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
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
Urban Decay and some holiday talk.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
OH MY GOD, I’ve not blogged in ages. My excuse: been busy, busy, busy, busy.
I’m sorry I’ve not been commenting much on everyone’s beauty blogs - I’ve had to play tag team with so many things this week:
My job (which btw required me to google up high-res images of ants a couple of days ago for some design powerpoint thingum….a small ant blown up at 400% on my super sharp monitor is not exactly pleasant), researching and emailing property agents in Melbourne on apartments that aren’t ravaged by rats or frat boys with a little too much to drink, pinpointing potential Melbourne coffee haunts on google maps, meeting friends after work for sushi and coffee and finally going back home, ready to fall into the comforts of my bed but not before I talk to my friends from all over the world on MSN (that’s you Aaron bb!)
I should really mention that I’m moving to Melbourne next year for university which kinda explains how swamped I am right now with work and moving plans. It’s single-handedly one of the biggest life-changing decisions I’ve ever made, I’m going to be there without my family and that’s just really cool and scary at the same time. I’ll be flying to Melbourne later this week with the family though for a holiday/apartment-hunting so it’s been kinda crazy, I have yet to start packing!
Some of my beauty buys from the previous month have finally arrived in the post so it’s HAUL TIMEEEEE!
Urban Decay had their 30% Friends & Family promotion last month and since I’ve been wanting to check out their Primer Potion (UDPP) and their 24/7 eyeliners, it was a good time to grab both!
I was terribly tempted to get more stuff but er I had to save some of my salary for my holiday >.> Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original and 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Honey.
The packaging for UDPP’s pretty neat, I know people have been complaining about the genie bottle design which I agree is kinda stupid because it’s so hard to reach for the remnants of the product after you’ve used it up but..there’s no denying it’s quite unusual. I like how it’s encased in this metallic floral printed box with a transparent case, it makes you feel like you’ve actually purchased a genie bottle from the fairies in the woods.
So if you’ve never heard of UDPP, it’s basically an eyeshadow primer; it makes your eye make-up last longer, stops it from creasing and makes it more vibrant than ever. I have yet to try this out but I have a dinner party to attend later so I’ll be taking this baby out for a test drive ;P
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Honey which is a gorgeous, gorgeous true gold. I’ve never seen anything like it from other cosmetic companies so naturally I had to get it! I think it’s going to make an awesome eye-brightener if you use this on your waterline instead of the commonly-used white eyeliner.
It looks more yellow here, my camera couldn’t capture the color well but take my word for it, it’s a true gold! It’s very creamy, probably the most creamiest eyeliner I’ve ever come across. People have been comparing the UD eyeliners with the MUFE Aqua Eyes since like forever and I think the Aqua Eyes are truly waterproof and smudgeproof but UD has some stunning colors in their collection so if you want a basic black/brown/whatever you use daily, get one from MUFE Aqua Eyes but if you want an unconventional color which you would probably use sparingly, get the UD 24/7 eyeliners.
Got some nail polishes too! I’ve never been into nail polishes but they seem kinda fun so I bought some from OPI and China Glaze on a whim. Here we have: OPI’s Russian Navy, OPI’s Royal Rajah Ruby and China Glaze’s Drastic. I’m into really dark, classic colors because they’re just effortless and fuss-free.
Lol check out my halfassed manicure! I was in a rush to take photos of everything I got this morning so I did some quick nail swatches so you could have a rough idea of what the colors look like out of the bottle. From left to right: Russian Navy, Royal Rajah Ruby and Drastic. I don’t have a particular favourite, they’re all so pretty *_*
Russian Navy’s a shimmery midnight blue with slight purple undertones, Royal Rajah Ruby is a deep, almost maroon red with fine gold shimmer and Drastic is a basic mid-tone jelly red!
SaSa at Tampines 1 is having a promotion at the counter for some ranges of Silk Whitia masks! I think they just have too much in stock so you can get a mask for $1.95 each instead of paying the usual $5.90! That’s a great deal but the masks are running out fast so if you live in the east, get it while you can! I love Silk Whitia masks because they have a really thick consistency and they’re just brilliant for whitening and moisturizing.
Organic strawberry whitening mask, just 20 minutes to a glowing complexion! I prefer the peach one in terms of scent but both are equally good! Silk Whitia has plenty of different masks to choose from and I’ve tried a couple so maybe I’ll review them sometime next week if I’ve the time!
I hope you guys have a great weekend! I need to catch up and comment on all the beauty entries I’ve missed out on this week, write and send out Christmas cards and pack for my not-quite-a-holiday holiday sigh! So much to do in such a short period of time!!
Til next time~
Tags: life, make-up: MUFE, make-up: urban decay, nails: China Glaze, nails: OPI
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