FOTD and food~

Teal and gold eyeliner, Bourjois
Fasio Lash Style Perfector mascara in brown
Stila blush from the Fall Fantasy Laguna agate palette
Sugarbaby lip & cheek tint

Last Sunday I met up with our buddies who came to visit us from Malaysia. We had a long chat at Coffee Club where I had the most amazing earl grey tea with vanilla ice cream! Omg it was really good.

The next day we had dinner at The Mussel Guys at Vivocity - they had lots of photos with celebrities who had been there and I had the mussel pasta thingy, but the mussels weren't that great. :x And omg, my friend found a baby crab in one of her mussels!!! :O The mussel's last dinner?

Can you see the baby crab at the bottom left?

Back to work tomorrow - have a good week everyone (:

FOTD and Review of Bourjois Shimmering Shine Liquid Eyeshadow and Maybelline Collagen Gloss

Hi all, long time no see again. Work is killing me. I had my company dinner and dance on Friday though so I had a chance to paint my face and here is the result -

Argh I forgot to do a macro of the eye. You can't see anything in the photo here. I know my friend will say that's because I didn't put enough eye make-up but I don't enjoy looking like a bloody wayang (opera) troupe member. For my own reference-

Lower inner rims - VS chubby eyestick in glampagne
Lower outer rims + tightline upper lashline - Body Shop Eye Definer in Glowing Amethyst
All-over wash - Bourjois Shimmering Shine Liquid Eyeshadow in 32 Brun Magnetique
Eyeshadow - Brown shade in Lavshuca Dual Prism Eyes GN2
Blush - Bourjois blush in Rose Frisson
Lipgloss - Maybelline Watershine Collagen Gloss in BP21

Let me do a quick review of the 2 new items in the FOTD which I am totally loving at the moment -

Bourjois Shimmering Shine Liquid Eyeshadow
This is seriously good stuff! It's basically an eye gloss which you can use as an ultrapigmented shadow or a sheer overall wash of metallic colour. Brun Magnetique is that mushroomy-mink shade that everyone should have. I use it every day at work now as a sheer wash - it's so easy, just dab and spread and it dries so quickly, no fuss at all! It doesn't migrate or crease, though colour does fade a little without a base. But with primer/UDPP, it lasts forever!
Rating: 10/10

Maybelline Watershine Collagen Gloss
This is seriously good stuff too! It's not ultra-glossy, but it has that watery look that totally blurs liplines and it is the only lipgloss I have tried which I can honestly say is not sticky at all. It's even better than Sally Hansen's Lip Inflation (which is awesome). This colour (BP21) is one of the more pigmented and non-shimmery ones while other colours contain some shimmer and are more sheer. I would compare the look of this gloss to Covermark's lipgloss which is so much more expensive.
Rating: 10/10

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I hope to blog again soon - there's a public holiday this Wednesday so I think I might have time. Till then!

P.S. Food at Marina Bay Sand's Chinese banquets suck. The sharks' fin soup is a major waste of sharks' fin and the appetizers came out cold (and it wasn't a cold platter). If anyone is getting married soon, please avoid throwing your wedding dinner at MBS because in my opinion, it is overhyped. :P

Review: DHC Acne Care Base Makeup + Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics!

Omg it's been 2 weeks since I last blogged; I never imagined blogging would become a chore. It's kind of tiring when I get home from work, and weekends are for catching up with chores and exercise and music. My current record for leaving the office is at 1am. I hope it won't be broken.

Anyway, sometime last week I couldn't take it anymore and went out to Watson's to spend some $ and make myself happy again!!! Amongst other things, I bought UV Protection Milk and Powdery Foundation from DHC's latest Acne Care range!

DHC Acne Care UV Protection Milk
I had to go out and buy a new sunscreen because my beloved Sunkiller Kirei Hada is no longer sold in department stores in Singapore, and is only sold at Nishino Pharmacy (in Isetan) at a higher price of about $18! (It used to be sold at Robinson's or BHG for about $13, even cheaper if you get a 20% store discount.) But guess what? This new DHC UV Protection Milk costs about $31. -_-U Forgive my illogical reasoning... I just felt like trying something new.

It claims to protect and mattify, fight bacteria in pimples, minimise appearance of pimples and roughness, conceal pores, eliminate shininess on the forehead and of course protect skin from UV rays, while maintaining a smooth finish without a sticky feeling. Here's the ingredient list:

It is by far the lightest feeling sunscreen on my skin, and totally non-oily/greasy, unlike Sunkiller Kirei Hada, which feels a little slick (maybe because of the squalane it contains). The DHC UV Protection Milk leaves a totally matte finish, but although it is tinted, I can't wear it alone because it is a mainly physical sunblock with zinc and titanium dioxide, so it leaves a whitish cast on my face. Oil control is pretty good and it functions really well as a makeup base with its smooth finish. As for acne care, my skin seems to have become calmer and with less flare-ups. It won't make your zits miraculously disappear but it will help prevent breakouts from ocurring, when used in conjunction with other blemish-fighting treatments.

Rating: 10/10


Swatches: UV Protection Milk blended out and unblended, Powdery Foundation
DHC Acne Care Powdery Foundation SPF 26 PA++ - Natural Ochre
As you can see from the first photo, I only bought the foundation refill because the case and puff is sold separately and I wanted to try if I really liked it first before investing in the other unnecessary stuff. Lucky I did that, because I really wasn't impressed by this foundation. Here's all the things it claims to do, and the ingredient list:

As a foundation alone, this gives light-medium coverage which looks really powdery on my skin. You know how most powder foundations smooth over and blur your pores? This doesn't. And other foundations usually set into skin to give a natural finish over time, but this one just looks powdery all day. It is indeed a powdery foundation. -_-U I guess it can be used as a pressed powder for touch-ups (instead of as a foundation by itself), but it doesn't control oil well at all. And when I wear it all day, it makes my skin feel kinda dry.

I chose the darkest shade which is 02 Natural Ochre, but it still seems chalky on me. I think it suits NC25 skintones, which is rather light for what is supposed to be the darkest shade. All in all, I'm just really disappointed in this product. I think it cost me about $32 for the refill while the case costs about $18 and the puff around $3. Not worth the money!

Rating: Fail (I decided that for products that fall short of the 5/10 mark, I'm not even going to bother to give a rating. Lol.)

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Anyway I was sorting through my pile of Time magazines for recycling, and found this article on the toxic ingredients in cosmetics (click for larger image).
One of the things that freaked me out was the information about oxybenzone which is present in a lot of chemical sunscreens, including Neutrogena sunblocks! When I finish my back-ups (I bought lots of Neutrogena sunblocks in the US because they're almost $10 cheaper per tube) I'll definitely be looking for new body sunscreens.

Review: Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Blush and Face Powder

I bought these in the US and I've been using them for 2 weeks ever since I started work. Physician's Formula has so many different pressed/loose powders that I don't really know the difference and which to choose, so I grabbed these 2 because they came as a set.




Face Powder:
I love how fine and pigmented the face powder is - it really gives a smooth canvas. It is not pigmented enough to cover scars of course, but it provides really good lightweight coverage that looks natural and minimizes pores. It's supposed to be a pressed powder I think, but the coverage is like that of a powder foundation.

The only negative is that it's not very good at oil control. For that, I use a separate oil control powder underneath it and it works quite well. At the very least, it doesn't make my face any oilier than it usually is. Another thing is that Physician's Formula's shades are kind of limited and don't match me perfectly - it's not yellow enough for my Asian skintone. The included brush is kind of useless as well.

Rating: 8/10 - I really love the flawless finish.


Blush:
The blush I got in the shade Rosy Glow. It has a matte finish and is extremely pigmented - the swatch above is just one swipe. It gives a natural rosy flush when stippled on with my MAC 187 duo-fibre brush. It might be too pigmented when used with a regular blush brush though. I really really love this - the matte finish is totally work-appropriate and it comes in 4 other colours which I'm really interested in trying - I think I might try to get them online. It's kind of expensive for a drugstore brand (USD10.95) but it's worth every penny because the powder is so fine and smooth and pigmented!

Rating: 10/10!


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I've officially been at my job for 2 weeks now - we're still doing training but my schedule has engagements packed till next May. ;_; Some other groups have easier schedules but apparently my group is pretty busy. And my company laptop is always giving me problems, plus at work, lots of websites are banned, like Facebook, MSN Messenger, Ebuddy and Livejournal. Oh well. I look forward to lunch every day though - it's fun exploring all the food places in the area.

Till next time - I need to go to bed now because I'm always late and someone important's gonna be there tomorrow and I need to be uber early. :(

Review: Springheart Long & Curl Mascara

I came across Springheart at Japanese cosmetics sections in Watson's a while ago - they have a range of eyeliner pencils and 2 mascaras, one for volume and one for length, pretty standard stuff. They're also really affordable, at about $10 each. (Can't remember exactly) The packaging is also really cute and sparkly! See -



Pros: It has fibres for lengthening and squalane and panthenol to keep your lashes soft, so it's a rather moisturizing formula, unlike other mascaras which are kinda dry in consistency. And I love how the tube is wider at the top and bottom, which makes it more stable so I can put it standing up on my desk, and the wider top makes it effortless to unscrew the cap. (Physics!) It's a personal preference I guess. I like the brush - it's not too large and separates nicely. The formula is great at lengthening and very, very lasting.


Cons: While it does lengthen nicely, it doesn't hold a curl very well, so that my lashes go flat after a couple of hours and when I blink, the mascara smudges underneath my eyes. It's also pretty difficult to remove, even with my Fasio eye makeup remover (which is known to be good at removing seriously budge-proof Fasio mascaras). It is easily removed only with cleansing oil (I use Fancl).

Verdict: The price is right and it's a nice everyday mascara to have. Just keep an eyelash curler handy. (Though it's really not good to curl your lashes after they've been mascara-ed because your lashes may drop out) Oh, and a good cleansing oil.

Rating: 8/10

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So anyway, the other day I went to Square 2 at Novena and finally tried Gong Tea! It's really really good!!!!!! You have to try the House Specials - they're special because of the layer of milk foam on top. It tastes salty.

I had the Gong Cha Milk Alisan Tea with 80% sugar. (It's less sweet than Koi, so 80% sugar was good!) Gong Cha's Alisan Tea is seriously fragrant - good stuff. It reminds me of a green tea we have at home from Japan. I googled Alisan tea, and I think it's a green oolong.

Mix it up and you get frothy yummy goodness!!! It's really filling though, because of all the cream. I bet it's super fattening too.

You're supposed to first drink some of the frothy milk layer, then stick your straw in and drink the tea part only, then mix it all up and finish it!


Banchan and Dolsot Bibimbap from Seoul Yummy.


Clarke Quay at night with all the lanterns and stuff for Mid Autumn festival.

Review: Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Eye Serum

I got a sample of this Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Eye Serum a while ago and have been using it twice daily for a month. It's only 5ml but it lasts a long time! The full size is 15ml, comes in a pump bottle and is really pricy at 45 USD.

Pros:
It's a lightweight fluid creamy serum which absorbs easily and is very moisturizing without the greasiness of some other eye creams. It does brighten and tighten, but doesn't do much for fine lines. It's pretty good if you're in the under-30 age group, but if you're older, you want stronger stuff.

Cons:
Really pricy, I wouldn't buy it if it was free. And it has come bad reviews online, mostly people who suffered sensitivity problems with symptoms like red itchy skin or watery eyes.

Verdict:
A good basic eye cream, but on the pricey side. Worth a try. Do get a sample before committing to avoid sensitivity issues.

Rating: 7/10

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Sorry I've been gone for weeks, I was repairing my laptop, etc etc. I hate doing tech stuff and I'd been procrastinating with backing up my hard drive and stuff.
Anyway here are some food pictures from Kuala Lumpur! The shopping was ok - you can find cheap, lower quality clothes for young people, but the high quality labels are more expensive than in Singapore or the US. The watch I bought for 100 bucks in the US, cost 200 bucks in KL. Crazy.


Secret Recipe white chocolate macademia cake


The indoor coaster at Times Square


Fish head noodle soup




Unagi with onsen tamago, matcha latte
I went to Chinatown's Tak Po for dimsum. My friend highly recommended it. It's affordable because the portions are huge. Not as great as I expected though. The yam puff isn't that great, but I like the egg tart. I want to try the mango thingy and congee next, they're supposed to be good, but I was stuffed and the mango thingy is only available on weekends.



Siew Mai


Prawn fritters? I forgot


Egg tarts!


Har Gow


Carrot Cake


Yam Puffs
This is lunch at Megabites at NUS and brownies from Munchy Monkey or something like that. The portions are huge and I was stuffed, and I found it so amusing that the brownie look the same as the photo on the menu, because usually the photos on menus look nicer. I have to say though, this is nothing compared to NTU food.




And lastly, Daim cake and a sparkling pear 'cider' from IKEA. The pear drink was good! And I like the Daim cake except I was too stuffed to enjoy it.



I'm so sad that the Youth Olympics are over. I wanted to watch the gymnastics live but obviously I didn't manage to. I did, however, go to a restaurant (which was presumably one of the sponsors) that gave away cute Merly and Lyo wet napkins!




Till next time!