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
Smokey green eyes.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
I am very much what you may call a green eyeshadow obsessed person, I have about 9 green eyeshadows in my collection, all varying shades from emerald green to the brightest funkiest leafy-green. Green is definitely one of my no-fail colors because it makes brown eyes pop like no other color can and I think it’s just refreshing to use a dirty smouldering green for a smokey eye look instead of just the usual black.
My Smokey Green FOTD:
Face:
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish foundation in NC20 (a change from my usual studiofix because I had dry skin that day)
MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW25
Cheeks:
La Femme blush in Nectar Peach
Eyes:
MAC paintpot in Delft
MAC eyeshadow in Club
MAC eyeshadow in Shroom
MAC pigment in Antique Green (Limited Edition)
Jesse’s Girl eyedust in Sunlit Cactus
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander NEO
Lips:
NYX round lipstick in Thalia
Tags: fotd: green, Make-Up & Beauty, NYX cosmetics
MAC Hello Kitty & dreams of Moon River.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
Friday. 13th March 2009. Hello Kitty officially launches in Singapore after a successful pre-launch the week before.
Monday. 9th March 2009.
“Hello, MAC Takashimaya, X speaking.”
“Hi, I’m calling regarding the Hello Kitty collection? Is it alright if I reserve-”
“Oh I’m sorry but we don’t take reservations for the Hello Kitty Collection.”
GODDAMMIT. It looks like I have to probably wrestle my way through the the throngs of people who are probably just buying MAC x Hello Kitty make-up because it’s OMG HELLO KITTY I HAVE TO BUY IT I DON’T KNOW HOW TO APPLY MAKE-UP BUT WHATEVER! IT’S HELLO KITTY! I MUST HAVE IT OR I’D JUST DIE FROM NOT BEING ABLE TO OWN A PIECE OF CUTENESS!! Whatever man.
It was Friday 13th March 2009, I made my way to the MAC counter at Tangs Orchard because it’s the most popular outlet in Singapore (I have no idea why, don’t ask) so I figured they would have more stocks over there. Well, I was wrong.
EVERYTHING WAS SOLD OUT! Except for Kitty Couture but no way in hell was I going to spend like whut, 90 bucks on a silver hello kitty swarovski crystal studded sheer mystery powder compact?! Helloooo?! Ok ok, so it was really pretty and cute but NO! I will only get what I came for AND THAT’S THE HELLO KITTY SHE LOVES CANDY LIPGLASS!
I fell in love with it instantly the moment I saw photos of it online, a pale candy pink lipgloss with blue, green iridescence - such a unique color and I MUST. MUST. MUST. HAVE IT!
So I had the SA at MAC call the Takashimaya counter and ZOMG they had 7 tubes left!! The SA reserved that lipglass for me but the catch was that I had to get my ass over to Takashimaya pronto or they’d have to sell my lipglass off to the next person that comes along. NO FERRR-REAKKING WAY, I’ve waited far too long for this *amazing* lipglass to let some UNWORTHY bitchnezz buy it and slather it all over her icky dry, scaly lips ick.
So I practically flew to Takashimaya with my magic fairy hello kitty wings which shimmer in the light and marched straight to the MAC store.
I was a MAC whore with a mission - to get my lipglass by any means necessary.
I went to the counter and AHHH OMGGGGG my lipglass, neatly tucked behind the counter and labeled with my name! The scary thing was when I bought my lipglass, the SA told me that they had only 3 lipglasses left in the shade I wanted. I was speechless, 7 tubes of lipglass down to 3 in a span of 10 minutes? Overzealous, indeed.
It was an amazing feeling, forking out 28 bucks for something I thought I never could have (no thanks to overzealous hello kitty crazed Singaporeans)…it felt just like buying a pair of fierce 4″ heels.
Ok, enough ~~~drama~~~ and let’s move on to pretty make-up!
My mini haul! I got myself 2 other items as well, a new brow set and..MOON RIVER from the grand duos blush collection. Tres excited about this one! I tried it out a week before I bought it and I couldn’t get it out of my head! If you have fair skin, this would be another blush perfect for your complexion! It’s like a shot of pale dolly pink accented with silver shimmer, a blush and a highlight all in one pan.
My new brow set in Girl Boy! I’ve not used up my browset in Beguile (taupey brown) yet to be honest but since this was repromoted with the Blonde Brunette Redhead collection, I tried it out and felt that it suited me better. It’s a rich caramel shade and I just love it.
I tried out my new make-up during the weekend. I kept it simple and natural, using the make-up I had in my make-up essentials post because I was rushing out to meet my cousin so I had no time to do any funky, crazy stuff.
Close up shot of Moon River on my cheeks! The color is subtle but you can build it up ;D
I would recommend that you guys check out the Grand Duos collection at your MAC counters. Don’t even bother swatching them on your hand because the color might look different on your skin so get a MAC make-up artist to try it on you. When I first swatched Moon River on my hand, I wasn’t impressed - it was just a silver mess but on the cheeks, instant pretty!
My natural FOTD:
Face:
MAC Studio Fix foundation in NC25
MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW25
Cheeks:
MAC Grand Duos blush in Moon River
Eyes:
MAC paintpot in Rubenesque
Clinique cream eyeshaper in Egyptian
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander NEO
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Lips:
NYX round lipstick in Indian Pink
MAC x Hello Kitty lipglass in She Loves Candy
Tags: fotd: neutral, MAC: grand duos, MAC: hello kitty, Make-Up & Beauty, NYX cosmetics
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