tea noir’s 1st birthday/anniversary: MY MAKE-UP STASH
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
SUPER IMAGE HEAVY FANTASTICAL MAKE-UP ENTRY AHEAD.
So today I finally packed 90% of my make-up into little bubblewrapped, oddly-shaped bundles but before that, I thought it would be fun to photograph my whole stash to see just how much crap I’ve accumulated over the years and zomg wtf if you thought the shoes post was epic….
This picture in itself is a self-proclaimation that I am a true MAC whore. I have 17 MAC eyeshadows…how. on. earth. did I manage to collect 17 EYESHADOWS?!?! This is crazy lol! I had no idea I had THAT many.
1st row (starting with the dark purple shade) L to R: Nocturnelle, Flashtrack, Carbon
2nd row: Idol Eyes, Smoke & Diamonds, Tilt, Talent Pool
3rd row: Swimming, Mink & Sable, Fiction (omg my first eyeshadow ever! sadly discontinued), Club
4th row: Shroom (this is a really good highlighter!), Woodwinked, Amber Lights, Twinks
My mineral eyeshadows from MAC. L to R: Brightside/Gallery Gal, Ether (such a beautiful pool of blues and teal) and er forgot the name of this one.
My pathetic collection of palettes lol, I don’t know why but palettes don’t appeal to me much as opposed to single eyeshadow pots >_>
L to R: Mac Authentics Face Palette (I got this on sale for $25 and have never used it because I’ve dreamt about bringing this when I travel to some far flung place in Europe with a lover…but that ain’t happening anytime soon so..) and the Majolica Majorca Trick On Palette in GR750.
MAC pigments! As you can see I like my neutrals and greens a lot lol. L to R: Kitschmas, Blonde’s Gold (love love loveeee), Goldstroke, Copperized (gorgeous color, this one- a dirty olive green with a slight brown tone), Antique Green and Teal.
Misc pigments from assorted brands and samples I got from Catherine! Oh and a mini MAC Melon pigment too.
My eyeshadow bases. L to R: MAC paintpot in Delft, MAC paintpot in Rubenesque and Shu Uemura Cream eyeshadow in Suou. I’m no longer a paintpot fan, they’re great in the first month or so and then they just dry up on you -__-
Evidently, I’m really really into lipsticks lol. MAC lipsticks L to R: Myself, Sweetie, O, Lightly Ripe, Mellow Mood (fave to-go lipstick!), Cosmo (awesome dark pink shade <3)
NYX lipsticks, some of them were given to me by Mel. I’ve done a swatch post on some of the old ones I bought, you can read about them here.
1st row L to R: Topaz, Perfect, Doll, Indian Pink
2nd row L to R: Aphrodite, B52, Thalia
And er more lippies lol? My high-end lipsticks with an odd Rimmel one - L to R: Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited BG942, Rimmel London lipstick (can’t remember the name sorry), YSL Rouge Volupté in Pink Fetish, YSL Rouge Volupté in Tender Peach, Dior Addict High Shine in Beige-a-porter, Dior Addict High Color in Charmed Pink.
My OCC lip tars and my really small collection of lipglosses. I wish I could love lipgloss as much as the next girl but I really like my lips to be kinda creamy-matte as opposed to super shiny. Liptars are supremely awesome though, they’re very creamy - almost like a thickened liquid lipstick.
L to R: OCC liptar in Pageant, OCC liptar in Grandma, OCC liptar in Indashio, MAC lipglass in Liquer, MAC x Hello Kitty lipglass in She Loves Candy, MAC lipglass in Glamour For All, MAC Dazzleglass in Rags to Riches, MAC Dazzleglass in ….I cannot for the life of me remember.
Cheeks! I’m usually too lazy to contour my cheekbones but when I do I like using my MAC mineralize skinfinish in Shooting Star. It is a bronzey, gold veined dream and it deserves a lot more love from me but sry2say I’m just not bothered to contour lol. I mean I usually spend a lot of time on my eyes so by the time I’m done with the eye make-up, I’m running late lol so I can’t afford to slowly buff in a bronzer into the skin, apply blush, highlight etc.
1st row L to R: MAC MSF in Shooting Star, MAC highlight powder in Mellow Rave (I know it says highlight but it’s really more of a bronzer for me, really like this one too - beautiful mid-toned reddish brown), MAC blush in Trace Gold.
2nd row L to R: MAC Grand Duos blush in Moon River (still can’t get over how pretty this is), MAC mineralize blush in Merrily (hate this so much, I cannot remember why I bought it -_-)
Aah you guys can finally see my fave blush of all time - Nectar Peach by La Femme Cosmetics. This is a no frills matte peach shade and honestly it looks kinda meh in the pan but it is just exquisite on my skin.
L to R: La Femme blush in Nectar Peach, NARS Sin (I recommended this pinky-berry shade to Cat and she is loving it so far ;D), NARS Angelika
Everyday Mineral blushes from back when I was totally into mineral make-up.
First row L to R: Once & Again, Time Share
2nd row L to R: Snuggle (I find myself reaching for this one a lot), Theme Park (A damn good NARS Orgasm dupe)
Foundation and concealers. I generally use the same stuff because they work well for me so I don’t hoard foundation etc like some people do (wish I could say the same about eyeshadows and lipsticks rofl)
L to R: MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 foundation, Dr Jart Black Detox Healing BB Cream (I like using this one when I’m in a hurry), MAC Studio Fix Powder + Foundation, Bobbi Brown Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach, MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 concealer, MAC Prep + Prime Face Protect SPF 50 (this primer is awesome!)
Sorry I missed out on a couple of product names, I have no way of checking them since they’re all mostly wrapped up and ready to fly. You guys should have seen me pack my make-up lol, I was just shaking my head in disbelief as I took everything out from the multi-tiered plastic boxes I keep my make-up in. I never imagined it to be THIS epic but well, I know of people who have a ton more than I do! I got to admit though it’s a good sizeable collection that would last me centuries lol. I still have a couple more I didn’t show here, basically some stuff I recently got so I’ll be featuring that in another entry.
Yesterday was tea noir’s first birthday/anniversary! Omg it’s been a crazy year! I wanted to post this entry yesterday actually but er I kinda fell asleep halfway. I’ve just been really, really tired lately - packing is owning my soul this week and I cannot wait to be done with it =_=
A lil shout-out to Sue/jademasquerade: Thank you for the lunch treat yesterday! I wish we could have met sooner but I had so much fun nonetheless. I’m sorry I was a total klutz wtf, what a way to impress someone lol ._. Hope to see you in Melbourne soon! <333
Andddd a little site update: I finally installed the wordpress plugin that allows me to reply directly to comments as tested out in the comments at the bottom here. I always, always reply back to comments but this just makes it prettier to look at haha so check back to read my replies to your comments ;D
Tags: beauty: everyday minerals, beauty: NARS, beauty: shu uemura, beauty: yves saint laurent, Bobbi Brown, dior cosmetics, MAC, MAC: pigments, stash
New MAC stuff and my secret treasure trove of shoes.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty, Shoe Porn
The MAC All Ages, All Races, All Sexes Collection is finally out in Singapore! I’ve been waiting for this collection for a month now and I was so scared they were only going to release it here after I move to Melbourne but thankfully someone up there in the MAC offices RECOGNIZED they would be losing a major customer i.e me soon so they finally had the displays set up for me to make my last purchases before I say sayonara.
The collection wasn’t really much of a big deal to me but OMG the lipstuff are must-haves imo! I originally intended to get only the MAC lustre lipstick in Myself from the collection but ended up buying the Glamour For All lipglass as well because it was surprisingly so pretty in the tube >_>
I think Myself is going to be an instant sell-out. I’m not fond of the lustre lipsticks (I think they lack pigmentation) but this is such a great mauve-pink nude color so I was willing to ignore the lacklustre formula lol *_*
I think Glamour For All and Myself should be bought in a set because they look so good on your lips together! One reason why I bought Glamour For All was so that I could counteract Myself’s icky formulation with a nicely pigmented nude lipglass. The gloss itself is a very milky light pink with beige undertones ;D
Lip swatch! Erk honestly I think lip swatches are scary because like whoa where did the rest of my face go lol? Anyway, this is Myself and Glamour for All worn together on the lips. I think they make an amazing nude lip combo!
Non-MAC but still awesome purchase: the MUFE HD Powder!! WITHOUT A DOUBT, MY FAVE PURCHASE OF THE MONTH! Omg this is such an amazing loose powder, it makes your skin feel like silk and sets your make-up perfectly! I actually wanted to get the MAC Prep + Prime powder because it was $20 cheaper but I compared both textures side by side on my hand and i’m sry2say MUFE wins. The Prep + Prime powder feels like any loose powder but the MUFE is like godly, epic and all that. I’ll do an in-depth review once I’ve actually used this for a longer period of time but omg love love love loveeee.
So packing’s been kinda slowwwww, I took out all my shoes from their secret hiding space yesterday and FMLLLLLLLLL I HAVE SO MANY LOL. Ok not really but WTF, this is crazy - I can’t possibly bring them all. Urghhh my heart is in shambles now as I try to decide what pairs to bring and what pairs to go back into hiding ;__;
Omg my fave pair of heels. They’re from MANGO and I got them on sale for $80? They are so fricking cute, I like the very Moschino bow. They’ve got a pale wooden 4.5″ heel to match the white and they’re really really comfortable, I swear on Carine Roitfeld. SO bringing this.
My pretend Louboutins! Christian Louboutin sells a pair of heels exactly like this one but I think it was phased out a couple of seasons ago. Whatever. Classics don’t ever die. These are from GUESS and again, they were on sale for $40 I think? They’re about half a size too big tho but I don’t really care lol. 4″ heel, patent black finishing, classic cut = MUST BUY OR LIVE A LIFE FILLED WITH ENDLESS REGRET.
Lol oh the days when Melissas were all the rage~ I’m not too fond of this pair, I only bought it because it was $15 (they used to cost maybe $70? can’t remember) but I do like how they designed the arch, it’s kinda sexy.
ZARA pumps! I actually forgot I even had these LOL. I love the woodsy color and the round toe. There’s nothing sexier than a round toe!
EEK MY NINE WEST WEDGES <3 <3 <3 They're a blatant rip-off the Yves Saint Laurent ones I talked about and omg they’re the highest pair of shoes I’ve ever bought with the treated cork wedge heel coming in at just under 5″.
I LOVEEEEE the whole unfinished distressed marker look, this is ART people!
My spaceman heels! My pretend Nicholas Kirkwoods lol minus the funky sloping platform heel! Again, they’re from MANGO with a heel height of 4.75″ - I think MANGO makes the BEST heels ever, they’re so comfy! /o/ Unfortunately last season’s shoes were horrendous so I didn’t get a pair during their recent sale.
It may look bulky at the front but the crazy pointy heel makes it really streamlined actually.
The prettiest shoes I’ve ever bought…..sad to say tho they hurt like a bitch! They look so fricking beautiful on and I feel like I own the world for a good half hour before I turn mortal again and start wincing in pain. This pair’s from Zara, a Givenchy knock-off from 3-4 seasons ago. I suspect I’m only going to wear this out when a) I’m doing an event with virtually no walking around involved and all I have to do is sit and look pretty b) I get a boyfriend with a car.
I have a couple more pairs of heels not shown in this entry because a) I’ve already featured them here b) when I saw my other shoes…I died a little inside, WHAT WAS I THINKING WHEN I BOUGHT THEM O.M.G?!
Btw Alia, if you’re reading this - do you want that pair of red wedges I showed you a couple of months back? They don’t fit me anymore and since I’m the best cousin you’ll ever have™ (Nadz doesn’t count because she doesn’t have an epic shoe collection like I do), you get first dibs.
Ok gotta get back to packing, catch you all soon!
first img credit: mac cosmetics
Tags: mac: all ages all races all sexes, shoes: heels, shoes: wedges, yves saint laurent
Chocolate works in mysterious ways.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Fashion, Food & Nosh, Make-Up & Beauty
So on Monday, I finally met Yumi for a pancakes and pasta brunch date - we were both from the same design school but never really knew of each other’s existence till she found me via tea noir and twitter. Coincidentally, we’re both going to be stuck in Melbourne for the next couple of years so I thought- ah what the heck, let’s quit being the cool, mysterious arty design bitchez we already are for a day and get to know each other lol!
Yumi’s half Japanese and prior to our date, she was trudging in the snowy mountains of Fukuoka, bravely battling the high winds to shop for the kitschy cute and weird Japan is known for. She told me she got me a couple of stuff which is incredibly sweet considering we’ve never officially met lol. I mean I could have easily been an unmarried 40 year-old man with a make-up fetish posing as a girl who writes beauty entries to lure other girls in but Yumi fearlessly decided that she was going to meet me despite the odds - you’re fierce, girl, just fierce.
LOL OK JUST SO WE’RE CLEAR: I am NOT a 40 year-old man posing as a girl mmkay. Anyway look at what Yumi got me:
HOLY. MOTHER. OF. OSAKA. When she handed me the bag (isn’t it the cutest plastic bag EVER?) I was like O__O dayumm, that’s like the whole of Japan in there rofl. She got me so many things from food to chocolate lip balm omg, thank you so much sweets!
She got me a bottle of her favourite leave-in hair treatment. I have no idea what brand this is but let me tell you girls, this is the SHIT right here. The treatment has a watery gel-like consistency and has the most amazing scent similar to that of sun-ripened fleshy peaches growing in the valleys of Persia. My life feels a little more complete now that my hair smells like peaches rofl XD Btw I am loving the engrish on the bottle - “Even turns high damaged hair from coloring and perm into moist, manageable, and shiny beautiful hair just by ‘Sa~tto’ applying it” HAHA WHUTTTT.
Yes, yes getting to the food bit now. ROYCE Fruit Bar Chocolate is a Hokkaido-exclusive, you can’t get it anywhere else except Hokkaido. Yumi’s mom received a box of ten from a friend and she gave me a piece to try. I don’t know about you guys but this feels as epic as someone giving birth to 10 beautiful babies and giving one of them away for the greater good. LOL WHERE AM I GETTING ALL THESE RIDICULOUS ANALOGIES FROM?
I have to be honest here: I’ve never been fond of mixing fruit with chocolate so being the skeptic I am, I was really expecting the usual: pieces of fruit stuck in a bar of milk chocolate (mehhh) but what lies beneath the deceiving milky pink packaging is perhaps THE best fruit-based chocolate I have ever tasted.
It’s mainly made of puffy cereal with pieces of mango, banana and assorted berries lodged in between the minute gaps and covered with a light berry-flavoured WHITE CHOCOLATE. You guys have no idea how obsessed I am with white chocolate - I know it’s not really chocolate but who cares.
ROYCE, please accept my sincere apologies, I will never doubt your supreme chocolatey powers for as long as I live. I will tell the stories of your chocolates to my children and they will then pass on these stories to their own children, thereby continuing your chocolate legacy forever. God, I’m so high on sugar right now (I just ate 2 donuts), someone save me before I start rambling incoherently >_>
Milk-flavoured candy + keepsake tin can = happiness. It’s a magic formula!~
WHOO HOO JAPANESE CURRY! And at only 178kcal per serving, how can something so good be….diet-friendly?!! BRB MOVING TO JAPAN NOWS TTYL.
OMG another pack of royal milk tea kit kat!! T__T I’m hiding this one in my room to prevent chocolate thieves, I am not going to let this out of my sight.
Kellogg’s Cocoa Rice Krispies lip balm…I have no words - I’m completely out of adjectives to describe how awesome this is. It smells and tastes like chocolate, I’m awfully tempted to just eat the damn thing.
Yumi hooked me up with a copy of egg magazine which focuses on the gyaru fashion culture in Japan.
Japanese make-up tutorials are epic, they’re really detailed and give you step-by-step instructions on how to recreate a certain look. I think this page shows you how to apply different falsies, so fascinating lol.
Oh and Yumi, here’s proof that I have a cat LOL. He sleeps in the weirdest positions ever. Thank you so much for the Japan-in-a-bag treat lol, I LOVE EVERYTHING and er thanks to your filtering/packing horror stories lol, I’ve started to pack and I totally agree with you when you said..
PACKING IS A BEECH. OMFG YOU GUYS. My pretty glitter-flecked knits…my gold brocade skirt..my houndstooth sweater..my warm cosy layering basics…my sexy forest green dress my mother must never see T__T I think I’m going to have a serious clothing meltdown soon urghhh.
I’m going to take photos of my make-up collection before I start wrapping them up in bubble-wrap, that should be interesting lol. The MAC All Ages, All Races, All Sexes Collection is finally out in Singapore, I bought a couple of things from the collection yesterday so you girls can expect that in my next entry ;D
Tags: food: chocolate, japan, life, nosh: japanese food
Long overdue: Secret Santa Gift Swap!
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
I meant to write this post earlier but due unforeseen circumstances i.e my amazing family surprising me with a farewell party/bbq over the weekend, I probably won’t have been lucid enough to write a few sentences, let alone a full length blog post lol; we were unanimously high on an extremely potent mix of charred chicken wings, spicy marinated calamari and bottled milk tea. All of us slept at 4am that night/morning (!!) so I was really in no shape to blog.
Last Christmas I took part in a Secret Santa gift exchange organized by the sexy Pam! Mel and I were partnered up (in secret of course) so we had no idea we were each other’s Secret Santa! We only had a few days to shop for each other before mailing it to ensure the package arrived before Christmas! Mel didn’t have enough time to shop for me so she sent me another package after Christmas and I just received it this week so that explains why this entry has been waaay overdue lol!
Here’s what she sent me in the first package: masks from The Face Shop, something hot from MAC, samples from Laura Mercier etc, NYX Lipstick in B52 and Hello Kitty pocky & candy!!
She got me the MAC Prep and Prime Face Protect SPF 50!! This primer allows a smoother application of make-up by filling in your pores, fine lines and has spf in it too which is brilliant! I’ll do a review once I start using this baby.
I was SO excited to see the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars in the second package she sent! I have heard about how great and how pigmented they are but never got the chance to try them until now. Mel sent me three lip tars in all the colors I wanted omg, thank you so much! The color you see here is the lip tar in Grandma. HAHAHA it looks and sounds like a really safe, foolproof shade but just a dot on your lips is enough for a full blown coral lip k, don’t underestimate your dear old gramps!
Pageant is an almost porn star pink, it’s actually very similar to my YSL Pink Fetish lipstick but with a touch more fuschia in it.
And the shade I’m really really excited about: Indashio. This is not your momma’s lipstick…unless she has a thing for fierce poppin’ coral-reds. I can’t wait to try this one out! It’s time to stop doing the sickly pale lip and bust out that red lipstick!
Mel sent me two other NYX lipsticks: Aphrodite (a frosty lilac shade) and Perfect (a brownish-nude). I am happy to announce that I have enough lipsticks at my disposal to run my own dysfunctional bridal make-up company, can’t say I’m complaining ;D
SWATCHESSSSS YESSSS REJOICE FOR I BRING U MIGHTY SWATCHES. Left to Right: OCC Lip Tar in Indashio (look at how it gleams in the light omg), NYX lipstick in Aphrodite, NYX lipstick in Perfect.
I stupidly forgot to swatch the first NYX lipstick in B52 Mel sent me so that will go in another post I guess :/ I didn’t swatch the rest of the OCC lip tars because my hands got really sticky trying to swatch Indashio because I, too, forgot the universal rule of “Less is More.” Anyway, unlike Indashio, the swatches of the Pageant and Grandma are widely available on the internetz, like on Temptalia for instance!
MORE KRYOLAN STUFF! I’m so lucky omg. Kryolan Aqua Pearlshades in Anthracite and Gold. They’re cream color eyeshadows and they are made of awesome.
Top: Anthracite, Bottom: Gold. I think Anthracite is nothing short of spectacular *_* I have searched far and beyond the realm of the living for a nice smokey foolproof gray and have found nothing I was willing spend my money on but all is good now since I’ve got Anthracite yay! I can forsee Gold being used often as a highlight in the inner corner of my eyes whoo hoo!
Thank you so much Mel! I hope you’re loving the package I sent you as much as I’m loving yours <333
Sorry about my brief absence everyone! This is my last week at work so everything’s just been extremely hectic for me which is why I am WAY behind on everyone’s entries but I do promise I’ll try to do all my commenting by tomorrow. It sucks having full internet access at work but no time to do anything else except work -_- It’s just frustrating! It’s going to end soon anyway and then I can focus on blogging full-time woot!
Tags: beauty: KRYOLAN, beauty: OOC, beauty: yves saint laurent, NYX cosmetics, swap
Handle with care!
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Bodycare, Make-Up & Beauty
Last night I was got back home a little later than usual due to a hold-up at work, I was really tired - I had the flu, my nose was leaking like crazy (you have no idea how close I was to stuffing a tampon up my nose….not that you needed to know that but hey I’m trying to keep it real and funny here ya know?) and all I wanted to do was pop a couple of pills and sleep.
Then I noticed the box.
OMG MY SWAP PACKAGE FROM CATHERINE IS FINALLY HEREEEEEEEEEEE! I did a lil’ SQUEEE! and danced around the living room, totally forgetting that my parents were there and giving me weird looks. Uh, right. Sorry mom I know my 20 second ~IMMA BE JLO~ dance routine last night was painful to watch but despite the odds, I’m still your daughter k. Promise.
What’s weird is the box Catherine sent me only had our names and no addresses! I guess technology has become so advanced that you no longer have to write addresses on mail anymore…or maybe my Photoshop skills are so kick-ass and hot like fire that I managed to get rid of our addresses to prevent scary stalkers XD
A little back story on how the swap came about: Cat reviewed the MAC 5 Haute High Jinks Warm Pigment/Glitter Set and I commented on the post asking if she’s tried MAC’s pigment in Blonde’s Gold (gorgeous light yellow-gold color btw) because it’s one of my favourites. Turns out she hadn’t so I offered to send her a sample and cut to the chase, that somehow turned into a full blown international swap lol.
I was telling Cat how I had all these annoying bumps on my t-zone from time to time and I had absolutely no idea how to get rid of them. I think they’re a lot worse than pimples because although pimples are icky, they go away after a few days but these bumps just STAY THERE. What is the point srsly? They’re not even paying rent so they gotta go go go.
Cat recommended using a concoction of jojoba oil + squalane as a moisturizer to help declog the pores so she got me a bottle each plus a small vial of lavender oil to add into mixture. She’s also written a couple of blog entries pertaining to the wonders of jojoba oil and how they can help with acne, read about them here.
I also asked her to get me Weleda’s Skin Food because this multipurpose tube of moisturizer has been getting raves on Makeupalley, everyone’s proclaiming it to be the next best thing since Lady GaGa. It supposedly addresses many concerns like dryness, redness etc and you can use it on your face + body so I thought it would come in handy during winter in Melbourne.
NAIL POLISHES! L to R: China Glaze Stella, OPI Smitten with Mittens, OPI Merry Midnight. I asked Cat to get me some OPI, particularly Smitten with Mittens which was part of their 2009 holiday collection. She also talked me into getting another polish from the same collection - Merry Midnight and HOLY CRAP it’s an amazing shade of purple! She was kind enough to include so many extras for me including THREE other nail polishes, one of them being China Glaze’s Stella which an outer worldly shade of warm purple, gorgeousss.
Dude. I completely flipped out when I saw that Cat got me the infamous Essie Mint Candy Apple which is a great dupe of Chanel’s “Jade” nail polish. I love it so much omg, thank you, thank you! The funny thing is she also included a bottle of Essie’s Love, Beverly Hills xx, which is another color I’ve been curious about (it’s got 24k gold in it!) How the heck did you read my mind girl??
See the beautiful shimmery pool of gold in the red base? Can’t wait to try this one out!
Stella is a very unique purple, I think it should have been renamed Stellar lol because it’s just so alien-pretty…if that makes any sense (sorry it’s 11pm, I’m sick and I’m sleepy)
Smitten with Mittens is a classic red with gold glitter! You might think it’s similar to Love, Beverly Hills xx but that’s got more of a metallic finish compared to Smitten with Mittens.
I cannot get over how AWESOME Merry Midnight is! It’s a very deep purple with lots of blue-red glitter and flakes! If witches celebrated Christmas, this would be their nail polish of choice lmao. Oh and I’ve got Essie’s Mint Candy Apple on my nails in this photo ;D
I wanted a replacement for my MAC paintpots before they completely dry up on me so I now have the L’Oreal HIP cream shadow paint in 807 Secretive which is a very light neutral color that can be used alone or as a base for eyeshadow. I love how it comes with its own brush too!
Sweet Sienna’s a MAC LE pigment that came out 2 years ago and it is what I would classify as “The one that got away”. I can’t remember why I didn’t buy it but I’ve always regretted not getting the pigment. It’s a dirty brown with silver/grey pearl, I think there’s nothing like it. Cat actually received a large sample of Sweet Sienna in a separate swap and she kindly gave me a portion for me to try <3 <3 <3
LOL I’M NOT DONE YET. She also included another MAC pigment sample, Sunnydaze which is a stunning almost brown taupe shade! You’re so right Cat, I don’t have this at all lol! My pigment collection’s mostly golds and greens ;D
Thank you so much Cat!!! I love everything you sent, you’re my first official cosmetics swap ever and I had such a great time emailing/chatting with you on msn! I think we got to know each other a lot better since the swap so cheers to a blossoming friendship <3333 If you're curious to see what I sent Cat from my end, you can read about it here!
This post is seriously lacking in swatches, I know and I apologise. I couldn’t stay out in the sun for a long period of time today because this flu is just killin’ my fun and I had to take a day’s off from work :/ My voice is so hoarse and raspy now, I almost sound like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith. I hear he’s quit the band so guys, if you’re still looking for a replacement I’m willing to take the job but I should probably let you all know in advance that the only Aerosmith song I know is “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” from that Armageddon movie LOL
Tags: MAC, nails: China Glaze, nails: essie, nails: OPI, skincare: jojoba oil, skincare: weleda, swap
Love from Tokyo xx
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
I know, I know. I’ve been blogging so much about Japan lately but trust me I actually have another great excuse this time! Just look at the picture below.
UH HUH YES I DID DID DID!!! Miho sent me a package all the way from Tokyo with the first two items on my Jill Stuart wishlist, thank you so much honey! They are gorgeous, thank you for taking time off from your busy schedule to send me some love from Japan. I hope you’re doing well at your new workplace, enjoy the TWG moroccan mint tea pack I sent you! Keep in touch xoxo
I ran out of my Kose Sekkisei toner so I had Miho get me the Softening Fluid toner from the Jill Stuart skincare line. Noone I know has really checked out the skincare line so I thought it’d be nice to be a guinea pig and test this out on behalf of you pretty ladies out there. I’m saving this one for Melbourne so you can expect a review in 2-3 months or so.
Check out the box the toner comes in, isn’t it so pretty and quaint? Oho, you’ve not seen anything yet.
HOLY MOTHER OF ASDHGDSLADKDFJS! So, so beautiful *_* Look at the little ornate detailing around the cap (even the cap itself is epic donchu think?) This bottle could easily be a prop in an Indiana Jones movie lmao, just scratch off the whole Jill Stuart branding and replace it with some mythical mambo jambo e.g. ELIXIR OF LIFE and you got yourself a blockbuster hit girrrlll.
Aah what is Jill Stuart cosmetics without their eye jellies? I’ve been wanting one of these for the LONGEST time because they have chalked up some stellar reviews on almost every beauty blog I read. It comes in a light dusty pink box like the rest, lovely packaging as usual.
If you’ve not seen what the actual glass packaging looks like, Madonna has kindly answered all your prayers. I must say their attention to detail is phenomenal, I like how it resembles a jewel.
I got the eye jelly in 10 Vintage Deco which is a deep burnished brown with silver shimmer in it. The texture of the eye jelly is quite an enigma actually, I don’t know how best to describe it but I’ll try ;D I guess the texture’s somewhat akin to that of a fluffy, thick souffle. It’s mousse-like in a sense but is quite firm to touch. Just dabbing your fingers on the surface of the eye jelly is enough for a sheer wash of shimmer on the eyes.
It’s definitely pigmented but I won’t go so far as putting it on the same pedestal as MAC paintpots or whatever cream base you can think of. The eye jellies are formulated differently, they’re more shimmery/glossy rather than MAC’s full-on color policy which is a nice change. I am absolutely and utterly in love with my eye jelly and despite its slick “meheheh gonna crease on you in 2 hours tops, bitch!” appearance, it hasn’t creased on me at all despite being out all day in this fricking hot climate!
Miho got me the Shiseido Perfect Whip foam too! It’s from one of their affordable drugstore lines and just by mixing in a few drops of water + a tiny amount of Perfect Whip gives you this super thick foam you use to wash your face with..hence the name Perfect Whip! Aah I can’t wait to try this one out, it’s going to feel luxurious I’m sure ;D
It also comes with a small sample of Perfect Liquid which I believe is a cleansing oil? I’m not entirely sure haha, it could be toner!
FOTD TIME!!!~~
I was out for a bit of fun & shopping in the city today so I had on some light, fast make-up (didn’t want the folks to think I was going out clubbing lol). I just dabbed on some eye jelly (see how glossy it is? love love love!!), brushed in some highlighter on the browbone, did a quick flick trick with my trusty liquid eyeliner, lined my lower lashes with my gold Urban Decay eyeliner and that’s about it lol. I actually think I look demure wtf? For the first time in my life, I actually look almost innocent LOL.
Oh and excuse the tiny bumps on the forehead. URGH those pesky things appeared this morning and I feel like sanding them off my face with a nail file or something. Well at least you all know that I don’t photoshop off imperfections, I’m no Aphrodite/Hera/Persephone/Angelina Jolie - my skin is not perfect.
This side shot is for Catherine. She wanted to see a swatch of my NARS Sin blush so I purposely wore this out today so I could show what it looks like on my skin! I’m not sure if you can see it well because I like wearing my blushes sheer but it’s a nice berry blush! Cat, I think it’ll look really good on you!
Face:
Dr Jart Detox Healing BB cream
Cheeks:
NARS Sin
Eyes:
Jill Stuart Eye Jelly in Vintage Deco
MAC eyeshadow in Shroom as highlight
Majolica Majorca liquid eyeliner (forgot what it’s called)
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Honey
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander NEO
Lips:
YSL Rouge Volupte in Tender Peach & MAC lipstick in Mellow Mood
I’m sooooo tired D8 I’ve to catch up on so many blog entries I’ve missed out on since I’ve been out the whole weekend. I know some of you on twitter have asked me to write a weight loss entry and I think I’ll work on that after my last day of work because I have so much to touch on! There is no short-cut to weight loss and I’m definitely not going to slap in a couple of paragraphs and call it a diet guide. I’ll probably have it up before I leave for Melbourne in Feb ;D Hope everyone’s had a great weekend <3
Tags: beauty: jill stuart, beauty: NARS, fotd: neutral, japan, skincare: jill stuart
SILK WHITIA Masks Sale!
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
Since I practically live in SaSa these days (they let me sleep on the floor), I thought I’d let all my Singaporean readers know that SaSa is having a promotion on selected Silk Whitia masks! Usually the masks are $5.90 a piece but right now they’re going for an incredible $1.95 a piece til the end of the week! The masks that are on sale (as far as I can remember) are:
- Pearl Finest Powder Whitening Mask
- Pearl Finest Powder Pore Refining Mask
- Pearl Finest Powder Moisturizing Mask
- Aromatherapy Rose Hydrating Mask
- Aromatherapy Lavender Whitening Mask
- Aromatherapy Bergamot Mask
- Aromatherapy Eucalyptus Toning Mask
- Highly Concentrated Collagen Hydrating Mask
- Highly Concentrated Collagen Milky Mask
That’s an AMAZING deal! I just tried the Aromatherapy Eucalyptus Toning Mask today and holaaaa reduced pores! It also works great if you have a break-out since eucalyptus kills bacteria/germs. I don’t know about you guys but I’m going to pretend that the cabinets in my room aren’t overflowing with sheet masks and stock up!! By the way these masks only expire after 3 years so it’s not a bad idea to get a year’s worth, don’t you think? 
Tags: review: masks, skincare: silk whitia
Nihon ni ikitai! [日本に行きたい!]
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Food & Nosh, Make-Up & Beauty
Yet again I’m put in a spot where I have to spontaneously declare my love for a country I’ve never been to but have heard/read about it so much (all this with a slight tinge of envy) that I have embraced its culture as though it were my own.
Everything about Japan fascinates me, it’s a nation obsessed with attaining perfection in a sense that everything they do is done with careful grace and everyone is well-groomed and dressed to the nines.
You can pick out plenty of fashion styles in Japan, some are so chic (it just stabs me in the heart to think I live in a country where flip-flops and shorts are the norm) while the others look like they were from an entirely different time/planet/dimension/the space between spaces which amazes me sometimes because all of them are so immaculately dressed despite their slightly warped kooky sense of fashion. Now that is just made of epic fashion win.
I have to keep reminding myself that this blog isn’t entirely about my terror-inducing beauty-related spending habits and my knack for playing pretend chef every once a while but also to document the many things I find intriguing from fashion (dude, I’ve not blogged about fashion in the longest time!) to design-related stuff. So today I bring you a couple of photos of Tokyo from one of my favourite photographers on Flickr, Chillhiro.
img credit: chillhiro@Flickr
There is a certain elegance and beauty to his photos which I love and it’s strange because his photo compositions are so simple yet he manages to capture the rare stillness of a fast-paced metropolitan city like Tokyo. If you like what you see, check out Chillhiro’s photostream here for more visual splendor ;D
*cough* k back to my ridiculous spending habits. (What? You can’t expect me to talk about artsy stuff 24/7, can you?) A colleague of mine, Jas, went to Japan over the Christmas holidays so I gave her a shopping list of stuff I was interested in and she came back with a bag full of yummy goodies for me YAY!
Milk tea is my fave drink in the world and Japanese milk tea is the absolute best!!
Chocolates! Meiji Matcha chocolate, Matcha Kit Kat and Royal Milk Tea Kit Kat (MILK TEA KIT KAT O.M.F.G!!!!!) Of course, you can’t leave Japan without buying some oddly-flavoured Kit Kats. They have different seasonal flavours each year, ranging from the brilliant (milk tea Kit Kat, MILK TEA KIT KAT /o/ /o/ /o/) to the downright bizarre lol (ginger ale Kit Kat anyone?) Honestly I won’t be surprised if they came up with a clam chowder flavoured Kit Kat lmao. Only in Japan guys, only in Japan.
BENTO GOODIES ♥ ♥ ♥ I have pretty technicolor soy sauce bottles to fulfill my wild bento fantasies! The flat plastic thingum you see on the far left is actually a sandwich box (no more soggy bread for me whee!) Jas actually got me a two-tier bento box too but er I kinda left it in the office so I couldn’t take a photo of it, sorry.
Bihada Ichizoku masks! I’ve heard so MUCH about these masks, I think the girly manga illustrations on the packaging’s amusing lol. I’ve not tried them yet but when I do, I’ll write a short review.
That’s all for my Japan haul! But I’m not done yet haha, I’ve got some past purchases I’ve not shown you yet so here they are:
VOV masks! I’ve tried almost all of them and I’m pretty happy with their quality. From L to R: Volcanic Ash Wash-off mask, Black Charcoal Peel-off mask and the Apple AHA Peeling Gel mask. I like the Black Charcoal mask the best so far, i think it’s comparable to the KOSE Seikisho Mask White, works the same way and costs a fraction of the price.
Did I mention I’m officially swamped in masks? Yep. I’m up to my neck in sheet mask nirvana. Here’s the queen of all masks, the SK-II facial treatment mask I bought on a whim at Sephora the other day. I’m just waiting for this little pimple on my chin to evacuate off my face before I try this one out; there is no way in heck I’m going to waste an SK-II mask on a stupid clogged pore.
The Body Shop’s Christmas LE Nutmeg & Vanilla body scrub! I got this during their post-Christmas sale when everything was at 40% off! Not that I need another body scrub but…
Doesn’t it look like a yummy smoothie? It’s got honey, nutmeg and ground walnut in it, I used this yesterday and came out of the shower potentially smelling like a French bakery. That. is. just. so. AWESOME. All my life I’ve wanted to smell like freshly-baked croissants and cream-filled crepes and the body scrub leads me one step closer to my dream. God bless Dame Anita Roddick, RIP. (Ok I’m kidding about the wanting to smell of croissants and crepes lol but the scrub really has a lovely scent!)
I think I shuld end this entry now before it gets any longer than it already is and people start throwing rocks at me lol. It’s TGIF! Have a great weekend and I’ll catch you soon ;D
Tags: bodycare: The Body Shop, food: chocolate, japan, skincare: bihada, skincare: SK-II, skincare: VOV
The ultimate LUSH battle: Angels on Bare Skin vs Dark Angels
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
Today two LUSH favourites battle it out to decide who stays in Ilyana’s bathroom cabinet and who gets dumped in the bin! It’s a fight to the death and the winner takes it all!
Angels on Bare Skin is Lush’s top selling cleanser, it’s made of ground almonds, kaolin, lavender oil - a cocktail licensed to inflict divine punishment onto misbehaving skin! YEOWWWCH! My skin was in a terrible state after my holiday in Melbourne, it’s been ravaged by the great winds and the sudden change of climate so I came back with spotty but parched skin. The only thing that saved it was the tub of Angels on Bare Skin (AOBS) I bought from the Lush store in Melbourne, it was an impulse purchase and thank fork for that.
This is my second tub of AOBS actually, I bought my first tub in Hong Kong about a year ago, loved it but somehow forgot about it :/ You’re supposed to take a small amount, mash it up in your palm with a teensy bit of water and smooth it gently all over your face. I think it’s smells very comforting, like catching a whiff of a field of lavender in the wind.
When you wash the cleanser off, it leaves this thin moisturizing layer of “I don’t know what the heck that is” (it could possibly be the essential oils?) but it doesn’t make my skin feel/look greasy and my skin feels really smooth so I have no complaints ;D
AOBS repaired my skin to its normal state within two weeks of using it as my night time cleanser and has since restored my faith in mankind. Amen.
My BFF, Nicholas aka the cream cheese to my bagel and the Louis Vuitton to my Prada, bought me this from his last holiday in Hong Kong (yeah we both love HK, it’s an amazing place!). Dark Angels is somewhat new, I think it got released from the magical formulating heavens of Lush HQ just last year? I actually wrote a short review about Dark Angels in a previous entry but now that I’ve had it for a couple of months now, I thought I’d write a longer one comparing it to its pale sibling.
Anyway, this is some serious hardcore stuff. You can’t find lil’ ground almonds, soothing lavender and all that lovely fluff in this blackened pit of oil-faced doom. Instead, you get straight up Rhassoul Mud (which just sounds so fricking badass btw), powdered charcoal (like the mud ain’t black enough already) and sandalwood oil.
If you have sensitive skin, I suggest you stay away from Dark Angels because it can get really abrasive if you’re not careful. Dark Angels is definitely targeted to people with very oily skin and even if you do have very oily skin, I won’t recommend using this as a daily cleanser because it might just kill your skin.
I don’t love Dark Angels as much as AOBS simply because I don’t need it. I have combination skin and just AOBS alone in the evenings takes care of my skin. I’ve used Dark Angels mostly as a weekly scrub and well, I don’t really like it that much. It leaves a thin layer of “I don’t know what the heck that is” on my skin but this time, this thin layer actually feels icky on my skin so that’s not good :/ I think it’s a decent scrub though but I definitely won’t repurchase.
Verdict: AOBS is, without a doubt, the winner! It’s great for all types of skin but if you have *very* sensitive skin, use this as a weekly scrub! I love this cleanser so much <3
Urgh I am so behind entries! I am absolutely swamped in facial masks and packages I haven't gotten the chance to take photos of including my Secret Santa package from Mel! I hate how every single time I want to take photos of all the stuff I’ve received/bought in the past couple of weeks, it starts raining or something else just comes up x_x I guess that’s life for you, completely unpredictable.
My New Year’s Resolutions:
1) Appreciate my family and friends 100000x more.
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I am so blessed to have a very supporting family and 2-3 really close friends that I can trust. This year, I just want to appreciate and be grateful for what I have because things change but your family’s love for you will never waver.
2) Study til my brain cells hurt.
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Finally after a 1 1/2 year break from school, I’m quitting the workforce and re-immersing myself into the world of Hogwarts…except without the magic, cute owls and the lightning scar drama. It’s going to be a huge change for me because I’ll be moving to Australia for the next 3-4 years of my life (maybe even more!), thousands of miles away from my family and friends - it’s scary but hell yeah I’m excited-nervous-excited!!
3) Lose weight.
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I was incredibly overweight in 2008 but I lost about 20 odd kilos over the past 2 years and I’m very happy with my current weight but I’m just a couple of kilos away from my goal weight. I’m going to take my time because hell, there isn’t any real urgency for me to get to my goal weight so I am going to eat my cake, my ice cream and my sushi without any remorse.
4) Blog more…like, a LOT more.
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There was a point in time when I updated Tea Noir only once a fortnight LOL. I wasn’t really into it and felt very uninspired. Things have changed and I try to write an entry at least 3x a week which is no mean feat especially for me. I hope this continues in 2010 and hopefully I get more readers who comment. I’ve been getting a lot more followers lately and I am really thankful for that but please do leave a comment if you’ve enjoyed reading because I would love to know who you are and get to know you better ;D
5) Get to know more beauty bloggers!
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I’ve been reading quite a lot of beauty blogs recently and some of them are linked in that sidebar to your right ;D I hope to get to know each of them better this year, they’re gorgeous and I think they’ve got some great beauty reading material. I’ve gotten to know Catherine of Strawberry Mochi.com and she’s so bubbly and cute! It’s been awesome talking to you, hun! I love her blog too, go check it out!
All the best in 2010, everyone! ♥
Tags: LUSH, review: cleansers
SMOKE OUT
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
I was out meeting a couple of friends til late yesterday and I know I’ve not posted up an FOTD in the longest time so what better time to try a lil somethin’-somethin’ to welcome the new year? I set out to do the almost-impossible: I was going to do a look centred on that one eyeshadow I could never work with no matter how hard I tried.
I think everyone has at least one eyeshadow color in their collection that’s been neglected, left alone at the back to make room for all the HG stuff. It’s true what they say: Although it looks pretty in the pan… that doesn’t mean it’ll look pretty on you.
My victimized eyeshadow of the day? MAC’s lustre eyeshadow in Idol Eyes. This is a blue-toned pale lilac made stunning with some silver shimmer. I think this is one of MAC’s most unique colors and it’s gorgeous…just not on my eyes lol. Idol Eyes would look seemingly ethereal on a person with cool-toned skin but unfortunately for me, my skintone leans toward that of a banana so on me, Idol Eyes is like a hot mess of purple 70’s disco glitter only Cher would approve.
Enter my secret torture weapon to beat the heck out of Idol Eyes into submission:
My KRYOLAN Aquacolor face paint aka the best black eyeshadow base on this planet. I’ve been wanting to get MAC’s paintpot in Blackground for a long time but was always put off by the price and the fact that I probably won’t use it as often as I should. Ben Nye’s Lumiere and the KRYOLAN Aquacolor paints were next on my black cream base wishlist but that’s not available here so I was practically jumping with excitement when I discovered there was KRYOLAN cosmetics store just down the road from my hotel in Melbourne.
Professional and theatrical make-up heaven *_* My Aquacolor paint is one solid chunk of water-activated black pigment so all you need is a wet synthetic brush, swipe the brush on the paint a couple of times and you have a rich, dark and entirely matte black base for your eyeshadow. It’s cheap at $14, doesn’t crease and would probably last me forever.
From L to R: KRYOLAN Aquacolor paint in Black, Idol Eyes with Aquacolor paint as a base, Idol Eyes with no base. See how Idol Eyes turns from a wimpy shimmery lavender thing into this sexy deep icy blue-grey when it’s applied over the Aquacolor paint? Now THAT I can work with lol.
So I did a cool-toned smokey eye look with it and if you noticed, I purposely didn’t blend out the edges because I wanted to wing it out for a cat’s eye effect without having to use an eyeliner like I normally would - I like taking risks 8D If you don’t have fun and experiment with make-up, why bother right?
Face:
MAC Studio Fix foundation in NC25
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach
Cheeks:
La Femme Glow on Rouge in Nectar Peach
Eyes:
KRYOLAN Aquacolor in Black as a base
MAC eyeshadow in Idol Eyes
MAC eyeshadow in Flashtrack
MAC eyeshadow in Shroom as highlight
MUFE Aqua Eyes in 22L in the inner corners
Clinique Creamshaper in Egyptian as my eyeliner
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander NEO
Lips:
MAC lipstick in Mellow Mood
Anyway, ZOMG IT’S THE NEW YEAR! It’s so unreal how time passes by lightning fast! I think each year of our lives are like having a series of multiple blind dates, packaged mysteriously and labeled with a number.
2009 for me was a hot stud who was a comfort to have around…shit I barely got to know the guy and now I’m being forced to chuck him out of the door to make way for Mr 2010? What if 2010 turns out to be a douchebag whose sole purpose is to make my life miserable? That’s when you kick him where it hurts most (*koff*) and show him who’s boss, honey. Life can get very uncontrollable sometimes but remember to have faith in yourself and you’ll be fine!
Oh and before I forget, congratulations to Catherine on the launch of her new domain: Strawberry Mochi! The site is looking good, hun! Can’t wait to read your upcoming entries ;D
