Birthday gifts from Catherine~
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
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-
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 ♥ ♥ ♥
Tags: beauty: rock & republic, beauty: shu uemura, birthdays, nails: China Glaze, nails: OPI, nails: Sally Hansen, nails: Sinful Colors
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
Shu Uemura, keeper of my heart.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty, Misc
I swear the SAs at Shu Uemura are probably genetically engineered to make you spend as much money as possible >_> because I think I may have to resort to eating salads and sandwiches until my next pay comes in…which is a long, long time from now sigh.
Anyway as you all know, I finally got myself a bottle of the cleansing oil in A/O which is probably short for Annoyingly/Overpriced. Ok no, it stands for Anti-oxidants and as expensive as it is, I think it’s well worth the money because cleansing your face is a majorly important step in skincare!
I intended to get the smaller 150ml bottle which would probably have a more economical effect on my bank account but the SA pointed out if I got the bigger bottle, I would be entitled to their Christmas gift which came in the form of 2 deluxe cleansing oil samples (that’s already 100ml of cleansing oil for free omg!) a sakura-scented Japanese bath oil, a sample of their UV make-up base AND if I spent an additional $25, I could get the Tsumori Chisato x Shu Uemura Limited Edition Mirror as a gift. THAT WAS THE END OF IT LOL so I’m a little poorer now ;_;
Hello again, my pretty baby. I’ve not opened the bottle yet actually, I’m going to finish using the deluxe samples I got first then we can have our own little private opening ceremony for the big kahuna.
~PLEASURE OF JAPANESE BATH~ HAHAHA WHAT?! And my eternal love for Japan just grew by 15%.
Bought my first Shu lipstick! I wanted to get the Tsumori Chisato x Shu Uemura limited edition lipstick in “Jupiter Brown” but it’s sold out everywhere! I’m a little bummed about that but the SA recommended me a similar shade which I am currently loving!I think the glass capsule concept behind their lipstick packaging is A+, always a sucker for packaging here.
Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited lipstick in BG942. Okay I know the color looks almost wtf-worthy in the tube but trust me, it’s a nice shade. Jupiter Brown has similar orangey brown-beige tones coupled with gold shimmer. BG942 is a matte and I’ve been using it everyday now, such a perfect creamy nude shade.
O HAI TSUMORI CHISATO-SAN. GENKI DESU KA?
The mirror comes in a pretty pale pink velvet drawstring pouch, love how they printed on the ribbons as well - nice touch.
I would consider myself as someone who would pick avant garde over cute any other day but I will make the rare exception for Tsumori Chisato. HOW ADORABLE IS THE GOLD FOIL IMPRINT?! Urgh too cute, too cute! I know the mirror is sold out in Japan and the US but Singaporeans, if you want to get the mirror please rush to the Shu Uemura counter in Tampines, they have about 15 pieces left. Be prepared to spend some good money, girlfriends.
The SA was really nice and gave me a stack of samples to try out, I’ve never seen so many samples in my life lol. She must have been in a good mood since I bought everything she recommended. Good, attentive SAs are the spawn of the money-spending devil!
Anyway, in non-girly purchases - I finally got myself a camera bag yesterday! YAY I’m so happy I can bring my camera out more often now. Prior to this, I didn’t have a proper bag for the camera so I didn’t like bringing it out because the first and the last time I brought it out for my lunch date at the Marmalade Pantry, it scratched the hell out of my bag which is completely ironic because here I am worried about accidentally scratching the camera/lens/whatever and the camera is in mint condition at the end of the day but my bag has been brutalized -_-
I think it looks like something out of Aliens Vs Predator haha!
Yay for neon orange insides! More yays for lil pockets to hold extra SD cards! This will really come in handy when I fly off to Australia for a holiday with my family next month! Can’t wait for it!
Randomly, I’ve been looking at my really stale links list in my sidebar and I think I should update it soon lol, I’ve reading more and more beauty blogs lately and it’s been exciting getting to know each and everyone of you! Thank you for commenting and sharing your thoughts with me, it’s much appreciated ♥
Til next time~
Tags: beauty: shu uemura, shu uemura: tsumori chisato, skincare: cleansing oil
Shu Uemura, DHC & Biore Cleansing Oil Review
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Announcements, Make-Up & Beauty
This is going to be one lonngggg epic cleansing oil review! I’ve chosen the following three cleansing oils: DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, Biore Cleansing Oil & Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/O because I’ve used all of them at some point and I like how each of them are of a different price range so you can pick whichever suits your budget best!
Cleansing oils have been getting really popular recently, it’s quite a fascinating concept actually removing make-up, grime and dirt on your face with oil…wait isn’t that supposed to be a bad thing? Who knew that we could actually fight oil with even more oil? Genius! I have no idea who was the smarty pants behind the idea and I’m not going to go all ~HISTORY OF CLEANSING OIL 101~ on you so let’s just skip the theatrics and move on. If you are curious to learn more about the magic science that goes behind cleansing oil, I think my boyfriend, Google.com, would be able help you out!
I never actually got into the whole “OMG LET’S SMEAR OUR FACES WITH OIL” thing because all I ever needed to remove my make-up back then were a couple of baby-wipes and the occasional swab of baby oil. And then I got my first tube of Majolica Majorca mascara. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my MM mascara as much as I love my mother (I kidddddd) but it is ridiculously hard to remove! SRSLY I think it’s made of tar because the first few times I tried removing it with my baby oil, I used up 1/5 of the bottle and I lost so many eyelashes (RIP lashes, hope you’re enjoying lash heaven) that it just became such a chore to remove my make-up.
Enter Biore Cleansing Oil. If you are new to cleansing oils, I would really recommend this because it’s cheap, it works really well and removes everything including my mascara! I like the fruity..almost grape-like scent it has and the only thing I don’t like about this product is that it stings a little bit if it gets into your eyes which er happens to me a lot because in order to remove my mascara, I massage it gently into my lashes to make sure everything gets off so there’s no escaping the slight sting. I’m actually used to the sting so it doesn’t bother me as much. Honestly it doesn’t HURT, it’s just a little uncomfortable because haaai girl I’ve got some oil in my eyes.
DHC is a japanese skincare brand new to Singapore but they’re quite well-known worldwide for their focus on harnessing the potential goodness that fruits etc like olives and acerola have and infusing it in their skincare. Wow. I feel like I’m writing a beauty research paper lol! Anyway I’ve gotten some samples of their insanely popular DHC Deep Cleansing Oil and have used them all prior to this review! It’s slightly pricier with a bottle costing about SGD$40. I’m guessing they’re trying to justify the price because they’re making use of some good quality extra virgin olive oil?
The cleansing oil has a very distinct scent which I don’t like at all because it just smells like regular EVOO to me. The oil has a thick consistency but it wasn’t hard for me to spread it on my face. It’s quite gentle to the skin and moisturizes even! Unfortunately, (haha here comes the baad) it didn’t remove my mascara at all so I was kinda disappointed with it. It removed everything else perfectly though so if you have sensitive skin and don’t use heavy-duty mascara, grab a bottle! As for me, I don’t think I’ll ever purchase this.
So last but not least, we have the Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/O (god, that is such mouthful!). I’ve always been curious about Shu’s range of cleansing oils, partially because they come in such pretty packaging and they have a different type of oil depending on what your skin needs! They have one for everything imaginable! Oily skin, dry skin, ageing skin, skin-whitening! I asked the SA at my local shu counter for some samples of their most popular cleansing oils: the blue bottle (whitening) and the green bottle (anti-oxidants for ageing skin). I’m very much aware that I’m only in my really early twenties but anti-oxidants are great for you at every age k!
Shu Uemura’s cleansing oils are, I won’t lie, really REALLY expensive with the premium oil 150ml bottle priced at SGD$68 and the 450ml bottle going at an astronomical SGD$155- whoo can you see Saturn already? ;P So just what is the big deal about it? Why is it so fricking expensive?
It’s my holy grail. Total HG material. The oil has a thin, smooth consistency which makes it very easy to spread over the face and it removes my mascara like no other. Just rub it gently into your lash line, everything dissolves instantly (definitely faster than Biore!) and get this - IT DOESN’T STING! And usually most women wash their faces with another facial foam to remove the oily residue from their cleansing oil but you don’t need to double cleanse if you use this because it works as a facial cleanser as well and there isn’t any oily residue left; your skin is clean and so soo soft. It’s got a comforting green tea scent and omg packaging, packaging, pretteh packaging!
Cut to the chase:
Biore Cleansing Oil: Cheap, Good at removing all make-up but stings eyes and leaves a slight residue on skin.
DHC: Mid-range, Gentle for sensitive skin but doesn’t remove heavy-duty waterproof mascara.
Shu Uemura: OH MY GOD IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND GET A BOTTLE. Your skin will LOVE you for it! Even if you can’t afford it, run to your nearest Shu counter and ask for samples!
I hope this is helpful if you’re new to cleansing oils! Anyway I finally purchased my first proper bottle of the Shu Uemura cleansing oil this week and got some other stuff from them as well, beauty haul entry up next! Wishing all my muslim readers a Happy Eid Adha, enjoy the long weekend!
Til next time~
img credit: shu uemura, dhc & biore.
Tags: beauty: biore, beauty: dhc, beauty: shu uemura, skincare: cleansing oil
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