how to use the automatic machine which records books that I borrow and I'm too shy to ask for help wtf So I started buying them instead. Good also lah I mean I can buy the book that I actually wanna read rather than browsing and borrowing for books that I 'might' only like.

So for now I have my books stacked up against the wall on my desk. I'm thinking to get a shelf or something and James suggested making this awesome looking 'invisible shelf'.

Up up and away

The awesome-looking invisible shelves

I'm still thinking whether or not to go ahead and do this. Yes it's gorgeous and all but it also means drilling holes into the wall! And I'm not sure if I want holes in my walls... What if I move the furniture around and the shelves needed to be taken down leaving ugly holes?? It does look pretty though... *pulls hair*

On another note, I'm almost done reading The White Queen and I do think it's a better book than The Red Queen simply because the main character in The White Queen is more likable. However both books speak of the queens' lives during the 14th century and the love of power and wealth, obviously as it was during the cousins' war. As much as I hate the chapters describing the war, the rest is pretty remarkable, depending on how much you like books like these.

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

I think the people in the past lives strange lives. For example, Elizabeth (The White Queen) has to face Warwick (King's cousin) in court and smile and talk to him even though he is directly responsible for her father's and brother's death and everyone knows it. Geez..I feel like I'm reading a book AND learning history at the same time haha p.s.: The books are non-fiction in the sense that all the characters really exist in the past and fiction because there is fantasy in it such as when Gregory wrote of Melusina, a being who is fish from the waist down. Google it :p

Check this book out if you're interested in vintage stories. It makes you think of how much the world has changed and what it would be like if you were to live in that era! ;)

2011's resolutions.

2011-12-29T21:25:00.007+08:00

Hey guys!

I was thinking of what to post tonight and remembered that I posted something regarding my 2011's new year resolutions earlier this year. I've forgotten a few of them #epicfail but then again, I'm never big on fulfilling new year's resolutions even though I make new ones every year. Guess we shall see which ones I actually kept to this year!

2011's resolutions:

1) Try to keep my face moisturized daily coz they tend to become dry at some parts and I hate it.
-Did this for the most part! :D Though on some days my skin can be really stubborn.

2) Study hard. Doh
-Can never be satisfied with this no matter how hard/not hard I study. #fail

3) Remember to cut my toenails wtf
-Nope. Didn't fulfill this one either. oops

4) Drink more water
-50/50 on this one. I'm good with this as long as there is always a water bottle laying around which is within my eye sight lol

5) Update my blog as frequently as possible
-Did this one through and through! haha I tried to organize what to post and stuff. I guess the most important part is to have something to blog about then you're ready to go! I've actually been blogging more this year compared to last year so all's good.

6) Smile at strangers more instead of glaring at them
-I tried my best with this one. Hate it when they just stared back fml

7) Be happy consistently
-This one is impossibru so I didn't even try. I'm human I need to feel all the emotions! eseh.

Guess that's about it. This year has been pretty awesome. Somewhat like a roller-coaster ride. Here's to wishing 2012 brings an even more epic year to our lives!

p.s.: Went to 9gag's website for the first time last night. Ended up browsing for hours in the middle of the night. Why I so outdated one?!!? FFFFUUUUU

Christmas and the day after!

2011-12-26T21:17:00.009+08:00

Hey guys!

How was your Christmas? Spent mine cooking, dining and watching movies with the family! Secret Santa was a success and mom suggested upping the price of the gifts for next year. This year is actually the first time we played this Secret Santa thing so Shala decided to go for the simplest $10 budget rule. I think everyone got each other awesome gifts!

Listening to mom's stories during dinner. Table was overflowing with food lol

Prepared this just for the fun of it!

Dada

Wingzzz

Dad and mom

I dunno what is this wtf

Sharon and James sporting similar Santa hats!

Shala explaining what to do next before exchanging gifts. We are that noob.

Dad opening his gift. Purposely chosen pink colored wrapping paper for him with lotsa love lol

My gift for Sharon

Dad's gift for James. Pink again!! HAHA

Shala got a 4gb pendrive!! And it costs less than $10. So awesome!

Love this one! I pick one. *proud*

Hope you enjoyed your Christmas this 2011!!

*****

Earlier we decided to go for some Japanese cuisine with the cousins because new year is approaching and that means... back to school/university/institute for everyone! So I guess this dinner is a symbolic way of preparing ourselves for the year to come wtf :p

I've always had a love-hate relationship for this time of the year because even though it's exciting to mark the end of a year whilst welcoming a new year in life, it does mean another year gone by like *snaps fingers* that. I'm grateful for this year though because I finally got my car license! wtf two years of procrastination... Also a lot of good things happened around me this year so I really appreciate 2011! I guess it's time to write up a new list of new year's resolutions! ;D

Anyways, pictures!

tsk tsk... kids these days aah..

Fried bread with ice cream fillings. I er.. don't recommend this.

Sharon and Stephen

Suicide hair roll inspired by Amy from Karmin!

Fav of all fav!

***Abrupt end of post***

Secret santa & wedding FOTD

2011-12-23T16:35:00.007+08:00

Hey people!

How's your week so far? As for me I've been counting down to Christmas ever since the holidays started thanks to Shala who came up with the idea to play Secret Santa in the family! We've decided to exchange $10 gifts on Christmas just for the fun of it! I understand that Christmas is actually a religious holiday and though I'm not a christian or what, we take it as an initiative to celebrate the holidays! Believe it or not we usually cook quite festively during Christmas time!

Enjoy the holidays while it last, people! ;)

*****

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend a wedding in KB and I wanted to try something new with my eye shadows. Ended up not doing anything differently -__- but!! I did manage to use Urban Decay's blackout eye shadow *pats self on back* Blackout is an intense matte black eye shadow and thus far, the last time I used a black eye shadow was more than a year ago! I was THAT afraid to use it wtf coz personally I don't think black shadow looks good on mono-lidded eyes like mine :'(

Final look

Also used Revlon Colorstay foundation this time around which I haven't picked up since a long long time ago just because it's pretty thick in comparison to other normal foundations. I thought I preferred the more ehem.. 'natural' look which doesn't conceal as much spots on my face as Revlon Colorstay does. But since I'm going to a wedding dinner, of course must look extra polished!! wtf.. Hence the foundation fml Anyways, my point is, I'm starting to love the full coverage again! hahaha

Urban Decay eye shadow in Blackout w/ swatch

Close up.

On my face:

Laneige Make-up primer
Revlon ColorStay foundation in Early Tan
MAC StudioFix in NC40
MAC bronzing powder in Bronze

On my eyes & lips:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
The Balm Shady Lady Vol. 2 in Devilish Danielle & Insane Jane
Urban Decay eye shadow in Blackout
Urban Decay 24/7 glide-on eye pencil in Zero
Maybelline Volum' Express mascara in Feline Black
MAC lipstick in Bubblegum
Etude House Peach water gloss in Strawberry Milk

Shala & meeee

MAC Viva Glam Gaga I

2011-12-19T14:36:00.006+08:00

Hey guys!

It's confession time... I have a thing for lipsticks wtf Anyways, I've always wanted to try the MAC Viva Glam Gaga I when it first came out a couple of years ago but I never got the chance to get it and somewhere along the way I've kinda forgotten that I even wanted it. To my pleasant surprise I realized that the color is quite similar to one of Etude House's lip glosses! So if you don't wanna go the extra mile just to get yourself the lipstick you can just pop in to Etude House and purchase the lip gloss instead!

MAC Viva Glam Gaga I (Light blue pink -Lustre)

MAC Viva Glam Gaga I

Pretty similar eh? ;D

I have on Etude House's Strawberry Pink lip gloss on top of the MAC VGG.

I don't know why but I tend to go for light colored lipsticks and sometimes wearing them made me look sick but I still wear them. (stubborn much?) However one of my favourite things to do is to pair them with heavy eyeshadows. :D or as heavy as I can get them to be...

Love the packaging!

Winner of my blog holiday giveaway!

2011-12-15T12:03:00.004+08:00

Hey guys!

The holiday giveaway on my blog has been going on for over two weeks now and had closed just 5 minutes ago! Are you as excited as I am as to who the winner is??!

Using random.org

CONGRATS TO

ERRA!

You have just won yourself 10 makeup items! Have fun! :D

P.S.: I wanna thank everyone who has supported and joined this giveaway. I'm really happy with how it turned out because I wasn't sure at first if many people will like what I have to give away. Hopefully I'll be able to host another giveaway in the future and may the prizes be even better! ;D

***

UPDATE:

I have to pick another winner as the email address provided by Erra is an invalid email. Hence I generated another winner. Congrats to Ana! Please reply my email asap! :)

UPDATE UPDATE:

Unfortunately Anna isn't from Brunei so congrats once again to Tiera Affandy who won! Third time's a charm eh? ;D

Skin79 New Vital Orange BB Cream

2011-12-14T17:25:00.008+08:00

Hey people!

If you don't already know, Skin79 Brunei launched their new Vital Orange BB Cream a few weeks ago which was also in conjunction with their 1st year anniversary and there was this crazy sale going on and people were buying, browsing and everything. It was huge! I was also given the chance to try out their new and improved Vital Orange BB Cream!

Vital Orange BB Cream

New Vital Orange BB Cream and the original version, Hot Pink BB Cream

Top

Mmm... Liquid gold!

Just to compare the bottles, both look similar except for the colors (Doh) as well as the metallic color at the top. Vital Orange has a liquid gold pump whereas Hot Pink has the silver pump. Personally I preferred the liquid gold. ;) Makes the product look richer! Also, I noticed that the lettering on the Hot Pink tend to wear off over time. Hopefully the lettering on the new packaging of Vital Orange wouldn't!

I first tried this product during the sale and the first thing I noticed about the Vital Orange BB Cream was that the color pleasantly look more similar to that of a foundation. If you are an avid user of both BB Creams and regular foundations, you would have noticed the colors between the two varies in the sense that BB Creams tend to appear a little more grey-ish. Good thing is that Hot Pink oxidizes and will blend into the skin nicely after a short while.

From above, Vital Orange appears to have the color of a regular foundation, meaning to say we wouldn't need to wait as long for the BB Cream to oxidise to our skin tone and will not look as grey-ish as the Hot Pink when you first put it on! Amazing or whaaaatt?? Honestly I was quite surprised at how dissimilar these two products are based on the color alone!

As for the texture, it is extreeeeemeeely creamy and super easy to blend! And you don't need much trust me!! The first time I used it I pumped out the same amount as I would have when I used the Hot Pink BB Cream but as it turns out, it was too much I looked like a ghost! Vital Orange is very pigmented and the coverage can be medium to Ultra FULL depending on how much you use. It covers redness around my nose and lips as well as the visible veins on my face effortlessly! (P.s.: My face is not as scary as you think...)

Before and after Skin79 Vital Orange BB Cream

My face's skin tone has always been darker than my neck and I always find it hard to find a suitable foundation shade because I don't want the color between my face and my neck to be even more different that it already is. Vital Orange is a fairly light color so it helped even out my skin tone nicely! Unfortunately I don't think Vital Orange suits people with darker skin tone because the shade is simply too light for darker skin.

Before and after Skin79 Vital Orange BB Cream

Vital Orange also has an enhanced SPF50+ in comparison to Hot Pink which has SPF25. I usually put on sunscreen under BB Creams for extra protection so I guess that's even better lol Overall I'm very happy with Vital Orange BB Cream! It doesn't smell weird; in fact I think it's fragrance free? It blends good, covers good and is an overall excellent quality BB Cream. Only downside is that it might not suit darker skin-tone individuals.

Skin79 Vital Orange BB Cream retails for BND$53.90. It is by far the most expensive BB Cream I have ever owned! However if you know me, the price of a face product should not really matter even though it may be expensive as long as the quality of the product lives up to the price because remember people, we are putting this on our face! But of course, if you are still a student or if you think the price is a little out of your budget, you can always try the Hot Pink version which retails for BND$39.90. I'm actually quite surprised at the difference between the two prices! (Difference of BND$14!!) Vital Orange also comes with elements that protect our skin from the harsh environment and you can click here to find out what they are. ;D

Of course, as with any other products, make sure you remove them properly by the end of the day before bed! I normally double-cleanse. :)

Be sure to check out Skin79 Brunei's facebook HERE!

Skin79 Vital Orange BB Cream

FOTD: Quick neutral eyes

2011-12-10T21:18:00.006+08:00

Hey guys!

Here's another face of the day which I normally do on days when I don't feel as enthusiastic about makeup as I usually do or when I simply don't have the luxury of extra time. It's quick and easy! The Revlon eyeshadow-quads are really convenient and is good if you're looking for affordable AND good quality eyeshadows. I personally prefer them to some korean-branded ones you can find here in Brunei. Plus they are so easy to use since all the four shades are guaranteed to mix and match well. :)

Close up shots:

I'm wearing one of Revlon's ColorBurst Lipsticks: Peach

I'm using Revlon's eyeshadow-quad

Eyes & eyebrows:

Revlon Matte eyeshadow in Vintage Lace
Revlon ColorStay eyeshadow-quad in Blushed Wine
Maybelline Crayon Liner in Black
Maybelline Volume Express Cat Eyes mascara in Feline Black
Etude House mechanical eyebrow pencil

Lips & face:

Revlon ColorBurst lipstick in Peach
MAC MSF Natural in Medium Deep
Skin79 Orange BB Cream

Revlon's Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick in Wine Not

2011-12-06T20:37:00.002+08:00

Hey guys!

Just a quick post tonight on the lipstick I bought recently. So far I've only tried this out once and I have to say I hesitated coz I wasn't really comfortable with wearing such a dark shade. But I knew sooner or later I'm gonna use it anyway just because. :p

Before and after

Sharon said I look vampyish and bro said the makeup is very gothic-like. It was also the first time I tried Skin79's new Orange BB Cream and I wasn't sure how much I needed and... I kinda pumped too much of the product out. Not wanting to waste them I slab them all over my face and try to blend it in as much as possible which probably explains why I look like a ghost. hahha

Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick in Wine Not

Swatch of Revlon's Wine Not

Seriously though, I'm not sure when will it be till I wear this out again. It's a little out of my comfort zone!! But! The lipstick is very very pigmented and what you see in the lipstick tube is exactly what you will get if you put it on your lips. I did use some concealer around my lips to make the borders looked a little more crisp and clean.

What I noticed is that you will need to really moisturize those lips and make them smooth and nice before putting any dark-colored lipstick or it won't look as nice once you put them on because the product easily seeps into those cracks on your lips if they are dry and can look extremely patchy and awful. =/ The fact that this is a matte lipstick isn't really helping but I did top it off with a clear gloss and it was much better. :))

I'm wearing Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick in Wine Not

I'm really wondering if Bruneians like wearing dark lipsticks. I never seem to see many who wears them around here, to be honest.

TBS: Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation

2011-12-03T18:03:00.009+08:00

Hey guys!

If you don't already know, The Body Shop came out with a new line of mineral foundations a few months ago I believe. The foundation comes in a powder form, liquid and also cream form. I went there more than a month ago just because I had this 50% off voucher Sharon gave me and I've decided to get one of these foundations to try them out. Was torn between the liquid and cream ones and the sales assistance tried to help me out by telling me what the differences between them are and I finally decided to go for the liquid foundation. As usual.

The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals

The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation

The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation with SPF30

The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation

I got the one in the shade Rose Vanilla. I wasn't sure how well this color would match me coz it has a pink undertone and my skin tone is more on the yellow side. But as you can see in the shots taken later that it has no problem of blending into my skin and evening out my skin tone and looking perfectly awesome!

Love that it comes with a PUMP!

The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation

Before and after

The texture of this foundation is pretty liquidy-creamy in comparison to say, Revlon's Photoready or even Skin79's Hot Pink BB Cream. I'd say it has a light to medium coverage and might not be for those who love their full-coverage types of foundation such as the Revlon's ColorStay foundation. This is perfect for everyday use just because it feels light on the skin and doesn't cake on you. Love the quality of this foundation! It's definitely better than their older version, TBS Oil free balancing foundation.

The staying power is so-so. I get greasy really quickly no matter what sort of foundation I used so this particular one is no different. I gotta get me some of those Skindinavia setting sprays! After using this it doesn't leave my face matte at all, more like dewy. So I suggest using a powder after if you have oil-combo skin.

The only downside for this product is the price. 28ml of product for BND$37.90. If I'm not mistaken Revlon's PhotoReady and ColorStay foundation both retails for BND20+ for 30ml of product. For someone like me though, I think it's worth the money if the quality is good. Especially since we're putting these stuff on our face. Plus, it's a mineral foundation! It's actually better for our skin than the normal drugstore ones... I think. :))

With The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation on

Having on Carnation by Revlon's ColorBurst Lipstick. I LOVE this color!!