Skin Food Pedicure Sparkle (Nail Polish)

Okay, I admit, I bought this because I saw another blogger wearing their deep red (I am sorry, I lost the link, but she sure gave a positive review.) It looked so nice, has a good review, and is cheap.

I have walked into Skin Food a good number of times because of the pretty glass bottles their skincare comes in. I have tested their famous salmon tone concealer and corrector, but because of the exorbitant price (in my opinion because I feel that I can get better skincare products elsewhere), I've never bought anything. And this is my first purchase from them!

I will just talk about their service in general first... ... Pretty good across Singapore, since I walked in and out empty-handed so many times. The sales assistants (SAs) are always friendly enough to test the products on me, and do not look condescendingly at me, even when I dress down a bit. I can't say the same for fellow Korean brand, The Face Shop. TFS's standards are not uniform, and certain branches (like Bugis's) has a lot warmer treatment. Most of them do not care much about me when I step in.

The other Korean brand, Etude House, is stricter on service, and always better than Skin Food and TFS. It may also be because of their small presence in Singapore, while both TFS and Skin Food have many more branches to take care of.

I personally am still very fond of Nature Republic, even though I've found out that their skincare contains quite a bit of ingredients that I don't like, like alcohol and mineral oil. I stick to cosmetics.

Skin Food Pedicure Sparkle (Nail Polish)

Available: Skin Food, $7.90 (for this range, the red one is $4.90 I think)

Volume:

Star Properties: Super sparkly.

Packaging
Not particular with the bottle, just standard glass that nail polishes comes in. All I can say is that the shape makes it hard for me to grab it for the photo! hahahaha.

Brush
I like the brush. It's fat and soft enough to do the "3 steps paint finish" motion that I've been raving about since I watched MissChievous. Now, I think quite a lot of brands actually have good enough brushes to do this, other than OPI and M.A.C. Rimmel Lycra Pro is still the best for this technique though.


Paint
The paint is slightly thick and a little streaky on first coat because of the sparkles inside. However, the full colour comes out smooth and ultra bling when I did the second coat.

In my opinion, to use this nail polish effectively, you either dip A LOT (don't swipe the brush by the side of the bottle), and paint it one shot, one coating, or you swipe by the side, paint thinly first and must do a second coat. This is because if you keep trying to obtain a uniform coat with a little bit of paint (after swiping), it's not very possible. You will get fed up trying to even the paint out, and it will dry up and peel off, then you have to reclean your nails. Bottomline is that this polish needs to be applied rather thickly to prevent streaks because of the sparkle content. So don't worry if first coat is ugly, or fail to cover your whole nail. It really doesn't matters.

Results
I am liking the results a lot. The shine is higher than my Nature Republic one. Looks very perfect. I will try my red one (which is the cheaper one) next, and post it. =)

Price
Not a bad bottle for something under $10.

Rating: 4.5/5
I think I still prefer the Nature Republic one due to ease of application, over looks.

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L'oreal Elseve Smooth Intense Anti-Frizz Conditioner *NEW Improved*

I have been rather busy with household chores, did a lot of grocery shopping, cooking, washing, and there is the choked basin for me to settle right now, a couple of shirts to iron, the toilet to clean, and weekly floor mopping to complete. Then there is the gym to go to and swimming. lol.

However, I've not forgotten about this blog, and have not forgotten to wash my hair. hahaha.

I've read a couple of reviews on the L'oreal Elseve Nutri-Gloss range (the pink and green one), but have not yet seen any on the anti-frizz. It feels like I am the only person with frizzy hair problem. :P

L'oreal Elseve Smooth Intense Cream Conditioner *NEW - for Frizzy, Dry and Rebellious Hair

Available: Supermarkets, Pharmacies

Volume: 400ml

Star Properties: Patented Nutrileum + Silk Protein = Anti-Frizz for 48 hours 

Nutrileum + Silk Protein. =) The magical ingredients.

(Pardon my profession obsession as I feel that I need to point out something, there is no such thing as capital 'H' for hours, as printed on the L'oreal bottle. The Standard International unit for hours is just a single small letter 'h'. No such thing as hrs, Hrs, hr, Hr, etc, not even Hours. One either spells out the unit like I did, "hours", or use an 'h'. It has to be in small letter(s).)


Packaging
I like the way that they stand the conditioner with the dispense hole down, because this makes the bottle more stable, and whatever is inside will stay down by gravity, and close to the dispense hole. I've always had a little bit of packaging problem with L'oreal because their shampoos have rounded caps, and when the shampoo is going low, it's not easy to balance the bottle upside down... ... Plus, the bottle is of rather good quality, so squeezing it is a pain in the hands.

Liquid
If I do not remember wrongly, the old version is a lot thicker. This new version is more towards liquid than cream, much thinner than your standard conditioner, which can be quite chunky. It flows out readily with a light squeeze. (haha, I accidentally over-dispense yesterday! So much came out, don't know where to apply.)

Results
I am really super satisfied with the results. I think this will make a good choice for those whom Asience doesn't works on. This is my current best conditioner. I remember saying byebye to the older version of the Anti-Frizz range, because as much as it did help my fried hair (from too much rebonding), it did not last me 24 hours till the next wash. But when I discovered Asience, it (especially the Treatment) lasted me 1-2 days. And then Pantene Clinicare came along, and I found Clinicare to be better. Now, I think New L'oreal Anti-Frizz is better than of them! lol.

In any case, L'oreal's hair products have always been pretty effective for many people, with their long history and deep research. =) So kudos to L'oreal for doing it once again!

Rating: 5/5

PS: My bro is quite into hairstyling right now, and I just recommended him the L'oreal Elnett. I need to grab that to review too! hahaha. Seen so many raves, I hope it's not another over-hyped product. So yea, till the next review, see you. =)

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Biovalley Shampoo - Alpine Mint & Herbal Leaf

I've just finished my first set of Pantene Clinicare after a good 6 months. It seems that the moisturizing range does not works so well on me after I curled my hair, so I was in fact looking forward to switching shampoo. I am so glad the random pick of Biovalley from a random beauty store is paying off! I really like this a lot.

My new shampoos! Love trying new things. A bit sick of the standard commercial ones like Pantene and L'oreal.

Alpine Mint & Herbal Leaf - For Oily Hair and Itchy Scalp

Available: Carrefour M'sia, RM18.90

Volume: 500ml

Star Properties: With conditioner. Cooling, nourishes hair, and for sensitive scalp.

Ingredients list:

Water, Alpine Mint Oil, Piper Betle L and Sea Salts are the first! Good shampoo.

Directions:
Leave foam on hair for 1 to 2 minutes to relief headaches.


Packaging
This comes in a short, fat, and steady, dark green bottle with tick-tiak open up cap, much like The Body Shop's. I reckon the dark colour of the bottle is to protect the ingredients, because this shampoo looks really natural.

Dispense
Unlike The Body Shop's products, which normally requires squeezing (and very hard squeezing, imo), even when brand new and full, Biovalley flows out readily from the one hole of the cap. So I am really happy with how it comes out. =)

Shampoo Properties
I can't smell any fragrance, which is good for those who are sensitive. It's a transparent flowy liquid that foams very, very well.

Cleansing Power
Excellent! Probably the best cleansing power I've used in my life. The standard Pantene, L'oreal, Asience, Dove, etc, somehow don't cleanse as well. Maybe too much silicones, so it always leaves me with that smooth but not squeaky clean feel.

I was pretty surprise to find out that this foams so well given that the laureth sulfate (surfactant) is not that high on the list. And in fact, the nourishing ingredients are top 3. Good product here. =)

Spa Properties
I just love multi-purpose products that actually work! And this is one of them. I am so in love with the mint from this shampoo, that even though it says to leave it on for that therapeutic effect when you have a headache, I basically leave it on for at least 1 minute everyday whether I am having a headache or not!

I now understand why people had raved about the Mint Blue Shampoo of Body Shop. But I'd like to caution anyone who is tempted to buy that but haven't already dump their money in - DON'T BUY. TBS's mint shampoo is total rubbish, and both my SO and I hate it to the core. What a horrid waste of money. There is no mint sensation at all, and the shampoo is so thin, unspreadable, and has the worst cleansing power ever. Horrid horrid. (The old formula may have been good. But I rushed down to buy the re-launched that time, and I totally regret it. So much for believing the hype.)

Results
Besides clean hair, I must say, the mint therapeutic powers are fantastic. My headache was gone on the first day I used this. And now, it's just normal spa and maintenance, and comfort for me. LOVE this!

However, perhaps because of the powerful cleansing as well, this leaves my hair very dry. So a separate conditioner is a must.


Pricing
At about SGD 8.60 for 500ml, I feel that this is very reasonable, since I always use more commercial brands like L'oreal, Asience and upwards. I find that anything costing less than that does not gives me the smooth effect that I want. In fact, I find this a little bit more economical, but like I said, it really does not gives me that smooth effect. I figured that it is still good enough if I follow-up this with my favourite hair conditioner.

However, that's probably because I have damaged hair from all the funny things I've done like rebonding and dyeing. My mum's hair is better than mine even though she uses really very normal shampoo and no conditioner.

Rating: 4.9/5
It does not really comes with a conditioner as it claims. Leaves my hair dry, so I need to enhance the good cleansing effect and spa properties with a separate conditioner.

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M.A.C Prat-A-Papier Collection

Instant Chic (Sheertone Blush)

Volume: 6g, $35

The colour payoff of this one is okay, I lightly swipe about 3 times with a standard blush brush to get this much colour on. It may look a little bit light, but it is actually just nice in the mirror.

At this intensity, Instant Chic gives me a shy flushed face, quite pink. Comparatively, something like Sugarbomb gives me a natural inner glow kind of flush, with quite high illuminating effect and highlight.

Instant Chic is more matte looking, with no illuminating effect.

So if I want super natural look, I would still go for Sugarbomb, but if I want the blush to be obviously a blush, I would use Instant Chic to create the cuteness of being shy and flushed red on the cheeks. =)

Coral Crepe (Paint Pot)

Volume: 5g, $33

 Paint Pot only, no primer, no other eyeshadows.

Again, this is a coral pink. It actually looks like the cream eyeshadow version of Instant Chic. hahaha. And speaking of which, Make To Order Lustre Lipstick is quite the lippie version of coral pink, and basically looks exactly like Instant Chic and Coral Crepe in terms of colour.

Quite funny, because I feel that coral don't go all together on the face. When wearing pink, it is advised to wear all pink, eyes pink, blush pink, lip pink, so as to balance the intensity. But for coral, coral colour is more for just substituting/completing the look, if you have no idea what else to put. Having coral eyes and cheeks and lips is just strange.

But my conclusion for paint pot, being a first time user, is that this is good!!! So easy to apply with my fingers, and last whole day for me, perhaps because of my drier skin... ...

I could even vary the colour intensity and create gradient with this, because one rub of the finger only picks up a bit, since the paint pot is really quite dry rather than wetter and cream. This means that it is possible to build up colour as you like it.

It would be good to make a mental note of where exactly you'd like to lend your finger on, because the paint pot is non-smudge!! Probably have to clean off with Q-tip if I had made a mistake.

Yup, I am on to the Paint Pot fan club. Not really exactly smitten, but I now do really find it strange that some people hate this product. I guess the paint pot smudges a lot on oilier lids that's why... Hmmm...

******

Do you own a M.A.C paint pot? If yes, are you a liker or hater of it?

Also, if you have made a Prat-A-Papier haul, what are your favourites? I'd love to see it on other people. I didn't get much this collection, since I have no idea how to pull off most of the colours. haha. =)

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Chanel Le Pop Up de Chanel: 517 Mistral Le Vernis

Was eying this since I saw it on Temptalia. Uh, the temptations of Temptalia. Some times better to not know about a launch. I am starting to think that Chanel's products are good! As a matter of fact, both Rogue de Coco and this Mistral are worth every penny, even though some say Mistral has easy dupes are has close enough colours that you really don't need this.

Le Vernis Nail Colour in 517 Mistral

Available: All Chanel counters, $35 (I like to get mine at Tangs because of the Tangs Card.)

Volume: 13ml (Quite a big bottle that last a while for me.)

Star Properties: baby petal pink with champagne micro-glitter It goes opaque in three coats and looks kind of squishy on. I had no issues applying this shade–standard fair for Chanel in Temptalia's experience.

Looks

This comes packed in a typical black, just-fitting paper box, with the iconic gold rim around the bottom, that writes all the ingredients and such. Upon opening, it's a rectangular bottle with square cross-section, quite big, holding 13ml of polish.

I was quite silly, being a first-timer to Chanel's polish, because I tried to turn the square cap off, when it really was just a cap-on cap. As can be seen, the screw cap is inside after pulling up the square cap.

Brush

A little bit small. It couldn't do the 3-steps method. In fact, quite a lot smaller if you have OPI or Rimmel Lycra Pro. However, the paint retaining power is quite good, since such a small brush can hold enough on a single side (brush off one side against the bottle), to paint a whole coat on my short nails. So not bad!

Cutting is also very evenly straight, and no fly-aways from Chanel, expectedly.

Paint

The paint is streaky. It doesn't really spreads and settles outwards. Had a challenging time trying to paint an even coat, especially for the first coat.

Quick Dry

This is really quick dry! I think a wee bit faster than OPI. The moment I finished my 10th finger, the 5 on the other hand are FULLY dry. Pretty amazing. I could do the 2nd coat immediately.

Application

This MUST be applied very thinly, otherwise by the time you get to opaque, which is 2nd to 3rd coat, depending on how thick your first coating was, it will sort of not dry so well, and can be pricked off really easily. I had to redo my right thumb because my left hand is a bit handicapped at applying nail polish thinly and not-streakily.

Colour

Fantastic! I love this colour so much. It's just he right shade of pink that is sweet and youthful, but not shouting-out bright. It also suits my skin tone and colour well. The toned down manner of the pink makes it quite suitable for very normal days at work or school. Noticeable but non-offensive. There are similar colours around, especially in OPI, but I feel that it's hard to get this exact same tone that will fit my skin, since pinks are generally disasters for me.

Overall rating: 4.25/5
Not a must, but really nice to have if you can afford it right now, since this is a limited edition. Just for the colour, because I don't quite like the way the paint is quite uneven and streaks slightly.

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Just A Little Update: on my day today

I am saying this after I've done the photos and review for Revlon's Colourburst lipstick, and GOSH Darling, at the same time (still not the time to post it). But after that day of writing for it, I've come to a conclusion that what Westerners rave buckets about, more often than not, do not suit majority of the Asians, other than fair-skinned, well-blessed individuals, like Michelle Phan and Bubbz.

So I saw Pret-a-Papier Collection by M.A.C at Robinsons today, and I tried all of them. I went down to Tangs because there is Tangs card discount, and I don't have an OCBC Robinsons. So I am just going to talk about my view of must-haves, good-to-haves, and skip, for this collection.

Must-haves: 

- Coral Crepe Paintpot

This is the same as Temptalia. The moment I saw it in her Youtube presentation, I knew it's what every makeup junkie ought to have. It's coral as it says, and we don't get true and nice coral eyeshadows everywhere.

I can't quite agree with the others that Temptalia proposes though... However, I found one really stunning one, which is Instant Chic blusher. This is just a nice-to-have by Temptalia. But when I swatched it, it look so good, it gave me that eye-pop feeling I got when I saw ParisB with Sugarbomb. Instant Chic goes anywhere, anyhow, on anyone. It's the really subtle, super natural glow kind of shade that you can't really have too much of.

Nice-to-haves: (These are the buy if you have the budget to ones... ...)
- Both nail lacquers: Brown Bag and Originality. I'd say Brown Bag over Originality if you could choose only one. Brown Bag is a brown nude, flesh-tone as Temptalia describes, good for people who like nudes and everyday wear. It's rather dark, I believe it would not exactly look nude on me, but it's nevertheless a toned down nail colour. Originality is the prom night polish in my opinion. You'd probably wear it once and dunk it, in favour of prettier pink colours you already have or probably will buy more of (pinks). Or perhaps, I should say, for students, go for Originality, for work, go for Brown Bag. LOL.

- Made To Order Lipstick: I agree with Temptalia on this. Very everyday. I think the thing about being Asian is that we get stared at if we look dressed-up. Bolder makeup, and one would be frowned upon, like a clown.

- Pret-a-papier Lipglass: A very unique dark reddish high glitter bronze... I think L'oreal Glamshine has shades with near enough effect, but this one has that intensity for you to wear lightly over brown-based lipsticks. I don't wear brown... So it's a skip for me, although it was attractive on my hand.

- Bamboo and Tissue Weight Eyeshadow: I'd choose Bamboo over Tissue Weight, because I find that we all have enough of flesh toned highlighters sort of colours. Tissue weight only if you don't already own something you like that you put in your inner corners every time. One of those colours I have that does the same job is from my e.l.f palette.

One-day-must-haves:

- Groundwork Paintpot: is a nice darker brown for crease or outer corners of eye, but is a permanent item.

- C-Thru Lipglass: is an amazing nude gloss for over your nude lipsticks. Absolute should have if you are into nude and glosses. For me, I find it a waste although I did blink my eye when I saw how pretty it turned out. I am so not into nude, and so not into browns/neutrals. I'd just make do with clear gloss or glitter gloss if I need a gloss over my nude lipsticks (which I hardly and really don't like to wear). Totally hate Revlon Soft Nude and GOSH Darling, so my review on that will be a page full of ramblings.

Skip: Memorabilia (purple) eyeshadow (easy colour to find in drugstore). Gazette Grey eyeshadow (seriously looks awful unless you know how to wear this kind of colour). Archtype lipstick (too light). And the chromagraphic pencils (unless you can find a use for it).

******

On another note, I think I've struck gold with Lavender lip colour in Etude House!! It's sold out, and I only know of it now... =( Serves me right for totally disregarding Etude House's presence. The moment I saw it, I just feel it's better than any M.A.C (including the one from Liberty of London), and better than the true lavender from Lime Crime.

I can only lem for it by trying the tester on my lips, since there is still a bit of the tester left. =( Sold out.

 Lucid Darling Fanstastic Rouge, credits to Gleaming Skin (I have not bought from them, so I am not sure if they work.)

I only put a little bit. Super nice colour. Nice to have a lavender colour that does not have clashing undertones with yellow skin.

I was so surprise to find a lavender colour from an Asian brand. We don't seem too crazy about Fuschia and Lavender, like the West is.

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FOTD - The Dior Without Dior (Failed)

I am liking the looks for Dior's latest series of ads, for Diorshow Extase and Dior Addict Ultra Gloss. I really am somehow not attracted to Dior's products... Even the famous eyeshadow doesn't comes off amazing when I tried to swatch it, not the soft, pigmented feel. But I keep thinking about the Ultra Gloss because of the look I think, so I just want to try and reproduce it without Dior.

 Lipstick gone. And panda eyes... Wahhh... ... And I didn't realize until I feel that people were giving me weird looks.

The pink is nice. I didn't know pink could be so super wearable and enhancing on skin above NC20! haha, I think I put too much white highlighter on the brow bone. Looks exactly like wayang. (The thing about UDPP is that it makes it sooo hard to clean off if I overdid, but it enhances colour sooo much, I can now wear all the Majolica Majorca eyeshadows that I keep complaining about (because they are too sheer, and never ever shows up for me). Next time I shouldn't keep applying the UDPP all the way up!

But otherwise, Pink (outermost) - bronzy copper - beige peach is totally awesome!

At I think I did the white at the inner corners really well this time.

The worst part I did was to use quite a dark purplish red wine colour to do the lower lids as well. =( Still trying to make that bottom out line without black, as I see in Dior. This colour really does highlights my eyes, in the sense, I could even see that I look like panda eyes in the MRT glass doors! Horrible. LOL.

Really have to try this again. The pink is lovely. (It's from Majolica's pink palette that I hate. I hate the blue one even more. Tried to do YSL Spring Look with that. hahaha.)

Hmmm, I think everything in the ad has a lot more purple tone. Shall find darker shades on my next try!

If I can do it, then I will stop thinking of Dior Ultra Gloss. ^^

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Maybelline Colour Sensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolour

*phew* what a long name that is to say in one breath. Sometimes I don't really understand why these companies bother to make so much effort to give a really, really long name, because I honestly only remember the products by colour. So I'd probably tell something along the line of, "you know that new red lipsticks by Maybelline? The one with so many shades (48 captivating ones to be exact), and is divided into coral, pink, red and nude?"

haha, so I just managed to describe to you what Colour Sensational is. A bit redundant since the advertisements are appearing all over TV and magazines, and if you read a myriad of beauty blogs, you'd probably seen many doing swatches, reviews etc. Plus the fact that Maybelline apparently sent out 4 lipsticks, one from each colour range, to a number of bloggers, to do whatever they want with it. Colour Sensational is sure getting a lot of publicity.

The reviews have been pretty good, and they actually made me picked up another stick, on top of my first one. So now, guilty me has two. LOL. Both bought within 7 days of each other. (It just so happened that after I bought the first one, the blog reviews rose!)

I procrastinated on Colour Sensational for quite long, simply because I really, really, really am not fond of the colour red. I do not want to own a red body lipstick, and I do not hope that I have a red item to add to my holy grail or makeup pouch.

I also managed to stop myself from buying because I had been just too confused. I am not that kind of person who can say, "oh, I only want this, and like this, nothing else is going to catch my eye", and then zoom straight for that red red. As Geminis tend to be, we will be so wowed by the plethora of colours, that we end up unable to make a decision, because they really all look so nice and really all look as if they are going to suit you. (Seriously, I think makeup addicts all face this problem, it's not just Geminis for that matter.)

I finally decided on getting a pink, and upon some quick swatching, I picked Pink Petal by gut feeling.

Later on, I decided that Pink Petal yellows my skin even more, and went back for another, picking Pink Peach, as it looks like a baby pink, and I do not think I have quite the baby pink baby pink yet... haha.

So I guess, at the very affordable lower end drugstore pricing for a lipstick, you'd like to know what made me repurchase, and if I would re-repurchase. Was it a spur of the moment? Or is Colour Sensational really worth you running down to pick a colour right now? I'd advise to read on carefully, as this really depends, and the Colour Sensational is not all that good for a summary/spoiler.

Maybelline Colour Sensational in M31 Pink Petal & P32 Pink Peach

My two. Do you think the tube colour looks a bit different? I know it's different for nude, coral and red, but within range, not too sure if different shades all have different colours. Maybe just a manufacturing inconsistency... ...

Available: Watsons, Guardian, John Little etc, $15.90

Volume: 1 stick

Star Properties: Sensational moisturization, formulated with Hydra Nectar that moisturizes lips up to 8 hours. Sensational colour that is richer for luscious and voluptuous colour. SPF 15 sun protection.

Packaging
Yes, no plastic wastage. hahaha. Hence the affordable price.

However, I don't really like the rough surface of the red coating even though it looks smooth with a shiny sheen. Not nice to feel. haha, but can't ask for too much at this price.

Colour
I find that the colour that goes on to my lip, even if I apply directly from the stick, is not as true as I see. It's kind of a bit lighter... ...

Pink Peach on the left, and Pink Petal on the right.

I did manage to capture the true colours of the lippies for both. So yup, pink peach is indeed peachy pink, but Pink Petal (which I have no idea why they call it pink petal), is definitely a red, more like another rose shimmer.

I have done the swatch, because it turns out a little bit different on my lips.

Pink Peach at the bottom, and Pink Petal on top.

Quite obvious that Pink Petal tilts toward the tinge of red wine kind of colour, I am matching it with dark pink on the colour palette. While Pink Peach is so different from the stick, being more of a metallic pink pink to me.

Rating: 3.5/5

Pigmentation
This is, in my opinion, okay. I wouldn't call them REALLY pigmented or something. I feel that the colour from GOSH! or Rimmel goes on a lot better. Especially since I use a lip brush, I am quite conscious of how many times I need to dab to get enough colour on my lips (and become opaque enough to cover the darkened areas).

However, they do go on very well if you apply from the lipstick directly. You'd probably find it very pigmented, and give very good colour payoff and all. But not for me.

Start of with Pink Peach on my lips... You will notice it is rather sheer and not opaque enough to cover darkened lips, which is what I feel a lipstick should do, without having for me to use a lip concealer.

Turns out not pink pink, and a lot darker than what I see on my hand and on the lipstick. A bit sad.

Pink Petal is quite a lot darker.

More like reddish, rose shimmer to me.

For both, I have layered as many as 5 times with my lip brush. However, you can get this intensity quickly on one direct swipe.

Rating: 3.5/5

Moisture
I think these are okay. Wouldn't call them drying, but not moisturizing. Unlike Rimmel, which really works like a lipbalm!

Rating: 4/5

Finish
I think Colour Sensational is also rather oily, because they need to make it moisturizing. But the way they do it, gives an oily finish, and shines a lot on my lips, not in the glossy attractive manner, but in the oily manner, so I don't really like the finish much.

Rating: 3.5/5


The Unfortunate Thing
Unfortunately, both the colours that I pick, I feel, makes my skin look too yellow. They look really good and matching when I swatched it. But when I use it at home, I find them too strong, reddish and pinkish for my skin. Both are from the Pink range. So I suggest that if you want to grab one, and have yellow undertone, please don't choose Pink Petal or Pink Peach. I guess, go for like Papaya Milk or something, which Maybelline claims suit yellow undertones better.

Overall rating: 3.8/5
Although they are pretty cheap, I'd say you can procrastinate getting it until you think you really need one particular colour from the Colour Sensational. If you ask me, most of the colours can be found in like Rimmel Moisture Extreme, GOSH!, Maybelline Watershine, and ZA, which I feel are all quite a lot better.

So just a little extra here... =)
I find that Pink Peach really, really reminds me of my Rimmel Lipstick, which I haven't used for some time. So I was like, "oh! no! Did I manage to buy an exact same colour?" And I took it out to compare, so don't waste the photos, just in case anybody is also thinking of Rimmel right now... ...

The colour I got is called Tulip Pink, No. 140.

Ah, that's my Cleo (last month's) underneath. (I just bought this month's one, have been procrastinating on it. But after reading, I think it's worth owning! Get one if you can, even though I am likely to post a couple of tips and tricks from this issue.) PS: I seldom tell people to buy mags, cos I too know how waste of money certain issues can be.

So the coloured labels already don't look the same, and tells you that Tulip Pink would be darker.

 Pink Peach on the left, and Tulip Pink on the right.

Again, Pink Peach on the left, and Tulip Pink on the right.

They are really really close when swatched, one looks like the darker version of the other, but I'd definitely say that Tulip Pink has slightly more orange, because when it goes on my lips, it matches my entire face a lot better! Both Colour Sensational are really =(((( for me, as they are more pinkish rather than orangey.

Pink Peach on the left, Tulip Pink on the right.

Now, I also can't really tell which is which, other than one is darker! LOL. But yeah, I guess the Rimmel one does have a more even finish, although I use brush for both. And Tulip Pink, though a darker shade, is actually brighter.

That's all! So much for my posting rampage because I have a little bit of free time to my last paper. I am trying to clear my stock photos! haha. (In case you're wondering if you've missed anything, no, I haven't review Rimmel lipstick officially. Just need to know that it's good, and worth it, and if you see 20%, you need a new colour, Rimmel will not disappoint you.) Think twice about Colour Sensational though! I probably wouldn't re-repurchase already.

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Battle of the Eyelash Curlers: Tweezerman LTD Deluxe Eyelash Curler

This is one of those curlers that I somehow formed a rather high expectation of, but ended up as one that I really don't feel like blogging (you know me, not good = procrastinate the post).

I picked it up together with the Tweezerman tweezers, thinking that it MAY be as good as its tweezers. I am still not ready to review the tweezers for people who have not bothered to get it online before Watsons brought this brand in. But up till now, I think they are pretty normal... Back to curler, okay, basically it's unusable. =(

Tweezerman LTD Deluxe Eyelash Curler

Available: Watsons Ion

Volume: 1 curler + free refill pad

Star Properties: It says rounded pad for intense curl.

Packaging

Have no idea why I bought it. For something not that cheap, I do expect the packaging to be more than a non-reusable plastic thingy that you tear out from the paperback... Already looks kind of $2-$3 quality actually.

The instructions at the back.

Tweezerman has guarantees to repair all their products.

The Biggest Problem
The biggest problem with this curler is that it pinches me so much I can't even close the bands! I have tried very hard, shifting positions, inching outwards etc, just so I could at least tolerate the pain for a second, and come out with a picture that at least shows the curling works, and that there is curling power.

I managed... But couldn't hold for long, since it was very irritating. This is the one and only curler that my reflex reaction tells me to blink my eye and take off the curler! I pretty much knew that I can't use it upon first try, but have finally gotten down to this day, when I decide to try again for the photos. So I am sorry, lashes only half-curled in photos. (And if you do happen to be able to use Tweezerman tweezers, don't kill me. Just comment that you can get it to work.)

I tried my best to curl.

Can see that curling and curling power wise, it actually does works.

******

I decided to proceed to find out the differences between this and Shu, and Canmake, so that I could at least tell you why this thing refuses to work on me.

Feel/Squeeze
This part basically means how it feels like when I try to squeeze the curlers, like is it loose or tight? Any resistance? Cranky or stable movement upwards?

Yup, so Tweezerman feels tight compare to other curlers. Like for the Shu, it's very lose. It pretty much falls open when you hang it on one handle. But the Tweezerman stays closed! According to my many curlers, the better ones are those that feel loose on your hand, so they open and close easily.

Curvature
The Tweezerman is very flat. Probably the flattest. It also doesn't have straightened off ends. It's like, when you try to draw a circle, you just keep continue to follow the curve of the circle, and then you cut of the sides, and that's it.

Can see the straighten off of the Shu and Canmake (black and pink rubber pads respectively). But not for Tweezerman (blue).

But no, for eyelash curlers, you can't just cut of the sides, both Shu and Canmake are highly straightened, so that when the curve reaches the two ends, they bend deliberately into a straight line, before cutting off. This is very important, as it helps the bands to sit nicely on your lids, supporting it up so that you can't go to in and pinch your lids too much. It also allows more lashes, especially the corner ones to be reached.

Above is my schematic to explain the curvatures. If I start of making curlers by modeling after a circle, I'd cut that circle off at the first horizontal line above. That would leave me with a sharp edge 1/3 circle as in the blue circle for Tweezerman, which basically stops there.

But for Shu and Canmake, I'd have to cut of the two corners to get a bit of a vertical line. For Shu, I'd have to remake my curvature to flatten it out such that it looks like I've actually cut that curve off a narrow oval shape, as in the gray oval below. For Canmake, the curve is made more curved than Shu, a little bit sharper, and pointy at the top, so that it ends in more of an egg size.

Basically, what I mean is that if you put two Shu curlers together, they did probably form a narrow oval shape. If you put two Canmake together, they did form a perfect larger oval, like an egg. But you can't really put two Tweezerman together, as it ends of sharp, so you'd form an almond shape or eye shape.

So my eyes are rounder than Shu's, but small, so Canmake makes a better fit. I suppose if one has flatter but bigger, wider eyes, one might be more suited for Tweezerman? Since that's an Western curler...

Moral of the story is to assess your eye shape based on one benchmark, most likely the Shu, and then go out to try and find something better. I actually bring my HG curler around to compare curvature when I want to buy. But Tweezerman is in the package, not a box, so I couldn't compare.  =((( For Asians, I guess, we are still better off relying on Japanese brands.

The Gap
This is one other thing that I've observed from so many curlers. The good ones leave considerable space between the rubber pad and the sidebars. Only then it wouldn't pierce your skin.

Arrow points at the gap between the rubber pad and sidebar of Canmake.

So saying, the Tweezerman has close to zero gap, and really pinches me very hard. I think other than the flat and unsupported curve lying smack on my eyelids, this is also the other factor that makes it so painful to use.

Body Construction
About the same as Shu. (Canmake IS VERY different from Shu.) I will try to find a method to explain this, as it is hard to stack two curlers on each other for photos. Might need to draw another schematic.

I was trying to hold the Shu open. As mentioned, it's rather loose, while Tweezerman stays close on its own. Quite parallel bodies and similar length. Canmake is a little bit longer, and not as parallel with the Shu.

But as of now, the schematic doesn't matters, since Canmake is so obviously different that even without counting body construction, it already wins. While Tweezerman is so bad that without counting body construction, it already cannot make it. LOL.

Opening
I posted about how Canmake touts its curler to have a wide opening, and that I don't understand how that feature would make for better curling. I still don't. But I do realize that Tweezerman has an even narrow opening than Shu!

Overall rating: 0/5

I can't use this. If any reader can work the Tweezerman, please feel free to comment. =) I have no idea. Might just be the dream curler over in the West, although most people on Makeupalley still swear by Shisedo and Shu.

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Sunday Lemming: Lacquer Luster (Mani-Pedi)

Have been reading Holly Jean's lemmings for some time. Never quite tempted to post my own lemmings until I see this:

Artwork done by staffs of Lacquer Luster.

I'd name it the Yellow to Make You Smile. =)
Mad cute rightz?

I am impressed by the intricate details Lacquer Luster can paint.

And there are more still:

Fit for Wedding

Glam, yet pure and classy enough. Just the kind of feel I like for my wedding. ^^

Yellow Blossoms in Aquamarine

Intricate carvings. Makes me feel like Little Mermaid living under the sea.

Benefit Cosmetics

This definitely reminds me of Benefit Cosmetics, Too Faced, Princepessa Beauty etc.

Sweet Gothic Lolita

I think I can wear this with a black lolita dress, with wigs and boots.

Juice My Nails

So fruitty.

I really want all these! So nice. Just resisting because I hate long nails, I know I am not very careful with my nails, and it's expensive.

Mother's Day is coming, so just in case you have a mum who likes manicure and pedicure, and you wish to treat her to one of these, might like to check this place out:

Lacquer Luster (on Facebook)

Usual Price List

Mother's Day Promotion

Lacquer Luster - the place for nail addicts.

Blk 407, Ang Mo Kio, Ave 10, #01-757

Disclaimer: Please do not quote me, as I am also seeing this on Facebook as much as you are. I am not an affiliate, not compensated or sponsored in any way. I merely find this really nice, and a lot better than those I saw in Beijing, so I wish to go there for my manicure when my reception day comes, and am right now keeping a note of it in my blog. You have the choice to check it out or ignore my post altogether. Prices are pretty standard as well.

The photo captions are given by me simply because Lacquer Luster have no names for them. However, all credit goes to Lacquer Luster, none of the pictures are taken by me.

But do come back and comment, hopefully with a picture, if you do go there! I just love looking at pretty nails. Thanks loads!

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LOTD (Camwhoring)

This is one of the looks that I really, really like a lot right now, other than the one in white-stripe black dress (that you see at the top left of my blog).

The boyfriend is not very happy with the fact that I keep pairing this dress with my straw platforms, because guys just love stilettos. But I am not letting him decide how I match my clothing. I mean, seriously, such a sweet dress can't be paired with killer heels right?

I keep reading about how Sesame of Viva Woman gets funny remarks from her husband... I also have days like these. Power to the ladies! To a certain extent, yes, females do dress up for guys, but not always. Boo! Quite sick and tired some times.

haha, obviously wasn't looking very happy, because I was testing out Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals Fonudation, Gift With Purchase from a magazine last month. And the Ivory that they give is super duper whooper light, ghostly. For Westerners, not for me. I had a hard time toning up the colour with my own foundation and my loose powder in my own shade. It didn't turn out well. Had A LOT of splotches all over my face. Couldn't even out. But I just went out anyway. hahaha.

Makeup was neutral. I was using the Nvey.Eco Palette, a new organic makeup brand at Sephora. And I have been using it for some time. Will review soon!

haha, okay, not really the point. Focus is on my dress. =)

Super like this because it's so sweet and easy to wear. Ah, the advantages of dresses... Just pull it on, go out with the right shoes. Wore this for mahjong session with bf's colleagues, so it was like meet-the-parents session. :PPP Sweetie pie dress saves me the trouble of putting on makeup.

It's like, sometimes you wear a strong dress, then have to balance out the face with a bit of makeup also. Quite irritating, because I am slow with that, and I still don't like powder. I just like the colours in makeup, that's all.

Learned this from the photographer for my studio shots.
haha, nothing much. Just camwhoring.

The platform that boyfriend doesn't likes. Rarrr. He keeps complaining when I wear boots too, cos my boots are the lower kind with wide steady heels.

Don't care. This looks very good with the dress, because it's tall! (And I am short. =( )

Anyhow, I am please with the dress, because I got it from This Fashion! So I think only $10++? And bf's colleagues also commented that it's nice.

My Clothing Tip: I shop everywhere and anywhere. As long as something catches my eye, and I feel good when trying it, I will buy, whether it's branded or not. The difference between branded and non-branded is that you have to spend more time and effort to sieve through non-branded, but this doesn't means there are no great finds at pushcarts or places like This Fashion. Whereas at Dorothy Perkins, Topshop, Zara, Uniqlo etc, you basically get assurance that every pieces is good, and all you have to do is find the design that you like, and go fit for your size, no additional worries about lousy threading, stupid cutting and such.

Like many other bloggers have posted, more often than not, practicality wins over price. And dresses like these just makes me reach for it time after time. Feeling happy and comfortable in it will walk you a thousand miles. =)

So don't hesitate to step into no-brand shops and try if something really made you do a double take backwards!

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Silkygirl Roundup Part 1: Ever Glossy Nail Colour in Copper

So now I have two on going challenges to complete... :P

I have been wanting to do Silkygirl roundup for the longest time ever, because I have quite a comprehensive set of things from this brand. And I thought, since this is the cheapest drugstore brand Singaporeans can find, it would be good to have some sort of summary as to what really can be bought, and what no matter how cheap, you shouldn't buy. Very in line with Positively Nice's philosophy as well.

So I am starting of with their nail polish, since I am wearing one of it on my nails right now, even though this is not the first Silkygirl item that I own.

Ever Glossy Nail Colour in Shimmering Copper

Available: Watsons, Guardian, $4.90 (catch the 20% discount)

Volume: 11ml

Star Properties: Lasts up to 5 days.

Packaging
Not much to rave or complain about. Just a normal rectangular clear bottle with an even more normal aluminium colour screw cap. It reminds me a lot of those $2-$4 no-brand polishes you can find in beauty "provision" shops like Ta Zhiang, Aries, May Fashion etc.

I have nothing against it, except that this design makes it quite hard for me to grip the bottle properly when posing for the photo above.

Brush
The brush is actually not bad. The shape is good, it also holds together well, with ample resistance to apply the polish without streaking. Plus it holds a nice amount of polish on each dip. The brush performs beyond my expectations, for its price.

Paint
The liquid consistency is quite watery, a bit like Sally Hansen Diamond Strength, but not as watery as that.

Colour
The first coat only gave a very sheer tint. For this, you'd definitely have to go on second time. Which brings me to a surprise, because looking at the first coat, I really did not think that the second coat would come on at all! So I was rather glad that the colour not only came out really well, it came out a very, very, very true copper as well! Quite amazing for this cheap drugstore brand.

I was wondering what copper should look like, as in will it be bronzy? Or what... And then when I saw how well this turned out, I was immediately reminded of my science subjects in school. It is as it claims, exact copper colour, as if I melted copper wires onto my nails, or perhaps, the 1-cent coin if you still remember it. Looks like right? haha.

Sticky
Unfortunately, this pretty colour that I really have not seen from slightly higher priced brands like Sally Hansen or Revlon (not sure if OPI has a copper one), finishes rather sticky. I've got nail cuts in it because it never really did settle down. Such a great pity because this is one of my favourite colours thus far because it looks really great on yellow skin, giving a youthful kick to my entire look.

Glossy Finish
Quite amazed with the quality of the sheen as well. Like it claims, this is really glossy. Serves well to brighten up Asian skin tones. I like it a lot.

Range of Colours
I am rather impressed by the selection of colours that Silkygirl offers. It is quite a large variety considering the price of this. I think this is good for very young girls that the brand is obviously targeted at. Nice job they have done.

Furthermore, besides having a high-shine finish, the colours are the mild, non-offensive kind, very wearable.


Lasts up to 5 days
I can't help but laugh at this so-called star property. I have no idea why they print this, because 5 days is short!! I want my polishes to last at least a week, best for 2 weeks or more. And OPI can last a month on my toes. Well, but comical as it looks, this polishes doesn't do more than it says. It really only lasts 5 days. So if you're like me, and want longer lasting polishes, please do not get this, else you will be complaining when the time is up.

However, this is not a problem if one likes to change polishes all the time, and would be cleaning off everything every 5 days. I guess pro or con, this aspect is really up to individual habits.

Overall rating: 4/5
I really like the colour a lot. And I think I would choose to get a better top coat to dry this out rather than banish it to the back of my shelf. Seriously, other than the sticky finish, the Ever Glossy really is very glossy, has a good paintbrush and true to its colour. So I'd still consider this venture of Silkygirl a successful one. Okay to buy although Rimmel is still the best of cheap drugstore polishes. =)

However, for staple colours like black and brown, I'd still suggest going for well-known better brands. I wouldn't buy from Silkygirl unless there's another special colour I absolutely need to have.

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Sephora Professional Glass Nail Filer - I Discovered the Secret

I remember writing that I refused to clean away my first manicure I got in Beijing, because it was so well-shaped, and that I could never get nice nail shapes when I cut my own nails.

Subsequently, I viewed and posted MissChievous's video on how to get salon-style manicured nails at home. And I also pointed out that she uses a glass file instead of the common cardboard one.

I went out to look for a glass file, and as heaven would have it, it was only days after when I shopped in Sephora, that I saw the glass file! Was it a coincidence or what?

So this thing is a good $16, but I bought it anyway. All I can say is that I am so loving it right now, I leave it on my desk, besides my laptop, and I use it every few days whenever my nail chips, to smoothen out my nails. So worth the $$$!

About the secret, yes, I found out that as long as you file your nails properly, everyone can get really well-shaped salon style nails! Quite amazing.

For people who do not put nail polish, or only use gloss, you may not notice it. But if you paint bright colours on the nails, you'd definitely see the obvious bad shape if you do not file the nails. Especially if you use nail clippers instead of nail scissors (which I do, because I am scared of scissors). And we all know that nail clippers are shaped a certain way, so you can't cut absolutely perfect curves, there will always be kinks and angles...

Angles are not healthy in the sense, they are prone to chipping and tearing off.

Scientific Fun Fact On Why Smooth Nails Are Better: (Do skip this if you don't like Science, and think you wouldn't understand and don't want to understand Science (even though I've tried my very best to use layman terms). It is boring. :PPP)
Materials are not perfect. The metal body you see on aeroplanes comes with micro defects that your eyes can't see (although the percentage defect is extremely minute such that the metal board is safe enough for use on airplanes, otherwise a lot of innocent lives will be taken, people would be scared of flights, and no company would insure air travel).

So the micro holes/cracks will wear and tear over flight time, and cracks would widen into maybe a sort almond shape or the shape of your eyes (basically a shape that has sharp, angled ends instead of a perfect circle). What engineers used to do in the 1930s, is that they would simply take a drill that's about the same size as the length of the almond shaped crack, drill in, create a perfectly round circle (even though it means making the hole bigger!), and that's it! The airplane is ready for flight again!

I know, it sounds scary now, but that was the way people worked in the 1930s- 1950s. Present day quality control have more stringent criteria, and do not advocate drilling holes to ease the cracks. Reason being, a crack does not propagates (grow) as fast if it were perfectly round without sharp edges. Hence filing is good for nails! As long as you file well, and make a smooth edge, and not try to use your nails to pry open bottle caps, the good colour and shape will last a lot longer. This is also why they advise to file in one direction and not zig zag back and forth, as that would cause ridges (which are essentially micro zig zags), that are prone to chipping.

A simple daily life experiment you may do to prove this, would be to use a hole puncher to punch a hole in a piece of fabric. And use a scissor to cut a slit (fold up the cloth) in the fabric. Try pulling apart the fabric. The one with the slit would most likely tear aaalllll the way down, while the one with the hole punched perfectly round hole would stay strong and wouldn't tear.

This theory is also applicable to your milo packets. Notice the slits? Those are for tearing (obviously). Same goes for the zig zag top of the potato chips bag. Sharp edges/slits propagate cracks and materials failure (tear), while perfectly smooth ones protect the material.

******

Yup, so now I am hooked onto glass filing. I'd file whenever my nail chips so that they don't chip further. How about you? Do you use a cardboard one or a glass file as well? What are your thoughts on nail filing? A must?

PS: I own a normal cardboard file from Jericho Dead Sea Cosmetics Nail Kit, which I find really not as good as glass.

My laptop can't connect to the phone. =((( How to upload pictures for you? I am trying. Sigh. Irritating.

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