Today it finally struck me that I’ll be returning home in a little less than two weeks. Has it really been a year? Well, honestly it’s only been 9 months but it’s the longest I’ve been away from everything. First time I’ve been without the family, first time I’ve had to change a light bulb in my life and the first time I’ve had an old Turkish man ask me out for coffee.

It happened during winter: my friends and I decided to brave the cold and meet for a movie date in the mall. En route to the mall, I get stopped by a man in his 50s and he starts talking excitedly about my hijab.

“You wear the hijab! Are you muslim too?” I relax. I do a quick scan of his appearance.

1. He doesn’t have a beard.

2. He looks clean enough.

Ok, he seems harmless. I let him continue talking as I nod politely. He mentions being a Turkish businessman with 3 offices around the city and asks me if I want a part-time job. I decline, quickly making up excuses until I am satisfied he gets the picture. He sighs and holds his hand for a handshake. Thinking it is a sign for a friendly goodbye, I shake his hand. WRONG.

I try to pull my hand away but he doesn’t let go. This is the point where I want to kick him in the balls. But the good, peace-loving muslim in me doesn’t. He tells me “I like that you’re wearing the hijab. My wife used to wear it too…until she died a few years ago. Coffee?”

I. DON’T. EVEN.

Now whenever I’m within 50m of the mall, I silently pray I don’t run into Old Turkish Geezer again. No sir, I’m not sorry I gave you the wrong number. Besides, you should count your blessings – my shopping would give you a mountain of debt.

Back to tea noir-related business, I have a short review of the CoverGirl Aqua CG Smoothers for you guys today. I’m not going to lie to you and say “Oh I’ve been looking for a tinted moisturizer for agessss.” Thing is, like most of the stuff I have in my make-up bag and wardrobe, this was an impulse buy. Walking into an Australian pharmacy is like stumbling upon a wonderland of cosmetics and skincare not found in Singapore, with little signs spewing “Buy 2 Free 1″ deals. It is not good for me. The pharmacy and I have a nasty, surreptitious affair going on – one that is most likely to last the three years I will be here. Resistance is futile.

Before I continue, I’d like to apologise for the shit lighting in all my photos this entry. I was going to take all of them outdoors in natural light like I usually do but spring has brought with it unpredictable bouts of torrential rain. I could either a) take my photographs in my apartment or b) pretend this entry was never going to exist. And it’s better to have an entry than to have none at all, oui? I tried to fix the colours in Photoshop but this was the best I could do. If I pushed the color levels any further, my photos would’ve looked like something out of a b-grade 70s flick. For real.

Let’s ignore yellow old me for a sec – The CoverGirl Aqua CG Smoothers is a tinted moisturiser with SPF 15. It’s gives sheer coverage to the skin which is buildable, I suppose but it won’t cover pimples. It will, however, minimize any redness that you may have. It applies smoothly too – I like that I can just smear this on my face with my fingers without having to use my MAC 187 stippling brush. And as with most tinted moisturisers, you get this nice dewy glow instead of the matte flatness one would have with normal foundation. It doesn’t feel like I’m wearing anything at all too.

The downside is that after a couple of hours, my skin gets a bit oily and the dewy glow transforms into an oily muck. But nothing can’t fixed with a little powder. Some people who have reviewed this on MUA have named this an affordable (and maybe even better?) version of Laura Mercier‘s tinted moisturiser but since I haven’t tried the Laura Mercier version, I can’t really comment – interesting comparison though.

Swatch! I use the Light to Medium shade.

Lipstick courtesy of Chanel. Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle. Blush: NARS Sin, Eyes: MAC Mineralize eyeshadow duo in Bright Side Gallery Gal, Maybelline Gel Liner & MAC Copperized pigment to line the lower lashes. Nails: Essie in Love, Beverley Hills xx with 24k Gold (LOVE LOVE LOVE OMFG, perfect red – thanks Cat!)

I know, I know. I have a terrible addiction. In my defense, the blue ring was gift from Yumi. Doesn’t it look absolutely stellar? Like a tiny galaxy trapped in stone. The other ring’s made of glass, beautiful piece that one. It reminds me of a Monet painting and god, I love my Monet.

Did a little thrift-shopping some time ago and found this vintage brooch for $10. The pin at the back’s getting blunt with every use so I wear it sparingly.

And I do smile sometimes lol. I have a gap in between my two front teeth. Yes, exactly like Lara Stone except my gap isn’t as huge…and I don’t bare my breasts on every Vogue cover I get.

Also, before I end this entry:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER: NADZIRAH! And it’s been a yearly tradition for me to share some of Nadz’s embarrassing moments on my blog so:

#1 Nadz’s blogging tips

#2 Nadz’s secret ambition

OH SNAAAAAAAPPPP I’M SUCH A BAD-ASS LOL.

I love you bbcakes, I look forward to cooking with chu in my kitch’ and dancing to Shakira in the mornings when I fly back.

And because this is probably the sweetest thing I’ve typed on Twitter:

DAYUM GIRL I sound just like your boyfriend…except he would never be able come up with this even if he tried (OH YEAH I SAID IT)

I haven’t blogged in…7 weeks.

And my friends have been dropping ~subtle~ hints.

It’s a bit unethical of me to keep bribing for your love and forgiveness with snapshots of food but I do it so well I don’t think I’ll ever stop for as long as school continues to pervade every second of my life lol.

I was lucky enough to be invited over for a dinner party at a friend’s place a month ago and impressed with his cooking, we made a covert deal: he was to email me his favourite recipes and I was to reveal the address of my secret brunch hangout. This pasta recipe is so easy to make; it’s actually deceiving and I say this because yes, it’s a cinch to make but it tastes like you’ve actually made an effort lol. Whiffs of this would make your dinner guests think you’ve spent hours at the stove stirring while the sauce simmers away, a seemingly complex coral-red with bits of herb green strewn in.

Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. Peeled shrimp
3 large garlic cloves, mashed.
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup sweet red vermouth*
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup heavy cream (aka double cream)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/2 lb angel hair pasta

*I don’t drink alcohol so I substituted this with 1/2 cup of apple juice and a generous squeeze of lemon

1. Heat oil in skillet. Add shrimp, garlic with oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Turn until golden.

2. Stir in vermouth, tomatoes. Stir until tomatoes are soft.

3. Add cream and briskly simmer until sauce has thickened slightly.

4. Add lemon juice. Let it simmer for a while more.

5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Serve immediately.

In place of the powdered stuff, I actually used fresh oregano. I’d like to think that it does make a difference and plus, I love pulling the slightly woolly leaves off their stems and releasing them just centimetres above the pot so they can infuse perfectly with the pasta sauce by way of gravity. I like sprinkling more atop my pasta because god, I love its peppery sweetness that goes so well with anything tomato-based.

Also, I need to admit what you see in these photos aren’t shrimp; they’re grey prawns fresh off the market. Shrimp usually comes frozen here and I hate waiting around for anything to defrost (I’m lazy!) so I settled for the cheaper, faster option ;D Obviously, this recipe isn’t figure friendly (double cream omg) but does it even matter?

This is going into my instant salvation in 20 mins or less recipe folder for days when I need something more than what a few mediocre rolls of sushi can offer me. Thank you for the recipe, Felix!

Magazine picks of the month and I finally got Nigella Express – it was going for $12.95 at a bookfair in school, I’m extremely excited about this so it gets a spot in this entry >D

RUSSH is a bi-monthly Australian fashion magazine, I would consider it better than Vogue Australia actually. Alessandra’s on the cover of the current issue and urgh, could she be any perfect?

STUNNING.

Catherine McNeil is on the cover of Vogue Australia but sadly, the editorials in the magazine are so lacklustre. This is a pretty picture no less and I like the dramatic eyeliner in this one whoo.

And finally, we return to the familiar food porn from the domestic goddess, the anti-chef I watch obsessively on the Discovery Home & Living channel back home. Nigella Express is a beautiful, well-written collection of fast recipes for the overworked and busy.

What would this entry be without the salacious promise of new make-up mmm? This is MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish in By Candlelight, quite the poetic name for a beautiful peachy highlighter from the In The Groove collection. To be honest, I bought Petticoat first but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. It’s a pretty raspberry but it wasn’t very exciting so I exchanged it for By Candlelight which I much prefer.

Here’s a swatch! You can barely see it on my skin – which is the point, really. You want highlighters to look like the glow on your skin is from within you, not on you (greasyyyy!) lol.

I must get back to my readings now sigh. I’m taking Anthropology this semester which exposes one to ‘unconventional’ culture practices e.g. eating the body of a dead relative and it is quickly becoming the subject I enjoy going to for lectures because my lecturer is this kooky English guy with the most remarkable and terribly explicit sense of humour. I’m sorry I haven’t had time to read all your entries but mid-semester break is coming and I’ll be doing some massive catch-up readings then. Meanwhile, you can follow me on Twitter or ask me a question on formspring. Take care and my muslim readers, sorry I’m a wee bit late but Happy Ramadhan & Eid!

Whenever I get a breakout, I involve myself in a lil chemical warfare by slathering a thick layer of benzoyl peroxide on the affected areas but I believe my overzealous use of benzoyl peroxide over the years have led the pimples to develop a strong defense system against my favourite chemical. Damn. I needed to find something as potent as benzyl peroxide and fast because waking up to a bump infested face isn’t a good way to start a day. It was a hard search – how do you expect to find something more potent than a chemical that has ‘peroxide’ in its name for god’s sake? Well, people. I haz found it. The DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask works better than my 2% benzoyl peroxide pimple cream, might burn a hole in your pocket depending on the budget you’ve allotted for skincare but the good news: It won’t burn a hole in your face.

This mask has single-handedly cleared the hormonal breakouts I’ve been getting on my forehead and I’m honestly amazed. The DDF mask is similar to the cult favourite Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque except it’s pricier and the sulfur percentage is higher. The texture is a lot smoother too – I find the Queen Helene version to be so much thicker and a lil’ hard to apply. I like using this as an overnight treatment whenever I have a breakout everyday until my skin gets clear again and it’s been working so well! I wake up to nice, oil-free skin and blemishes are either gone or making plans to move back wherever they came from. Definitely HG material here.

The bad thing about being fair is that it’s incredibly easy to get post-pimple scarring. Whenever I get a zit, I try my best not to pop/touch it but when it goes away, it gives me a little ZIT #2104 WAS HERE BITCH tat on my face every. single. time. That just pisses the fork out of me. I leave you alone most of the time while battling the urge to shove you off my face, treat you with respect mainly fostered by fear and this is how you repay my hospitality?? Bitch plz.

I did some research on natural oils that would help get rid of the redness and apparently, rosehip oil is your best bet so here’s my new anti-redness treatment/night-time moisturizer: Trilogy Organic Rosehip Oil. I’ve been using this for a month now and the redness I get on my skin has been reduced slightly! It’s not a dramatic change but I think I’m getting there. Rosehip oil isn’t an overnight miracle and you need to be patient to see results but my skin condition has improved significantly since including this in my skincare routine, it’s more supple now so I’m just waiting for the day all the redness goes away.

You can use any rosehip oil from the health store but a lot of people seem to like the Trilogy version and since it’s readily available here (It’s from NZ), there was no reason not to check it out. The lovely minimal bottle it comes in is a nice bonus too + the cheap price tag- It’s $18 for a 20ml bottle. I know it’s not a lot but you only need 3 drops a night so it’s going to last forever.

I’ve tried a lot of sunscreens from drugstore brands to Dior but I count the Sekkisei Day Essence SPF 25 PA+ from Kose as my favourite. It doesn’t smell or feel like ordinary sunscreen and doesn’t leave the dreaded ghoulish white cast on your face. I hate that sticky feeling you get after applying sunscreen- you get none of that from the Day Essence. You only need about two pumps to cover your face and mmm the scent! Smells very “Sekkisei” lol, if you’re an avid fan like I am you’d prolly know what I’m talking about. It’s slightly floral and smells like ordinary moisturizer- it applies like one too which is one of the reasons why I love it so much. It glides on like a light emulsion on the skin and makes an excellent base for make-up!

I know this isn’t a skincare item but I’m so impressed by this gel liner that it would be horribly selfish of me not to share this with the world. I am IN LOVE with this gel liner. I don’t know why, it’s not like it doesn’t have flaws – no sir, it does. I’ve tried using this to line my lower lash line and it feathered away into a smudgy muddle after a couple of hours. However, it is absolute PERFECTION on the upper lash line. This is the best drugstore gel eyeliner for the quintessential cat eye. It’s a rich, glossy black and actually comes with a brush that isn’t rubbish! It’s comparable to MAC’s fluidline except it’s much cheaper (can’t remember how much I got it for, I think it was SGD$16?) and despite its inadequacy to stay put on my lower lash line (I prefer using my pencil eyeliners for my lower lash line anyway), I really like this little gem.

So that wraps up my skincare review post! School starts tomorrow and it’s probably going to be as stressful as the previous semester so I might not have time to blog as often. I hate talking about academic stuff on this blog because it’s dry, boring and extremely depressing but school will always be my top priority. It’s not easy being here and certainly not easy on my parents’ bank account either. I am constantly filled with guilt every time I check my school fees, God my mother can easily buy herself a Hermès bag with the kind of money we’re paying the university every semester.

Sometimes I wonder if I was even meant to be here at all since I only chose to come here because my ass got rejected by my own local university twice. It’s not the usual sob story where girl graduates from poly with lacklustre results, gets rejected by her local university and decides to go abroad instead. No. This girl here graduated third in her cohort, received a damn medal from the school for it and STILL got rejected by her local university. It’s heartbreaking to work so hard for a damn good GPA only to be deemed unworthy by your own local university but well, I’m over it. There’s no point in remaining bitter about Singapore’s remarkable education system because I’m here now and I’m determined to do well. I scored straight As last semester by some bizarre stroke of luck and I’m hoping to repeat the same feat. My subjects this semester are slightly more daunting than the previous but I have nothing to say except: BRING IT.

Went to the city today to check out the European paintings exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria but I didn’t go in the end because I wasn’t feeling too well. Picasso and Monet will have to wait another day. I found out a couple of days ago that I wouldn’t be able to take Art History next year which is such a shame really because I love that subject (and not because my tutor happens to have one fine ass). It’s the only subject that bears the slightest resemblance to design- something I’m familiar with, having dabbled with it for the past 4 years. I’m kinda gutted about it but well, it’s not the end of the world so I’ll just stick to my random visits to the gallery for my art history fix (what a pity tho, my tutor was a total hunk and has a PhD in Art History which I find SO sexy).

I’ve been keeping my make-up really light the past month, I know make-up trends for fall and winter in the world of ~FASHIN~ often lean towards the intense but something about the dreary weather we’ve been having here just makes me want to rebel against the conventional sooty smokey eyes and dark lipstick. I love a good smokey eye but I love the warm brilliance of the sun more. Pink lips and soft hues of taupe & gold in the middle of a somber winter? I am so there.

Face:
MAC Studio Fix foundation in NC25
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC25

Cheeks:
Rock & Republic’s Contrived Pressed blush in Kinky

Eyes:
MAC paintpot in Rubenesque as a base
MAC eyeshadow in Woodwinked
MAC pigment in Blonde’s Gold
MAC eyeshadow in Shroom as highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Honey
Maybelline gel liner in Black
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander NEO

Lips:
Lancome L’absolu Rouge in Rose Rhapsodie

I’m loving the gold eyeliner in this one, I think it’s a nice bright change from the smudgy black lined eyes I tend to go for. Finally got to try out the Rock & Republic blush Cat sent me for my birthday and as I suspected, this baby has enough pigment to fill 5 MAC lipstick vials. I had to be very careful with this blush because it’s easy to OD on blush when you’re pale like me. I swiped my brush over the blush with the lightest pressure possible and it was enough to create a delicate flush of pink. I love the blush, Cat! Thank you so much <3

Btw, you only see one side of my face here because I have a pimple on the other cheek LOL. I know it's become socially acceptable to pretend that you have the body of a porn star with perfect skin but I just don't like the idea of retouching my photos to death. You can still see I have pores in my photos and my forehead has tiny marks - battle scars from previous hand to hand combat experiences with pimples (those bastards!).

I have a couple of beauty reviews coming up this week and in true tea noir style, they're going to be squashed together in one single entry lol. I'm also thinking of doing a photography/camera entry too because I've been getting so many questions pertaining to the camera I use for this blog etc - is there anything you would like to know about photography? If you're too shy to ask in the comments, ask on my formspring where your identity and soul remains safe from me. Even if you don’t have a photography related question, ask me anything anyway!

I received a birthday parcel from Cat about 3 weeks prior to my birthday and while opening the parcel (you gotta give it to the American postal service for their extremely durable boxes), I accidentally hacked off 0.5cm of skin from my left thumb with a knife I normally reserve for the delicate procedure of turning salmon into thin wispy slices of sashimi i.e. there is no room for blatant stupidity when using this knife. I didn’t feel any pain thankfully but oh the blood – My thumb was bleeding on/off for the next couple of days. The wound’s healed but it’s left a slight reddish ‘blood mark’ which serves as a constant reminder of my fail moment. *cough* Anyway, back to the parcel lol – I ignored my bleeding thumb for a good minute (I mean no one’s going to die from a teeny wound right?) because in my line of vision was a huge ass black box which looked familiar so I dug it out and-

HOLY SHIZZZZZZZZZZ.

This is Rock & Republic’s Contrived Pressed blush! Cat did a haul a couple of months/weeks (you gotta help me here, my sense of time has been warped since school started) and I was just amazed at the packaging – so stunning. Cat, you shouldn’t have!

Oh my god, I’m going to repeat myself here: what. a. STUNNER. I am whipping this baby out every chance I get LOL, it makes me feel special just by its presence in my make-up collection.

The shade Cat got me is called Kinky lol- no bdsm sex jokes plz, people. Let’s try to keep this PG-13 lmao. It’s a very bright doll pink, I suppose it’s to be worn with a light hand. I actually read reviews of this and everyone seems to agree it’s a nice cool toned pink flush that’s very flattering to the skin. It kinda reminds me of a matte version of my NARS Angelika blush. I don’t know if you can tell but this blush is HUGE, it’s almost the size of a compact powder?

She got me some nail polishes as well! They’re colors I don’t tend to go for which is good because I should stay away from my usual vampy reds, purples and blues! L to R: Sinful Colors in Let’s Talk, China Glaze in Strawberry Fields (I wanted this since FOREVERRR thanks hun!), Sinful Colors in Nail Junkie. Let’s Talk is a bold chrome-like purple, Strawberry Fields is one sweet pink nail polish with gold shimmer and Nail Junkie is just nothing short of INSANE green hued glitter in a clear base – perfect for layering over other colors!

L to R: OPI’s Go on Green (beautiful light duochrome blue/green) and Sally Hansen’s Grape Going! (purple/blue duochrome – this is sooo pretty!)

So I can finally reveal the nail polishes I had on the other day yay! L to R: China Glaze Stella + Sinful Colors Nail Junkie (just so we’re clear, this means I brushed on Stella first, waited for it to dry and then applied Nail Junkie), Sally Hansen’s Grape Going + Sinful Colors Nail Junkie (isn’t Grape Going just beautiful?), Sinful Colors in Let’s Talk + Sinful Colors Nail Junkie, OPI Russian Navy + OPI Go On Green + Sinful Colors Nail Junkie (who knew Russian Navy would turn into a beautiful emerald green with this combo?) Yes a lot of sparkling went down that day. Sry Edward Cullen, you gotta wait in line – my nails are sparkling first boy.

I actually painted my nails with Strawberry Fields today, I don’t have a camera photo to show you but I did post an iphone photo on twitter so check it out here!

And knowing how much I love Shu Uemura’s cleansing oil, she gave me two mini bottles which will have a special place in my holiday toiletries kit.

We were discussing lipbalm on msn a couple of months ago and Cat mentioned that she uses a green tea lipbalm she got off from Etsy so she sent me one to try! I am a sucker for green tea so imma be biased and say THIS LIPBALM IS AWESOME! This is Soapalaya’s Green Tea Lip Butter – it’s got a faint matcha scent, is moisturizing and I like using this as my night lipbalm (I use another lipbalm with spf in the day)

My birthday card! Isn’t it pretty? The ribbons have tiny beads in them, I love details like these (I’m such a girl lol).

Thank you so much Cat! Despite having to bleed for the damn parcel, I love everything! ;p I can’t wait to send you yours so I hope you find a new apartment soon :3 It’s been great knowing you too and yay I’m glad you’re back from Greece so we can talk again (looking forward to the holiday entries btw) CONGRATS ON YOUR GRADUATION! It’s my turn to stay up writing essays and reports lol. Talk soon ♥ ♥ ♥

I turned 22 on Sunday, another year older and perhaps none the wiser. It still hasn’t hit me that I’m an adult now, maybe that’s for the better lol. Turning 22 is scarier than turning 21 because all my fears are suddenly amplified by the passing of another year. I realised today most people reading this blog don’t actually know who I am save for my name (Ilyana is actually my middle name), my age, my incessant need for shoes/make-up and that I now live in Melbourne. So since this is my birthday entry and birthdays signify something personal to most people, I shall now reveal a couple of things about me that most of you prolly won’t know. It’s a list of “OMG EPIC FAIL” moments and hopefully you’d find this quite comical as I did when I wrote this for my creative writing module’s non-fiction piece.

Shit that has happened to me:

1. Going to the bathroom when I was 10 and forgetting the lock.

2. I’m at the doctor’s, he tells me to strip and I realise I have my bunny undies on.

3. After dropping several hints on what I want for my birthday (this beautiful bag I saw in some store), my boyfriend gives me a bag. A laptop bag. We are no longer together.

4. My mother phoning my aunts, grandma and her best friend to announce I just got my first period and therefore I am “normal”.

5. My grandmother passed away and my grandfather dies 5 days later – let’s not go there.

6. A friend gives me chocolates from Japan and hide it at the back of the fridge only to find it gone the next day. Ammar, if you’re reading this – I know it was you.

7. I spent the last couple of years thinking my bff’s blog (Aaron‘s old blog lol) was named silks on nets. It was strange and a little poetic but still strange tho I never asked him about it. I found out recently (at my own expense) it was actually silk sonnets.

Excellent milestones aren’t they? Also, if you’ve got a question to ask – ask me on my formspring! I promise I’ll be kind XD

22 and my skin has never looked worse sigh. I’m sorry you had to see this but well, everyone has pores. You just have to accept that. I hate all the break-outs I’ve been having thanks to school. Skin, can you please act your age?! Stop being a hormonal teenager, god – GET IT TOGETHER ALREADY. Eyeliner: Maybelline’s gel liner, Lipstick: NYX lipstick in B52, Blush: MAC highlight powder in Mellow Rave.

I went out with Nad for a pre-birthday brunch at The Quarter (I could actually get used to this starve-in-the-morning-eat-at-noon thing) and that vanilla milkshake you see me having is probably one of the best I’ve had. I was looking at last year’s birthday entry and I was wearing yellow in it as well lol – I love mustard yellow, it’s such a beautiful color. This mustard yellow trench is from MANGO and it is my ABSOLUTE favourite. Best investment EVER. The color of the trench looks more accurate in the first photo than this one – this one’s been tainted by the fervent use of yellow lighting in cafes.

My mexican omelette! It’s got roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, spinach and goat’s cheese with toasted rye bread. YUM.

This is Nad! We were schoolmates back in primary school and we never saw each other again for close to a decade until I moved to Melbourne. She goes to the same uni as I do…except she’s graduating in a couple of weeks, lucky duck. NAD WHO’S GOING TO BUY ME PRESENTS NOW THAT YOU’RE MOVING BACK TO SINGAPORE?!

Nad had french toast soaked in maple syrup and cinnamon sugar with bananas on top :3

And as promised, beauty stuff! I’ve been obsessing over Lancome’s L’absolu Rouge lipstick in Voile De Rose when it first appeared on Temptalia and let me tell you, finding this lipstick was not easy. It’s a US-exclusive which is ridiculous – how the governments of this earth expect to work towards world peace when we, as women, don’t get equal access to make-up collections is beyond me.

Anyway childish rants aside, last month I decided I had enough of this country-exclusive bullshit and checked out the local Lancome counter to see if there were any dupes of Voile De Rose. I was swatching every pink lipstick that had similar tones on my hand and comparing each swatch with an image of Temptalia’s Voile De Rose swatch that I saved on my iphone (See I’m so obsessed it’s almost obscene). 10 minutes in and I found my baby! This is Lancome’s L’absolu Rouge Gold Lipstick SPF 15 in 354 Rose Rhapsodie. It’s a very very close match – I won’t be surprised if it really is Voile De Rose packaged under a different name. Rose Rhapsodie is a soft shade of pink, so pretty *_*

Finally got my Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle from my mom when my family visited me last month! My first CHANEL lipstick whoo! Mademoiselle is the shade Vanessa Paradis is wearing in the ads and it’s a deep rose with beige undertones. I’m going to wear this today so I hope the formula doesn’t disappoint me.

Swatches for you! L to R: Rose Rhapsodie, Mademoiselle. Sorry Rose Rhapsodie looks like a blur of pink city lights, I thought I had a good shot of both swatches (it was my only shot) but when I got home and checked the images on my computer, it turned out to be er, otherwise. Ah well. Also, please take note Rose Rhapsodie looks darker in this shot than it actually is.

The love of my life, Nadz, called me in the wee hours of the morning – I won’t lie lol, I was up at midnight waiting for her call and I waited for over an hour before she finally did.

Me: “Bitch, you’re late.”
Nadz: “Huh, what time is it over there?”
Me: “1 am”
Nadz: “OH SHIT.”

HAHAHAHAHA FAIL NADZ FAIL. I miss you <333333

The parents called me the next morning.

Parents + brothers in the background: "HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYY!!!"
Me: "Aww thanks guys!"
Dad: "We're going to Carousel later in your honour."
Me: "SIAPA PUNYE BIRTHDAY NI?!?!" (That's malay for "I'm sorry but whose birthday is this?!?!")

Shucks, I miss my family so much. After getting me my dream miu miu bag, you guys would think that my parents would stop with the STUDY HARD! GET GOOD GRADES! blackmail.

Well.

I don’t know how to say this but.

Clearly, they’ve taken it up a notch.

askdsakjfdkj!!!

MY ALMOST CHANEL IS NO MORE! Chanel Classic Jumbo Flap in Black Caviar with gold hardware, I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU ALL MY LIFE. The catch is I have to share the bag with my mother – not that it bothers me, I’d take my chances even if I’m forced to share the bag with an orangutan LOL. Ahh this is crazy, I’m over the moon!

Thank you for all your birthday wishes on fb/twitter! I loved reading each one <33333333333

chanel photos credit: my dad’s cellphone, chanel.com

I’ve never been big on brunch – Why eat once when you can eat twice lol? I love my food too much to mash two meals together but there are times when blood sacrifices have to be made for the greater good so when a friend you’ve not seen for a long time asks you out for brunch at a place she thinks you’d love, banish the thought of grilling some sausages for breakfast from your head and mentally prepare yourself for the hunger pangs you’re most likely to get at 8am in the morning. Most people have it good – they sleep in and wake up in the late mornings/afternoon. I can’t do that, sadly. I’ve always been an early riser and while it does have its advantages (I am almost always on time for school), having no breakfast renders me a fruitcake with a little extra time on her hands….and that’s not a good idea, people. The last time I had some extra ‘me’ time, I racked up a $200 online shopping spree bill which didn’t go down well with the parents ~_~

Anywho, Shikin invited me out for brunch at MART, a quaint little breakfast place in an old refurbished tram station. They’re famous for their poached/scrambled eggs on toast and triple stack pancakes with vanilla mascarpone, berry compote and almond flakes! The food was so good, I actually went there again for brunch today with Yumi!

I have no idea what sort of soup this woman was eating but it looked yum! Shot taken by Yumi.

Okay, okay no more stalker-ish photos of people eating, I swear. Nice sneakers tho.

My hand blown glass ring dad bought for me from an art stall in St Kilda’s. It’s obnoxiously huge, has this crazy hippy psychedelic vibe to it and I frickin’ love it. I had a purple-blue-green manicure going on thar…remember what I said about having a little too much time on my hands lol? Shot taken by Yumi.

Yumi went all bright with her nails as opposed to my someone-threw-up-sparkly-vomit-on-my-nails nonsense.

What she ordered: Scrambled free range eggs on toasted rye bread with chives, wilted spinach salad, mushrooms on the side and parmesan flakes. Yumi shared some with me and I think I’ll be ordering this the next time I pop by!

What I had: Poached free range eggs on toasted rye bread with spinach, crème fraîche, slices of smoked salmon and topped with a cucumber, onion + capers salad. SO. FORKING. GOOD.

Obligatory close-up shot! To be honest, I kinda hate this shot. Nothing’s wrong with it but it’s just not so hot. (Yes I’m being anal here) I was starving so I shoved whatever I knew about photo composition into the temporary recycle bin and thought of nothing but poached eggs.

YAY きらきら☆ぴかぴか (kira kira pika pika) SPARKLY NAILS! Fine, I’ll admit looking at them gives me little bubbles of happiness. The real story behind them: Well apart from being bored this morning, I thought it would be fun to try out some of the nail polishes Cat sent me for my birthday! I’m not going to reveal what the shades are until I blog about what Cat sent me so stay tuned lol. Oh you don’t see my thumb here because I accidentally hacked some skin off with a knife when I opened the parcel so it looks naaasty. My birthday’s in 10 days and it’s feels so strange celebrating it away from home. Ah well, it’s no biggie. The cakes here are better anyway lulz.

K do me a favour guys: my bff Aaron’s flying over to Singapore for some shopping and since the only shopping area worth mentioning i.e. Orchard Road got hit by a flood yesterday, please pray to the gods of FASHIN that his shopping trip goes smoothly. Think about the amount of whining and ranting I’d have to listen to if he doesn’t get what he wants omg, I don’t think my ears would be able to take it! HAHAHA JK BB, have a wonderful trip! I wish I could be there to show you my hood (HAHA) but it’s alright, I’ll see you in December <3333~

YAY it’s the easter holidays! I get a week off from school so that gives me a bit of time to do a lil’ blogging. I’ve been lazing around in the apartment the past couple of days and I must say I’ve almost forgotten how good it feels to do nothing and stay in bed all day. It is ABSOLUTELY GRATIFYING. My only teeny tiny complaint is that I have this fear of losing track of time and not being able to finish my holiday assignments before the week is up! I guess this is where a proper timetable might come in handy but knowing my inane ability to rebel against any form of scheduling….I think I’m better off without one.

I owe you guys a beauty entry so I thought I’d start this entry with a couple of items I got before my move to Melbourne.

I went to a clothing/household sale with my cousins on a whim and didn’t expect to buy anything until I saw a tiny booth tucked away in a corner, invisible to the untrained eyes of many women who were just there to stock up on diapers and skillets (if you are a married woman with 2 kids to feed, nothing is more logical than hoarding more pots and pans even if you have 10 skillets in the cupboard already – I know this because my mother is the same, bless her heart.) I saw these Givenchy gems on sale for $15 knocked down from their I-would-never-be-able-to-afford-this-since-I’m-jobless price of $40.

Aren’t they pretty to look at? L to R: Precious Sari glittering eyeshadow in Maharani Silver and Maharani Gold. They’re from last year’s Givenchy Maharani collection and I originally intended to get only one but I couldn’t decide between the two so me being the sensible, thrifty girl that I so am, I got both in the end 8D Can’t say much about what they’re like when worn because I’ve not used them at all. School cuts my usual half hour long beauty routines into a slapstick 5 min comedy, sad but true.

I’ve been wanting to show you this for the longest time!! My friend Furry (fabulous owner of Earlgreyparty.com) went to Taiwan for a brief holiday and she helped me get another Jill Stuart eye jelly and a lipgloss to add to my mini collection. I am going to collect all of the eye jellies eventually, words just cannot express how much I love them. They have an amazing sparkly finish and they don’t budge even without a primer. What you see here is the Eye Jelly in Midnight Shine, a cool deep navy blue.

Jill Stuart Jelly Gloss in Dusk Rose, another beauty this one. Such pretty packaging no no? Dusk Rose is a dolly pink with a ton of gold shimmer, it actually reminds me of NARS Angelika except in gloss form lol and maybe a wee bit peachier.

I did a little exploring around area yesterday so imma be awesome and share with you some of my fave shots ;D Think of it as a visual apology for the weeks I’ve been away from my blogging duties lol.

Suburbia.

The sky couldn’t have been more perfect.

Shit, it’s my dream letter box.

YES I HAVE A HIGH FASHION SHOE OUTLET STORE NEAR MY PLACE /o/ I love that blue van lol.

Thrift store + cafe.

Flowers in my neighbour’s garden.

I have this sudden desire to get a tube of Rouge Coco lipstick from CHANEL. It probably costs more than I can afford right now but god, I have never wanted a lipstick so bad (where have I heard this line before?) I don’t actually know why I *need* it but I’m pretty sure it’s got nothing to do with the multiple ads of French beauty Vanessa Paradis that have taken over every tram stop in the city. Yep, nah uh nothing to do with it.

My mom’s flying off to NYC this friday for a work/holiday thing with her colleagues and she’s asked me to send her a list of things I want. I’m tempted to bombard her email with a lengthy list of MAC stuff I want (like I don’t have enough already, geez but but but have you seen the new Art Supplies collection?! HOLY SHIZ I WANT EVERYTHING!) I think I’ll list out 20 items I want and in the same email, type “Mom you can either get me the 20 items above available in various locations around the city or you can choose to end your misery by buying me a CHANEL 2.55, love you!” I wonder if she’d be amused.

p.s I just noticed my readership has increased slightly since I last blogged omg, thank you so much for subscribing + reading everyone! Come say hi in the comments, I would love to read your blogs too! It’s funny how my readership only increases when I disappear rofl, maybe I should start planning more disappearing acts (I’M KIDDING.)

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

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