Exploring Chinatown and China Glaze Candie swatch

On Monday I took leave but I still had to go to the office to drop off some documents, so after that I decided to pop by Chinatown which is near my workplace. There are actually some good places for beauty supplies, etc. I went to PNC which looks kind of like a Sally's Beauty Supply store in the US.


I got Northern Lights holographic nail polish in silver and gold glitter (S$12 each), and China Glaze Candie (S$9)! Hope to do reviews soon.


Also got myself some cut-outs in musical notes (S$3) and the Louis Vuitton logo (S$4). Apparently they also have the YSL logo, but when I was there it was all out. There was only Gucci and Cartier left and they didn't look very nice. Lol. And I got the tool for picking up the little cut-outs, I think it was S$2.50.


And I got a huge bottle of nail polish remover (non-acetone) for S$4. That's pretty cheap but it's just a very regular nail polish remover, it doesn't remove nail polish particularly fast or thoroughly. I definitely still prefer my Fancl nail polish remover, though it's so much more expensive!

The address for PNC Nail Supplies -
Blk 34 Upper Cross Street #02-150.

Please note that Blk 34 Upper Cross Street is totally different from #34 Upper Cross Street! Lol. That was a mistake I made and I think lots of people made too. I think the people at the Chinese medical store at #34 are very exasperated from having to redirect people to the correct place. Here's a photo of that Blk 34 looks like, it's across the street from #34.

Just a note - I think PNC is more of a wholesale store for nail salon owners or freelancers etc, so they're not particularly helpful to customers who buy just a couple of bottles, you know what I mean? I've read similar reviews online so it's not just an isolated case, but I've shopped at wholesalers in Hong Kong too and well, it's pretty common. Whatever. At least we get to save a little (at the expense of good service)!

Another store I went to was Dragon D'or Cosmetics. I bought a huge bottle of EO French Lavender Shower Gel for S$28. They sell lots of other stuff, like Burt's Bees, Queen Helene etc, at vastly inflated prices of course, but hey, they're pretty hard to find in Singapore.

Address: Dragon D'or Cosmetics
32 Market Street #03-1126, People's Park Complex

In addition to all the beauty hauling, I also bought lots of food! Tong Heng egg tarts at 285 South Bridge Road, diamond-shaped yumminess!

Barcook cream cheese and raisin buns at Hong Lim Complex, #01-54 Blk 531 Upper Cross Street. Theirs are the best - pillowy soft buns and the cream cheese is super smooth and lightly sweet.

I was going to purchase some satin at People's Park (to sew a pillowcase for myself because I like to sleep on my face and I get creases on my face argh) but they didn't have the really good quality ones, so I'm thinking one of these days I'll drop by Spotlight to get some, though it'll probably be pretty darn expensive. :(

Honestly I think Chinatown is an awesome place to hang out at. (I used to hate it because it's crowded with people from China and there are old uncles sitting around staring at you but just ignore them, I think they're just retired and have nothing to do, so.) There's so much good food, dimsum etc! Recently this yummy soy beancurd dessert stall, Lao Ban opened at Maxwell Food Centre which is at the far end of Chinatown and walkable from my office in the Central Business District and last week a bunch of us queued for it. There's like a huge long queue (about 20 mins long) and everyone buys like 20 tubs! :O But it's so smooth and deliciously creamy!!! Love it!!!

There's a bunch of other cheapy cosmetic places in Chinatown selling perfumes and cheap cosmetics (like LA Girl), cheaper than at the drugstore, but I'm trying to go for quality over quantity so I didn't check them out. Don't expect too much, they look as messy as a small Bonjour shop in Hong Kong. Addresses:

Ivy Cosmetics (no signboard)
People's Park Complex, #02-29, 101 Upper Cross Street

Ocean Cosmetics
People's Park Complex, 3rd floor (can't remember exact number!), 32 Market Street
(Same building as Dragon D'or Cosmetics)

Let me end off with a swatch of China Glaze Candie!

This is 2 coats without topcoat. It applies kinda streaky and the milky pink is noticeable but very very sheer. It dries real fast but the glitters are so, so gritty! But still pretty. Because of the milkiness, it's not very good for layering on top of bright or deep colours, but more suitable for layering on top of pastel nudes/pinks. I don't really like it by itself, it looks like someone puked glitter all over my nails. Plus there's visible nail line. Frustrating!

2 coats with topcoat. It takes 2 layers of topcoat to smoothen out the grittiness and give it some shine. Isn't the glitter pretty?!

From afar it looks bearable. I think it'd probably look better over pastel nude/pink shades or as part of some gradated glittery nail art.

Rating: 6/10

I'm trying to turn myself into a nail girl but I really don't have time for it. I don't understand people who can get manicures like every week. I guess I'm kinda jealous. Who has time for that?! I'm just a failed product junkie! I have a bajillion bottles of polish and no time to use it. Argh!!! :O

Anyway I just finished watching this movie called Bandage and it's so awesome I love it. -faints- It's about this band and this girl who becomes like their band manager and she's in this relationship/non-relationship with the lead singer who is kinda cute in a weird way and well it's totally cliched but the songs are awesome. There's this song called "War of the 20-year-olds" and it's so surreal. Ok I'm no longer 20 and it makes me feel old again, but whatever. I'll just quit rambling now. Till next time~

Review: Korean Dermal essence masks - White Collagen Essence Mask and Coenzyme Q10 Essence Mask

Other than My Beauty Diary masks, the only other masks I use and repurchase regularly are Dermal masks (a Korean brand). They can be found at Watson's or Sasa, I think about S$2 a piece, but sometimes I get them cheaper on sales. I don't really like to spend a lot on sheet masks since they're single-use products. These are comparable to My Beauty Diary and almost as cheap! I actually prefer Dermal to My Beauty Diary because the Dermal masks come with eyeflaps which I can choose to cover my eyelids, or fold over my undereye for extra moisture, while My Beauty Diary masks don't have eyeflaps. Dermal masks come in lots of flavours too, but today I'll just review two.

Ingredients for Dermal White Collagen essence mask:


Ingredients for Dermal Coenzyme Q10 essence mask:

I find these two masks pretty similar, the ingredients are quite similar - they both contain vitamin E and hydrolyzed collagen. I do find the White Collagen one brightens up my skin a lot after use as compared to Coenzyme Q10. I like the essence - it's very generous (White Collagen has 23g essence compared to Coenzyme Q10 which has 20g) and the mask is very moist even after 20 minutes.

The mask is thick, better quality material than My Beauty Diary masks (but without the plastic sheet sticking to the mask, which is fine for me as I dislike the plastic sheets, they make it messy for me) and the serum is less watery than My Beauty Diary masks. The serum feels very moisturizing yet light enough to be absorbed easily by my skin - I feel like my skin is drinking it up and though it's so moisturizing, it doesn't break me out at all! (I have previously tried some masks with similar, slightly thick essence and got breakouts, but Dermal essence masks never break me out.) Plus, after I remove the mask and pat in the remaining essence... my skin looks brighter and pores look smaller, everything looks calmer in general. Really love it. It's better than My Beauty Diary! Honestly! I find My Beauty Diary masks over-fragranced in comparison.

I love Dermal essence masks! Honestly, I can't decide between the two flavours, so I always alternate between them. I try not to use the whitening one too often though, because there is a shade differential between my face and neck. :(

Rating: 10/10

I will repurchase over and over again! You can find all the flavours and other products made by Dermal here!

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Just to share a Korean meal with a friend the other day... Oden and korean fried chicken at Kko Kko Nara - the fried chicken is awesome. Portions way too big for 2 though.

Original crispy chicken, sweet and sour, and sweet and spicy! Awesome. They bring tears to my eyes.

Tomorrow will be the last day of my leave from work... I hope to enjoy it! I actually went out exploring to some hard-to-find beauty places on Monday, will blog about it soon! Till next time~

FOTD: Purple Line

This is just a little FOTD I did a couple of weeks ago for a shopping spree with friends.



Items used:
- Bourjois Shimmering Shine liquid eyeshadow reviewed here
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencils
- Perversion (true black, tightlining upper outer 2/3)
- Rockstar (deep purple, outer waterline)
- Ransom (glittery light purple, inner waterline)



I purchased the Urban Decay 15th anniversary set with all the UD eyeliners last year, haven't reviewed them cos they're all over the place! I love eyeliner pencils, they're quick and easy and the Urban Decay ones are really good and creamy and last long. (Regular eyeliners never last long on me; the only other good ones I can recommend are MAC powerpoints.) I really like Ransom, it's more glittery than it looks! A very dimensional, multi-faceted colour as you can see below:

Full face:


I was using Lancome Macqui Blanc Miracle compact powder foundation, I purchased it at duty-free for much cheaper than regular retail price, a really good buy! I'll do a separate review one day, I love how it makes my skin look so much better and lit-from-within. Usually I'm really sallow and tired-looking. >_<

I took leave today so I'm rushing out for a massage now. :D Toodles!

Review: Juju Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Essence

My sister gave me this bottle of Juju Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Essence about a month ago and since then I've been using it daily under my moisturizer. However I felt it didn't allow my make-up to adhere well because somehow the essence makes it a little difficult to layer products over it. For example, when I apply my sunscreen after the essence and moisturizer, it doesn't absorb as well as usual and kind of just sits on my skin instead, and when I try to pat it in, it comes off in little rubbery flakes. I have also experienced this (on a lesser scale) with the Bio Beauty Advanced Hydrating Serum which was lighter in texture than the Aquamoist. Hence I concluded this is probably a common problem with most hyaluronic acid serums, so I wouldn't discount the product's efficacy too much, and instead try to work around it.

Also, while doing this review, I came across this description of the essence from a Singapore distributor of Aquajuju products -

"It is up to the customers if they use it for “day use”, however the maker’s recommendation is for the “night use”, as the essence is rich, there might be a possibility of making your makeup difficult to stick on the face. But decision is solely up to the individuals!"

Right. So I guess I'll just stick to night use then!

Here's the texture of the Juju Aquamoist Hyaluronic Essence - it is thicker than Bio Beauty Advanced Hydrating Serum, but other than that, totally similar. It has a somewhat slimy texture typical of hyaluronic acid serums that seems sticky at first but dries to a powdery film. The 'powderiness' of the film it forms when it dries on the skin is probably what causes make-up to not adhere well to it and come off in little clumps.

The main thing that puts me off repurchase - the price! It costs about S$39 for a mere 30ml of essence. In contrast, a 30ml bottle of Bio Beauty Skincolody Advanced Hydrating Serum costs less than half of that, about S$17 only, and works almost just as well! I find the Aquamoist slightly more moisturizing than the Advanced Hydrating Serum, but because of its thicker texture, can only be used at night, while the Advanced Hydrating Serum is light enough to be layered in the day.

Here's a comparison of the ingredients:

Ingredients for Aquamoist (from Makeupalley): Water, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol and Methylparaben.

Ingredients for Bio Beauty Skincology Advanced Hydrating Serum: Purified water, sodium hyaluronate, panthenol, sodium PCA, natto extract, cactus extract, butylene glycol, dmdm hydantoin, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate.

As for packaging, Aquamoist comes in a lovely heavy blue glass bottle with pump which will not leak when you travel with it. However the pump dispenser is not as easy to control as compared to the Advanced Hydrating Serum's dropper applicator. The Advanced Hydrating Serum comes in a simple clinical looking glass bottle too, but with a dropper which makes it easier to control how much product you use. The bad thing about droppers - you can't travel easily with droppers because the product tends to leak in the plane.

Take your pick! For me, the choice is obvious - I'd choose Advanced Hydrating Serum over the Juju Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Essence because I could buy 2 of them and still have change left, haha! It's also because I stay in a place with a humid climate and much prefer lighter-textured products. Still, Juju Aquamoist is a pretty good product and I have no regrets using it - the main issue is that I can get a comparable and affordable alternative, which makes it lose its competitive advantage.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Body Shop Spa Wisdom™ Japan Adzuki Bean & Rice Washing Grains

My sister got a tub of this recently. It retails for S$34.90, I'm not sure if it's available only in Asia? After using it a few times, I quite like it! I have the Spa Wisdom Japan Apricot and Rice Finishing Mist myself, and the washing grains smell just like it - a very comforting, powdery scent. (I usually hate powdery scents like Flower by Kenzo or Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, but the Spa Wisdom Japan scent smells good to me! Perhaps it's more of a powdery fruit scent as opposed to overwhelming powdery floral. Very comforting and familiar and safe.)
So anyway, this is a salt-based washing powder with finely grinded rice and adzuki beans. (I feel kinda hungry just thinking about it, heh!) You could use it on face or body, but I've only used it on my face. (Wee bit expensive to use as a body scrub, I think!) It comes with a plastic spoon for you to scoop it out. It comes in a lovely glass jar with metal hinges like a cookie jar, which looks very pretty but not very functional next to the sink - I always have to use both hands to hold it steady on the countertop. Plus I find it quite troublesome to avoid getting the washing grains wet - I splash my face with water first, then I have to dry my hands thoroughly before opening the jar to avoid my damp hands wetting plastic spoon and in turn, the washing grains. Quite annoying.

How I use it - it's salt-based and I want to enjoy the exfoliation without the scrubbiness melting away into nothingness too quickly, so I just splash my face with water first, then I put 1 teaspoon of washing grains into my dry hand, add maybe just the tiniest drop of water to make it slightly pastey, then work it into my damp face. This way I get the exfoliating benefits and the washing grains melt away gradually. One thing to note - since it's salt-based, it'll sting your eyes if you're not careful and any open wounds/zits you might have on your face. And yes it tastes salty, somehow I always inadvertently taste it in the shower. >_< I like the fact that it's salt-based though, since salt is a disinfectant, I feel like it is disinfecting my face.

I would categorise this as a mild exfoliating cleanser, not a facial scrub, which means I'd use this in place of cleanser maybe once or twice a week, whereas for regular facial scrubs, I use them after cleanser once a week. I usually use this on no-makeup days, because it is not a super deep cleansing kind of facial wash (which is what I prefer to use after removing make-up, personal preference).

Overall, this is quite a unique product and I would purchase it for my own use in the future. I really love the scent, it's very soothing and makes me look forward to using it. The main drawback - it's difficult keeping the washing grains dry and lid of the jar is annoying. Then again, you could reuse the jar when it's used up, since it looks so pretty.

Rating: 8/10
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Some photos to share... I've been having training the past week, so I could leave work on time, go out with friends, get my hair dyed. Oh, how nice to have a regular life.

Beef hotplate from Manna Story at Plaza Singapura basement.

Bario half ramen with egg at Ramen Champion. It's this mini-ramen-town at Bugis Iluma with 6 ramen stalls which will be around for a year (till next July), and we get to vote for our favourite ramen stall. The winner gets to set up a permanent ramen stall here! They all taste so good. The Bario half-ramen with egg is only S$7.50, and I couldn't really finish it. If I can't even finish a half bowl, I can't imagine how filling a regular bowl would be. >_<

Macha float at Shokudo.

Beef kebab roll from The Flyin' Bread - really good and filling! It's middle-eastern, but somehow reminds me of burritos filled with rice I had at Chipotle in Chicago, so yummy and huge.


No I will not climb the stairs to fitness, no matter how pretty the stairs look. :P

Have you guys seen the iphone whale? ^_^

What I wore out recently. The dress was elasticised and too short so I unpicked the elastic but it was still too short so I wore denim shorts underneath.

Hot pink blazer - I wonder what people would say if I wore this to the office hehe.

I saw this really cute pink leopard print bag at Forever21, I'm thinking of getting it but it seems pretty useless, I can't think of what to use it for. Any ideas? It's too cute!

Review: Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX

My friend helped me purchase a tub of Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX from Korea. It's way cheaper there, about S$20 (~US$15) for an 80ml tub. And he got the one with the cute designs on the tub! I don't know if it's limited edition? Here's more photos of the design, it's really cute, much nicer than the plain-looking regular tub and makes me feel happy looking at it.




I like the way the tub is sealed to keep the contents fresh. Other similar sleeping masks I've used in the past don't come sealed; instead they have an additional plastic lid on top of the jar which I find kind of unnecessary but I guess it serves the same purpose?


The sleeping pack has a really nice gel texture that is readily absorbed - when I first apply it, it makes my face look very dewy (but not the kind I would want to go out in the day with, so this is strictly for night-time use). I use quite a generous amount of it, about a slightly heaped teaspoonful for the whole face. It comes with a plastic spatula (not pictured) so no problems with hygiene!

The way I apply it - don't just smooth it on and let it sit on your skin, you have to pat it in. It doesn't break me out at all this way and makes my skin super smooth and supple in the morning. I've been working late and feeling very stressed with a bout of gastritis the past week, so my skin has been horrid, dry with some zits. The Water Sleeping Pack has helped soothe and hydrate my skin really well and left it moisturized after just one use. It's a skin-rescue treatment for when your skin is dry yet still breakout-prone, and moisturizes my skin without causing breakouts (which is quite difficult as you can imagine).

This is a fragranced product, I've read it can be irritating to some people but I love the scent, it's very light and soothing. Apparently it contains hyaluronic acid (yay! no wonder it moisturizes well). I'm guessing the dewy look I get when I apply it is due to the cyclomethicone (third on the list). Doesn't break me out though!

Ingredients (from MakeupAlley so I'm not too sure how accurate it is since I can't read Korean): Water, Butylene Glycol, Cyclomethicone, Glycerin, Trehalose, Alcohol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Vaccinium Angustifolium (blueberry) Fruit Extract, Dimethiconol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone, Ammonium, Acryloyldimethy Itaurate/Vp Copolymer, Polysorbate 20, Triethanolamine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Carborner, Mannitol, Arginine, Serine, Sucrose, PCA, Citrulline, Glycogen, Histidine, HCL, Alanine, Threonine, Glutamic Acid, Lysine HCI, Magnesium Aspartate, Zinc Gluconate, Calcium Gluconate, Copper Gluconate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Sodium Chondroitine Sulfate, Atelocollagen, Beta-Glucan, Disodium Edta, Imidazolidinyl, Urea, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, Fragrance, Blue 1 Yellow 5.

The recommendation is to use the sleeping pack a couple of times a week, but since it's not heavy at all and I don't really have a good moisturizer for night right now (I'm skipping the Vitacreme currently with my skin's condition), I use it once every 2 days (alternating with another gel hyaluronic acid moisturizer which I'll write about in a while) and it works pretty well like that. I even dab it on my eye area (after putting on eye cream). The only thing - it can be expensive if you don't get it directly from Korea.

Rating: 9/10

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Gosh I really feel like I'm aging much faster than other people my age (22). No thanks to my horrible job! While working late is the nature of my profession, there are many who have better lives than I do, who are better remunerated and it can get trying. I'm trying desperately to get my youth back. I feel so unnerved every time I'm in front of my miror applying products. I'll be thinking 'is that a wrinkle I see there?!'

I've got some horrible new addition to my portfolio in the coming year which I predict will accelerate my aging process. >_< I'm going shopping soon to buy more products to cheer myself up! :D Till next time ~

Review: Kose Softymo Airy Whip

I purchased this can of Kose Softymo Airy Whip about a month ago from an online seller. I've been using it every morning since and I think it's gonna last me quite a long time! For each wash, I pump out an amount slightly larger than a golf ball in size. The foam is quite nice and dense:


My only gripe is the pump: it requires some strength to pump out the foam and so you can't really pump it out while holding it in the air; you need to have it stable on the sink/counter.

Lots of people have reviewed this wash before, I bought it cos it's quite novel and I've never used an aerosol wash, so I just wanted to try it out. Then again, aerosol cans aren't good for the environment so I will not repurchase (it's not great enough for me to have that on my conscience, y'know?).

The scent of the foam is a very generic Biore scent that I can't describe, but that I was pretty disappointed in. It's not offensive in any way, just that it's a typical Japanese drugstore scent and I kind of expected a more luxurious scent. Then again, Airy Whip is quite inexpensive so I shouldn't have had such high expectations. The foam is really nice and dense and I feel that my skin is really soft after using it. However, I only use this as a morning wash as it isn't very good at cleansing thoroughly. I'd use it in the evening only if I've worn very little make-up that day, and I'd use it with my 3M Nexcare facial cleansing cloth for better cleansing. I like that this cleanser is quite mild and gentle but it might not be suitable for really dry-skinned people as it might leave dry skin slightly tight. Personally, it leaves my skin really soft but I have oily-combination skin.

Ingredients list in Englishhere, I'm not too sure how accurate it is as the ingredients list on the can is in Japanese.

Overall, I think this is just a rather gimmicky facial foam - the aerosol can made me want to try it out cos it looks cool, but honestly this is just a very basic, generic drugstore cleanser.

Rating:7/10