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Monday, June 19, 2017

How To: Clean Makeup Brushes, Spoolies & Puffs With Rice Spatula

Not long ago, I bought the rice spatulas at Daiso for only SGD$2 a pair. Then I cleaned many brushes and puffs with the spatula with much less effort than cleaning them on my palm. I was kinda too lazy to make a cleaning board because I'm lazy to buy a board and a glue gun. Lolx~

It is easier to just buy rice spatula/ scoops and use it to clean the brushes since both side of the spatula has little bumps already and it's wide enough to cover a bunch of small brushes or a couple of big brushes.
Most importantly, it has a handle easy for holding, better than holding onto a DIY cleaning board.
So try this method out! It only worth $2 + less than $2 soap = $4 easy brush cleaning method! ^,^

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Travel & Haul: 3D2N @ Resorts World Genting (With Fashion, Makeup, Swatches & Reviews)

Hey'al! I know I stopped blogging about my travels for quite a long time. I've been wanting to do so again because I find that it'll be a great way for me to remember my experiences during the trip as well as to recommend travel spots to friends easier with a blogpost. This time I chose to write because it's a short trip BUT there are still lots of photos to edit. I had to include all photos I took otherwise I thought I would miss some interesting stuffs. I guess being a perfectionist doesn't help much..so much self torture.(T^T)*sob*

Anyhoo, over the last week of March to April Fool's Day, I went for a short holiday to Genting with my man and his buddies and colleagues. Instead of taking the coach, we took alternative route by plane, train and then car. My man and his buddies planned the trip (they did for all the trips we went becos I'm a lazy bum! Kekkex~) so I wasn't sure how much we spent and exactly how long were the travel time. Basically, I just tag along! ^,^")

So here's my silly face and my man on the plane~

1st Day @ RWG

After we alighted at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport which the plane flew for only less than an hour, we took the KLIA Ekspres to KL Sentral. That took about another hour or so.

Thereafter we took a car direct from KL Sentral to Awana Skyway (new cable car located at mid of mountatin) because the coach bus was full and we couldn't get on unless we wait for 3 hours. We decided not to becos it was kinda waste of time to wander around KL Sentral. We split into 2 cars (that was offered by the same company from the coach bus we wanted to take) with each sat 3 people and that took another 1 hour to travel to cable car station.

Below shows the Premium Outlet building still under construction. The driver dropped us at the basement carpark of the building and we crossed an overhead bridge over to the new cable car station - Awana Station.

So we took a cable car up all the way to Genting - SkyAvenue Station. It was a relaxing trip for me enjoying the awesome view... wherelse the guys we were with, complaint it was too thrilling due to the heights.. hahhax~ ^,^"
Oh yes, do note that 1 Skyway ticket actually is valid for to and fro trip within the day itself. On the 2nd trip, the staff will tear the ticket after scanning at entrance so then you will need to purchase new ticket again the next time you wanna ride.

Upon reaching SkyAvenue station, the first signage I saw was this. My eyes were on the Malaysian Food Street becos I was hungry after traveling for 4-5 hours. It was nonetheless, lesser travel time than taking a coach all the way from Singapore to Genting I guess? I think the trouble about transiting between different transportations, were the hassle of finding the entrances, buying tickets etc. However I must say that it was kinda bliss for us because it was Friday noon when we were there. There were basically no queues everywhere, plus I guess Malaysia is so big, the people spreads out making the place look quite empty which is unlike Singapore.

From SkyAvenue station, we walked out and over the rooftop bridge to SkyAvenue mall which then lead us to the Malaysian Food Street.

So below shows the Malaysian Food Street, consists of so many stalls that I didn't have the chance to try them all! (>m<) *fists*
(Enlarge pics by clicking them)

In order to purchase food, you'll need to get a card first from the cashier counter. Deposit with remaining amount can be refunded after returning the card. If you have a Resorts World Genting member card, do present it during food purchase as there's member price which is few RM cheaper.

As posted in my Instagram, this is my first meal at Genting! Penang Prawn Noodle and a cup of White Coffee! YEAH~~~ Prawn's my favourtie! Woots! I'm hungry now as I'm typing.. hahhax~ ^_,^"

My man's boss is a regular at Genting and he took all of us for a tour around genting so we know how to navigate later~
Here's the biggest gaming arcade I've ever seen (besides Japan that is but theirs are so different from ours and Malaysia's)! This is located near our hotel - Resort Hotel.

To reach First World Plaza, it was a really long walk from Resort Hotel, up and down escalators and stairs. I basically did not try to remember how to get there, it took me until the 3rd day to know how to get around.

At First World Plaza, some shops were closed because SkyAvenue mall opened and they relocated their shops to the new mall. I heard that there was a casino at First World Plaza but was closed too for renovation.

The new casino name SkyCasino is located in SkyAvenue mall. Everywhere were screens and it was really so pretty when they put up the Spring theme! ♥

After visiting SkyCasino and SkyAvenue, we walked to First World Hotel to get a glimpse of my man's colleagues and boss' rooms. They said that First World Hotel renovated their rooms. Although the exterior might look rundown, but the interior was pretty ok. Some rooms had better view and some don't. However, I still prefer the hotel I stayed in, the room had more amenities and had the basic stuffs I needed the most like hairdryer, tissues and very clean bathroom and bed! A good view was just alternative since we usually don't spend that much time in our room.

At night, this is how it looks like. For our dinner, we managed to walk into a cheap coffee shop below our hotel that usually serves the staff working there. We had Zhi Char (complimentary from my man's boss kekex~) and it was not bad.

2nd Day @ RWG
My man brought us to Nyonya Colors to have our breakfast as it was way too early that the Malaysian Food Street wasn't even opened yet. I had their signature Chee Cheong Fun and IT WAS GREAT! Totally love their chilli and green chilli with the sweet sauce combi (mostly the green chilli)! Yummmm~ I wish we have such chee cheong fun in Singapore... (TᄾT) Their coffee was kinda different from the local roasted coffee I like to drink but still tasted good!

Next we took cable car down for some scenery viewing~

Here's me, my man and his buddies~ I noticed that every cable car has a USB port for charging.. so cool! We alighted at Chin Swee Station and again walked a thousand steps (almost.. lolx~) down the multiple long escalators to reach the Chin Swee Caves Temple.

The scenery at Chin Swee Temple was so awesome and I was so mesmerised by the old school chinese statues they made to describe how Hell looks like, so alike to the ones at Haw Par Villa in Singapore. I guess mesmerised is not the right word looking at such gore kinda statues.. but I really was mesmerised.... Jinja! hahhax~

We travelled back to Genting after the temple visit and ate Abalone! It is Ah Yat Abalone Restaurant located in First World Plaza. I was so so SO full by the 3rd dish.. all of us (with so many guys) couldn't even finish one dish, except for the Peking Duck Crispy Skin dish. I just made sure I ate all the expensive ingredients such as the abalone... and, the last dish, coconut pudding dessert! kekex~ To save money, I would recommend that one should just order set meal with lowest price for everyone becos the quantity for each dish is really too much for one to finish.

Inbetween lunch and dinner, I was set loose (YEAHHHHhhhh!~) to shop around by myself. I went around SkyAvenue and First World Plaza to find makeup, bag and clothes to replace what I brought there so I could throw away those stuffs before I come back to Singapore. My haul is displayed at the end of this blogpost, so be sure to scroll down~

For our dinner, we went to Burger & Lobster. Below shows the 3 main dishes out of the few others. Due to me eating cake only 1 hour before dinner, I was too full to take a meal so I didn't order but grabbed a couple of bites off my man's burger.
Apparently, the claypot lobster could be shared by 2 people if both appetite are small. I tried the sauce and it was really good! The bread that comes with it looked and tasted nice too!~ (Am a bread/bun lover!)
The burger had both lobster and beef patty (we called for medium rare) and it was tasty too however my man thought it was too small to be called a meal. The bun meal was ordered by another guy and he commented that it was just enough for him. I calculated that the burger meal cost about SGD$50 and I felt that I wouldn't eat this again if I visit Genting again. It is too expensive and the lobster meat was only that little. There are still much more other food waiting for me to eat!

Below shows the Jap Green Tea Cheese Cake and coffee I had at Eight Ounce Coffee @ SkyAvenue basement before dinner and both weren't nice at all... I regret for not choosing Tokyo Secrets. Le sigh~

Above bread was the BEST toast bread I had for past....1 year? I jinja LOVE the thick butter and the not so sweet kaya plus the soft yet crispy bread! However the coffee was so-so.. I wished it could be thicker and has a stronger roasted coffee scent to it. I had this on the 3rd Day early morning at Malaysian Food Street.

3rd Day @ RWG
My man's boss recommended us to take this Coffee Terrace buffet lunch @ Genting Grand.
The prices are really cheap for a buffet so we tried it. Prior to the lunch, I was let loose again to purchase more makeup and a pair of new shoes at SkyAvenue (posted at bottom). I shopped alone in a fast and furious way before I rushed back to the guys for the buffet lunch. lolx~

My verdict for the buffet lunch was, you can skip it if you have other better choices. Unless the cheap price and the no. of dishes are what you are looking for. I tried about half of what were displayed and the food was ok only, and some dishes weren't that nice. The variery wasn't that great like the ones I've seen in Singapore hotels. I probably would choose to pay around the same price for 1 full meal that taste better since I could only eat that much. I'm not a big eater as compare to before when I was younger.

Before we travelled back home, I took my last drink at Starbucks to pack my bag and wait for the guys to have their last shot at the casino. Here shows my new Vincci pastel blue cylinder bag (comes in black and nude pink too) which cost rather steep at about S$60. I think my brain wasn't working well at converting RM to SGD at the time I was shopping at Vincci. Only when I touched down in SG, did I realised this cost more than $50! Lolx~ But then, I had compliment from my boss when I brought it to work and she said it looked like Alexander Wang's bag. Hmm.. does it?*rubs chin*

Makeup Findings & Haul
Alrighty, let's begin with my makeup findings at RWG! First off, MCC Korea makeup found in Watsons @ SkyAvenue mall. I didn't try or swatch any of the products, perhaps it was the packaging or the layout that didn't entice me.

Next is Son&Park found in Selectiv' Sasa @ SkyAvenue mall too. The moment I saw this brand, my eyes widened. I knew about their Beauty Water (kinda like toner) due to the hype in Instagram but Malaysia Sasa didn't carry it. I heard from the BA that they are still trying to get approval for the product before officially selling them. I liked the display and the product packaging alot and it got me started swatching.

Below shows swatches of Son&Park Color Shading Liner in all colours except Black. They looked way much prettier IRL. I also swatched their two way lip chalk and wanted the nudest shade but it was OOS so I tried their base makeup instead.

Here shows my haul on the 2nd day of the trip. My holy grail Heroine Volume & Curling Mascara and my first try Heavy Rotation Eye Designer Mascara, both from Watsons.
Son&Park Color (Concealer) Cube in No.21 Light and Color Shading Liner in No.05 Marsala (for +everblue c) from Selectiv' Sasa.

On the last day of my trip, I rushed back to Sasa to get 2 more items from Son&Park becos I loved the Concealer Cubel when I used it that morning. I gotten the Concealer Cube in No.23 and Skin Fit Foundation SPF45 PA++ in No.23 Natural.

Skin Fit Foundation has a blending flat top brush at the other end of the stick. Color shading liner has to be sharpened thus the packaging included a sharpener in it. The concealer cube has a short applicator how cute!

Son&Park Swatches
Color (Concealer) Cube No.23 Natural - It is rather yellow and only a tad darker than my skintone so I used it for my undereye dark circles. I mixed my other peachier shade concealers with this to made the other concealers' consistency slightly lighter.

Color (Concealer) Cube No.21 Light -Since Son&Park concealers are pigmented yet liquidy and light, I find it ok to layer concealers on top of each other. I use this shade to highlight my undereyes after I concealed them with the darker shade concealers.
Son&Park Skin Fit Foundation SPF45 PA++ in No.23 Natural - I took the wrong stock for this foundation. I didn't know they have 2 shades as the display only showed one. What I wanted was the light shade No.21 as it brightens my skin so beautifully when I swatched it. Nonetheless, I still use this foundation to hide my redness along nasolabial folds. I blended it with the given mini flat top brush and I really really love that brush, it's so soft and blends really darn well! Good thing is that the brush can be easily removed by screwing it off from the stick. The foundation however on the other side isn't that good for someone who has large pores because it will accentuate them due to its dewy, glossy effect. The green part did not really fully conceal my redness, it kind of just lightens the red tone.

LOTD & OOTD

Next up, the makeup I brought during my trip. Much thanks to the brands that gave me makeup sachets, I brought slightly lesser full size products. For the sachets, I really like Covermark Silky Loose Powder which is also yellow tone thus, it brightens my face quite alot after I used the beige tone BioNike Defence Color Hydra Foundations.
I was given 2 sachets of BioNike foundations but both shade did not work out for me as one was way too dark which I dotted along the border of my face and along jawline. The other shade is a tad darker than my tone due to it's too beigey.
Most of the full-size makeup I brought to Genting were those I wanted to throw on the 3rd day as I find that I had kept them for long enough, except for SK-II Mid Day Miracle Essence (used before touch-up), Ofra & Smashbox liquid lipsticks, eyebrow pencil, highlighter as well as the makeup tools.

Here's a swatch of Beauty Keeper's newest face makeup - Userism DD Cream. Gifted to me at the right moment before I flew off to Genting! ^_^ The shade is in #01 Light Ivory and it is lightly pigmented thus I find that there's almost no coverage. I think it's to be used as a base instead of a foundation. I like its sunblock properties of SPF50 which would be good for me as I'm nearer to the sun at Genting. The shade doesn't make my face look greyish although it is lighter than my skin and one sachet has so much product that I only used 1/3 of it to cover my face and neck. I would recommend one to use it during a no make-up day so one could achieve a natural bare face kinda look and yet with some SPFs to prevent sun damage during day time.

Here I'm using the lip makeup I brought to Genting - Mixing Ofra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Bel Air and Smashbox in Some Nerve. I topped it with a Anna Sui nude lipstick (not very pigmented) around the lip border and tiny bit of gloss in the centre of the lips. It was my first time wearing a purple lipstick and I couldn't bring myself to wear it alone becos I find that I'll look scary with a set of full purple lips, probably gonna scare off my man's friends too. Lolx~ IRL, my lips look more purplish than pink as compare to the pics below.

Selfie, selfie, selfie. During travel, we sure can't skip selfie-ing inside fitting rooms and hotel room rite?
There I was, selfie inside Vincci store wearing Padini, Seed clothings. The next day I wore the mens' bomber jacket along with the cylinder bag I bought from Vincci store. I was lacking of a pair of new shoes because the canvas high top shoes I wore was breaking into pieces on the last day.

And henceeeeeee, I got myself a pair of Vans Sk8-Hi Lite lace up high top canvas in black right before I left Genting! I had an awesome experience at Vans @ SkyAvenue outlet, read about it here! Although it's more of a mens' shoes (also considered as unisex), I could still wear it because my feet fit the smallest size available for this design. They were still about half a size larger than my normal canvas but after adding in a pair of insoles (transferred from my old canvas), they worked out fine in the end. Totally loving them! They are much lighter than my Adidas Super Star shoes and the curvature of the insoles made it more comfy.

Another clothing I bought from Padini was this maxi dress which the moment I saw it, I got it immediately. I bought it for obvious reason (long enough for me). hahahx~ It cost 2 for less than S$20! Woots! Now I know why so many ppl like the brand Padini! ^-^

Alrighty, that's the end of my trip and I hoped you gained something out of this blogpost.. be it from the makeup findings, reviews, or the food topics, i hope you had fun reading them!
If you would like me to post more about my travels (perhaps the backdated ones like my perth or korea trips), do comment & let me know~ ^,~

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Review: Get Healthy Looking Skin With Bourjois Healthy Mix!

About 3 weeks ago, I was still suffering from very dehydrated looking skin due to prolong contact with strong air-conditioning in the office. The air there is so dry that even when I use the most hydrating and moisturising skincare (that do not clog my pores or make my skin oily) , I was still having troubles with dry looking makeup. The foundation got trapped along my smile lines (aka nasolabial folds) and within the fines lines under my eyes. I tried various techniques by switching primers, bases as well as combining different foundations, bb, cc creams to make my makeup look less drying but to my disappointment, they all did not work out.

So now, I have found THE ONE who could solve my worries. And THE ONE is Bourjois Healthy Mix Anti-Fatigue Foundaton, along with it is the Healthy Mix Anti-Fatigue Concealer!

About Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix

The New Healthy Mix Anti-Fatigue Foundation provides multiple skincare benefits, on top of flawless beauty.

Healthy Mix foundation promises long-lasting medium coverage up to 16 hours of coverage. It is a Semi-Matte Ultra-Lightweight formula. It provides all day 24 hour hydration for maximum comfort throughout the day and it gives 70% more radiance which gives you a natural healthy-looking glow.

Healthy Mix series contains a vitamin-infused complex that erases all signs of fatigue for a fresh and healthy-looking complexion.

The new blend of vitamins includes:
- Vitamin C for Anti-Fatigue Effect
- Vitamin E for Anti-Oxidant Action

- Vitamin B5 for Revitalising Action

The New Healthy Mix Anti-Fatigue Concealer brightens and energises your eyes in a single step. It contains spherical powders which blur and smooth for a silky finish. It has light-reflecting pigments for immediate radiance and undetectable finish.

Packaging

The Healthy Mix Foundation comes in a pump and the concealer comes with a brush applicator.

Both are easy to use. Only problem is that sometimes I did not place back the foundation cap properly and when I hold it by the cap, the body will drop off from my hand. I need to make sure that the cap clicks when I push it down so that it's fully secured.

Side and back view of the Healthy Mix foundation and concealer. The shade that I chose from the range is No 52 Vanilla for foundation and 52 Medium for concealer. Easy for me to remember since both are 52! (^,^)v~ Both products are Made in France and they are good to use for 1 year (12 months) upon the time I start using them.

Here's a 1 dip (picked up by the brush applicator) of concealer vs 1 pump of foundation.The moment I opened both the foundation cap and the concealer, I scent a citrusy sweet fragrance. Very very lovely! ^_^

Swatches

Concealer in 52 Medium and Foundation in No52 Vanilla swatches.

Pls note that I tried to adjust the photos to match the shade in real life, however every monitor's colour callibration is different thus you might see it differently from what I see.

As you can see, the foundation No52 is in a lighter shade than the 52 Medium concealer. I purposely picked a darker shade concealer because it is meant for the undereyes. For undereye concealer, it is best to pick a darker if not a peacher shade to cover the dark circles before using a shade near to your skintone to layer over it. This works best than using a light concealer directly on the undereyes.

After blending the foundation and the concealer out, the concealer leaves a spread of golden shimmer on my skin! Can you spot those reflection made by the gold pigments? Awesome isn't it? (^_^)

I would totally love to have this kind of concealer on my dark circles! So they won't look so dark anymore, and these would make them look radiant!

Before & After

Alrighty, so here we go! Before and after applying Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation No52 Vanilla!

I guess it's pretty obvious that it isn't really a medium or full coverage foundation since the inflammation and scars I have around side of my face and jaw area are still quite visible. However the discolouration is gone!

Side note, my face originally looks darker than my neck and décolleté because of discolouration plus redness. Therefore, I require a foundation that is tad lighter and more yellowish for me to match it to my neck shade. Otherwise I will have different shade face vs the rest of my body.

Though the discolouration is gone, I feel that the foundation shade is kinda lighter than my neck shade so it appear rather grey/blue-ish on my skin (do you think so too?).

Here's an overview of my half applied face and undereyes with Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation & Concealer. If you compare the right side (with foundation) against my neck, you'll see that they kinda match pretty well, while the undone side of my face looks dull, discoloured and darker.

The Healthy Mix Concealer in 52 Medium doesn't look very peachy under my eyes, in fact it looked like I just applied a light foundation under my eyes. These photos were taken before I powder my face, thus you could see the creases under my eyes. When I'm under a white spot light, the foundation reflects light and made my face looked rather greasy. Once I powder my face, the greasy effect and the creases would be gone.

Review

Below shows my full makeup face without using any spot concealer on my scars or inflammation. I could still spot a couple of scars underneath the foundation. For this day, I wore both Healthy Mix Foundation and Concealer for a round of vigorous exercise. I wanted to test how well the makeup could hold with all the sweating and stuffs. Now that I have tested and gotten the results, below are my thoughts about Bourjois Healthy Mix.

I feel that the Healthy Mix Foundation...

- shade No52 Vanilla is in light pink-beige shade and kinda has a grey tone to it

- is not exactly my shade because I would prefer one that is not so light and has a yellow tone (No53 Light Beige is darker beige and also has a grey tone to it which makes it even more dull on my skin, thus I can't pick that)

- shade is not perfect for my skin tone but I could easily correct by using a yellow tone compact/loose powder on top of it

- is pretty liquidy, very lightweight

- has light coverage but buildable to near medium coverage (I uses about 2 full pumps for whole face, using damp latex-free sponge)

- can be mixed with other liquid foundations/bb/cc creams (I did only when I need higher coverage)

- is a little on the greasy side but once powdered, the glossy look is gone

- gives a very natural, a little dewy (not too matte or not too glossy) look

- gives me a fresh and healthy look even without much point makeup (I only did my lips and brows)

- did not shift or transfer much once I powdered it

- gives me almost zero trapped foundation along nasolabial folds (so happy! ^∇^)

- lasts me up to about 10 hours in an air-conditioned room

- around T-zone areas still oils up at about the 5th hour and were slightly melted off at 10th hour

- starts to appear translucent at the 8th hour thus coverage was reduced

- can withstand a good 2-hr heavy sweating, only foundation around T-zone areas are almost gone

- is totally non-cakey, even after my natural sebum has melted off the foundation on some parts of my face

- can be layered over by any kind of compact/ 2-way foundation, after which makeup could last even longer than 10 hours

- provides hydration to my skin after prolonged use

I feel that the Healthy Mix Concealer...

- shade No52 Medium is a tad lighter than what I need for my undereyes (I prefer orangey-peachy shades)

- could still conceal my dark circles and brightens up my eyes without making them look greyish

- is lightweight and liquidy, a good consistency for undereyes

- can be mixed with other concealers (I did only when I need higher coverage)

- is not matte or drying

- doesn't crease much or gets trap within the lines when I make any expression

- lasts as long as the foundation

- is non-cakey

All in all, I am very amazed that the Healthy Mix Foundation and Concealer did not cake even ONE bit on my face! They are really very good bases for people who always like to touch up with a compact or 2-way cake foundation. I always experience cakey makeup when I want to touch up my face and it frustrates me so, so much! But with Bourjois Healthy Mix, I could touch up my whole face including undereyes at the 10th hour (where some parts of my face had melted the foundation) and not see any bit of cakiness! For that, I shall bow down to their awesome vitamin infused formula.

All Swatches

Next is the swatches for all the available foundation and concealer shades. Do note that these are taken with my mobile phone thus the colour isn't perfect. I have again, adjusted the colours to try and match them to the shades in real life.

Healthy Mix Foundation is available in 6 shades:

No51 Light Vanilla, No52 Vanilla, No53 Light Beige, No54 Beige, No55 Dark Beige, No56 Light Bronze.