25

O hai! I have returned!!


Sorry, I was away on a week-long business trip in Shanghai and Hong Kong ;)

It was fourth time to HK, but first time I've visited China.
Shanghai was great! I thoroughly enjoyed myself because the staff in Shanghai were ace!!
I miss them already! :(

Anyway, you don't really want to hear me talk about work! I'm sure you want to see my shopping haul!

Makeup did cost me a fair bit but still MUCH cheaper than if I purchased them in Australia!

Majolica Majorca mascara was half price at AU$15!!

These were less than AU$2 each!

 

I love crowns!

 Love these bags! They both cost less me than AU$60!

 Anyway, guess who turned 25?!
 

Unfortunately I had to leave for my conference the day after my birthday, but it didn't matter. I spent it with my Joshy ♥

Hmm.. actually when I think about it, I met him when I was 20
So in a month and a half's time, we will be celebrating our 5th year anniversary together.

Ah... life is good ;)

♥

Index Fundraising

My friends Fiona and Ting are 4th year RMIT students hoping to raise enough funds to open an exhibition for their final year.

I am absolutely loving this Alice in wonderland inspired mustard yellow bobble ring created by Ting.

It is gorgeous!

 

So artsy!

I also purchased this cute love birds acrylic ring that they've created using a laser cutter!

I am loving all these cute handmade button accessories made by their team mates!

I wish I could have them ALL!!

I'm also proud to say that I assisted in a few of them! I was actually at Fi's place last weekend, helping them glue, polish and paint these accessories so they can sell them. 

They usually set up stalls in their uni to try and raise funds, so they need all the help possible. If you're intrigued, just check out their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/139315682805645/ or you can just ask me! ;)

// ♥

Bundle Monster Konad Nail Plate Review (21 piece set)

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Check this out!!

Oh yeah.. pretty awesome right? I purchased the 21 piece Bundle Monster Konad image plate set from Amazon for about US$18 not too long ago cause I wanted to experiment with more Konad nail designs.

It was my first time purchasing off Amazon and it was really easy! Postage didn't cost much either, approx. US$4 and it took about a week or so to arrive.

The Bundle Monster set is a cheap knockoff of the Konad plate set. I thought they would be filmsy metal plates but they are actually as good as a genuine Konad plate!

There is a thin blue plastic film protecting each plate which is easily removed.

Each image plate has a unique number on it, just like a konad plate.

Each plate also has 6 - 7 designs, just like a Konad plate .

 

I have used 5 plates without encountering any problems so far but upon closer inspection of all the other plates, I did notice a slight inconsistency in one pattern. However, I'm not bothered by it because it's hardly noticeable once you stamp the design onto your nails.

This set is a partial set, which includes the BM1 - BM21 image plates.

Personally, there will be some designs of this particular set that I doubt I would ever use but I still enjoy having a variety of choices.

Now, I don't actually own a full Konad image plate set so I can't exactly compare but looking at some samples online, there will be a lot of designs I probably won't use either.

click on the photo to enlarge!

In all, I'm really satisfied with my purchase *prances*

And in anticipation of my upcoming snow trip in Falls Creek, I've created cute wintery snowflake nails.
 

Uber cute? Hell yeah! :D

Can't wait to make snow angels, snowmen and have snowball fight(s)!


// ♥

Zipia Dilemma

Why oh why is it that once I have finally filled my Zipia shopping cart with a minimum of US$300, I hesitate to press on that "confirm purchase" button?

MEH.

I know $300 may sound a lot but considering it's for 17 items, and that the Aussie dollar is standing strong, it's almost a bargain!!

It's not very hard to fill your cart $300 either :\

I blame the gorgeous models who tempt me to buy everything.

I simply adore this particular model. She's so innocent and sweet-looking.... Ek! I feel like a paedophile .__.


Can you blame me though??


I do find that their cheaper clothes can be a little see-through but still of good quality.

I am itching to get another Zipia haul but I find myself checking the website out everyday, waiting for any new additions to the site.

Should I or should I not? Decisions.. decisions...


// ♥

Review: Maybelline Mascara in The Falsies

I absolutely love Maybelline mascaras! They're brilliant and they're cheap!

So when the new 'Falsies' came out, I didn't have a reason to not buy and test it out.

 

More cute nails and EcoTools 5-piece brush set

Hello hello!

I just got back from sunny Perth!

Yes, I know I know... I was in Perth barely three weeks ago too.


All this jet-setting has caused a havoc on my body clock!
It doesn't help that I have been quite stressed too. It's work-related; my manager is on her holiday so I'm handling some her responsibilities. MEH.

Review : Silkymit

Ah... unwanted hair, the bane of countless men* and women.
*Trust me, we have a lot of men coming into our clinic for hair removal.


Now, after being recommended by a friend to try Silkymit, a painless alternative to waxing or shaving, I decided to give it a go.

So.

I didn't expect much but I was disappointed when I opened the pack. Inside, there were three "gloves" which were made out of cardboard.

You basically slip a hand through the openings and glide it in circular movements up and down your limbs.
Very easy to use; much like an exfoliation glove.

So I tried it first on my leg. After a few tries, I ran my hand down and I was disappointed as it has not effectively removed much hair.
I had a few more tries but then found that it was beginning to irritate my skin.

BOO.

Then it felt like it was burning!
I immediately slapped on some soothing balm which helped calm my skin.

Still, this did not deter me.

Perhaps I was applying too much pressure?
So I tried it on my other leg, which did not irritate as much but like before, did not remove a lot of hair at all.


Then I thought maybe it only works on fine hairs?
I then had a go on my forearm, which gave better results than the legs. There was hardly any irritation at all on my arms so I was pleased. I then put some moisturizer on as my arms felt dry.

However, after a few days, I've noticed that the skin on my arms were rough and scaly. I assume that through the exfoliation, I had broken my skin.

Now I'm not one with sensitive skin so I was a bit surprised at how my skin reacted.

Before and After Photos of Arm

My friends, I'm sure you're dying to know:

Does Silkymit work?
Yes and no.
It did remove hair, yes. I personally find that it's not effective on newly grown hairs but works alright for fine, wispy hairs. As you can see from the photo above, it did remove most of the fine hairs on my arms. On my legs, I could still feel stubble after using Silkymit. Mmm... sexy.

How long does it take for the removed hairs to grow back?
Almost immediately. It's very much like shaving an area.

Will you recommend Silkymit?
No. My friend raved about it but personally, it doesn't do it for me. Not worth the risk of breaking my skin and the possible burning irritations.
Moreover, the hair grows right back.
I would rather shave.

Sexy :D


// ♥

Gorgeous Kate Hill Parisian Necklace

Hello my lovelies!

I have returned from Perth and now suffering from the time difference. MEH.

Fortunately, I am able to get today off but I basically wasted it lazing around and doing some house chores.

Anyho, since my return, I have been shopping hard! :D

I scored a bargain on this really pretty necklace from Kate Hill, the 'Paric Necklace'.

I don't usually like gold-coloured accessories but this was a rather bright gold so it didn't look too old-fashioned.

There are a few charms: the Effiel Tower, a ring, a coin, a four-leaf clover, a lace bow and an opaque square white bead.

Look at how shiny it is! *O* 

It was retailed at A$22.99 but I bought it on sale for only A$9.99 (because I'm a real cheapo, I can't really justify spending A$23 on a necklace for myself)

This photo shows the most true colour of this piece.

You can get your own here for A$9.99 too ;)

Kate Hill website: Paric Necklace

// ♥

Review: Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara

After a few failed attempts, I have found an amazing mascara!! *prances

I present to you.... Maybelline's Colossal Volume Express Mascara (Waterproof)!

*thunderous applause

The brush of this mascara is massive, hence the name 'The Colossal'!

Look at the number of bristles there are on this huge brush!

Compare it to these other two mascara I've used: Revlon 3D Extreme, and LelanVital Extreme Lash.

I've read somewhere that Revlon do not carry good mascaras at all. And it's true. Revlon 3D Extreme was so disappointing. 

It was very clumpy and gave me panda eyes two minutes after I've put it on! 

The brush was easy to use though.

LelanVital's mascara is pretty good. I have used it for about two years now and loved it as it did not smudge at all! The brush is pretty average in size so it's easy to use.
However, its place has officially been taken over by Maybelline's Colossal Mascara ♥.

This is truly a great mascara. Maybelline makes great mascaras. I used their 'Full n Soft' mascara for a while and was impressed by it.

I know, I know, I've been going on and on forever, and you haven't seen any results yet.

So on with the obligatory 'before' and 'after' shots!

 *please note that the mascara is not the actual size, i just photoshopped it in with my awesome PS skills!

Pretty awesome huh?

Pros: 

• Curls are held all day long
• It doesn't clump
• It easily fans out lashes to give you the wide-eyed look
• It definitely adds length and volume to your lashes
• Cheap! It retails at approximately A$18. I actually got it for about A$11 during a sale, which is even better! Woo hoo!
• People actually notice the difference! Some of my colleagues have asked why my lashes suddenly look so long and thick! MUAHAHAHA!

Cons: 

• As mine was waterproof, it was quite difficult to remove at the end of the day. Perhaps I have to get a better eye make up remover?
• The brush is quite large, so I ended up smearing a little on my top eyelid while coating my eyelashes. That being said, it's easy to fix; just use a business card and hold it against your eyelid (behind your lashes) as you use the mascara

I was actually standing in Priceline, debating on getting either Maybelline's Lash Stiletto or the Colossal for a while. I ended up getting the Colossal because it was on sale (I know. I'm cheap.)

As I went to pay for it, the lady behind the counter said that I made a wise decision as the Colossal is an amazing mascara. She turned around to her colleague to tell her the same thing. Her colleague exclaimed, "Yeah, I know right? I'm using it right now! :D"

At first I was like, 'well, they are salespeople, of course they'd say stuff like that'.
Tell me, how many times has some sales assistant said to you "oh heavens no sweetie!! Your bum doesn't look big at all in those jeans!" yet the minute you wear them out, people comment that you've gained weight?
MEH.




Anyway, I'm really glad I bought it.
I totally love the Colossal to bits! ♥



PS: Why is my chatbox being hijacked by bots(?) trying to promote random websites?! >=(


// Will update soon ♥

Lazy sundays & Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens

Ahh.... it's a gorgeous Sunday afternoon :D

The weather has been miserable overall these few weeks but today... today is just lovely. I feel like running outside and bask in the warm sunlight! ♥


It's one of those days where you just want to do nothing and laze around all day.

Almost ;)

Lucky for you, I will post a short blog and THEN laze around all day!!





Since I've been obsessed with dolly-wink inspired nail patterns, I went out to purchase the Sally Hansen nail art pens!

SALLY HANSEN NAIL ART PENS

I bought two; black and baby pink which were retailed at approximately AU$13.00 each. Not exactly cheap. Bought these two from the Priceline in the city!

So armed with the black nail art pen, I tried my second attempt at Dolly Wink inspired nails.

Looks like a pretty decent attempt. I was able to create fairly clean lines and intricate details; such as the "lace trim" on my fourth finger!

Now, the bad bits....

You really MUST wait till your base polish is totally dry otherwise the felt tip of the pen can easily scrape through. Even then, you have to be careful when applying a top coat because it can cause the 'art pen' polish to run and smear.  Eeeek!

Sadly, I am unable to duplicate the patterns on the nails of my right hand because like most of you out there, I am NOT ambidextrous.


Right hand...

Definitely not as great as the patterns on my left hand.

I was not able to create anything decent at all so in the end, I used a paperclip to make my designs but umm... as you can see.. I failed badly.

So all in all, the nail pens are still better tools than a toothpick/paperclip to draw but in my humble opinion, I wouldn't buy them again  :|

Okay. Going to laze around now!

pic source: http://sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com/

 

Will update soon!

Sasa shopping haul

Can't stand the extra large youtube clips anymore.

Gets in the way of everything!

Am down with a cold!

BOOOOOOOO!

I think the worst is over and I'm beginning to get better :D

Hurrah!

Anyway, let me tell you about my Sasa shopping haul!

I loooooove Sasa. I wish there's one in Melbourne! There are so many in Hong Kong.. sigh.. good thing I am going to go to Hong Kong again soon!

I couldn't wait till then so I made my order online.. my third order btw.

Me thinks that there are just some things that you just can't find in those Sasa stores? Not sure whether they are only available online or I just don't look hard enough.

My items arrived so quickly this time!! Took about a week for my purchases to arrive.

Thank you Mr. Postman!

Here are some of the things I purchased this time around:

The oh-so-cute dolly wink eyelash case!

There are two compartments to separate your eyelashes from bottom eyelashes or if you're like me and don't use bottom eyelashes; you use them to separate your lash glue from the eyelashes

My current Shiseido eyelash curler is looking rather well used so I purchased another. I love this product; fits most Asian almond-eye shapes well without pinching *Ouch!

Also got this three-eyeshadow holder case. 

Was quite disappointed with it because it looks really cheap in real life. BAH! I plan to glue on a mirror onto the lid to improve it...

Juju Cosmetics Aquamoist cream because I needed a rich moisturizer at night. 

A brief review:

This cream is definitely moisturizing, but I don't like the fact that it leaves my face feeling a little sticky. Oh wells. As long as my face is well-hydrated during these cold dry winter nights, right??

Odango bun metal comb!

Unfortunately my hair is too layered to use at the moment. MEH.

Instructions on the back of the package

I wanted to get it because it's a relatively quick and easy way to achieve the cutesy high bun (otherwise known as the "odango bun") as demonstrated by Cheesie on cheeserland.

Cute huh?!

Dariya magic hair sheets! Two sheets per pack.

My housemate got one and used it. At first I was like wtf is in your hair?!

Now I know how awesome it is! If you hate clipping your hair back and ending up with wonky hair afterwards, you should definitely get this!

Each sheet is approximately 6 x 10 cms

Like my cute polka-dotted nails??

They are thin and flexible. There are tiny fibers at the bottom of the sheet that grip your hair in place.

Ew. Just realized that the picture on the right looks like a giant pink millipede on my hair >_>

Don't let that put you off though!

These sheets are cheap and awesome! Of course, you can't wear them out... otherwise people will keep coming up to you to tell you that there's a big, fat sheet of paper stuck in your hair. LOLOLOL!

Okay, I should go back to into my warm bed now.

Just one last thing:
GO SPAIN!!!!!

//♥

Barbie Big DM23 Circle Lens Review

I apologize, I know that I owe you this review for a while now *shifty-eyes

Well, you should know by now that I procrastinate. A lot.

But also know that I keep my words!! *prances

I get things done... eventually.

Ahem.

Barbie Big DM23 Circle Lenses Review

Now, circle lenses are lenses with a large dark outer rim to create an enlarged iris effect. They also make your sclera (the white bit of your eyes) appear whiter due to the iris being much more defined.

Comparison: Left side with the lens, right side without any.

The diameter of these lenses is 14.5mm!

Notice the very obvious enlarging effect @__@

The only problem with circle lenses is that those with smaller eyes can look a little alien because the lenses cover too much of the sclera.

When I first put them on, I thought I looked very odd. For some reason, Josh seems to think it looks good on me and he likes these lenses on me best.

Although they look rather orange in their glass vials, they are quite natural looking as they blend well with my brown eyes.

Lenses in different lighting:

Indoor next to a window (left) and Bathroom (right)

Again, I purchased these lenses from pinkyparadise.com 

*picture and details taken from website

 Item details

Brand : Barbie
Diameter : 14.5mm
Water Content : 38%
Base Curve : 8.6mm

Comfort:
These lenses are quite comfortable, I could wear them for up to 4 hours without a problem. However, I do find that they don't fit my eyes well so sometimes I feel that they lag a little bit when I move my eyes. They are still better-fitting than my Grey Storms!


Other effects:

Definitely much more enlarging than the Storms and my Adult Greys with its 14.5mm diameter

They are quite natural-looking as they are not orangey-brown like some lenses. They can look a bit scary close-up when you're outdoors in the sun but otherwise, they look great indoors and in pictures (flash or no-flash!).

I've gotten used to seeing myself with circle lenses now but I still don't wear them very often.
I do think that circle lenses give their wearer an instant 'cutesy' look.