Saturday, June 27, 2009

Mini Haul - MAC

Ok, I know I wrote 'mini' on top but that's because everyone else on the beautyblogging hemisphere seems to have HUGE hauls, I have to say, this is a huge splurge for me, I am on a serious no-buy for July, really.

Anyways, I went to the Mall very early, 9.30am to be exact and none of the shops were open, except for Starbucks and CoffeeBean. No, I wasn't THAT kiasu, I went out to run an errand and figured I might as well stop by Vivo before I return to my hostel, that way, I won't have to go out twice. I do have some stuff I NEED to get =P

Anyways, I heard that ColourCraft is out at Tangs and so, armed with my Tangs card I dropped by to have a look. To eyeshadows wasn't too appealing. I thought I might like Assembluage but in real life they all looked messy (I'm sure they have been swatched before) so I did not swatch any of them. I also checked out the MSFs after hearing so much about them but I did not really like them as they are really abit too shimmery for me and I was on the market for some more bronzey colours for contouring and to use as blusher.

An MA (Zayne, I think) came up to me and helped me with my mission. He showed me how to contour with a powder blush (Harmony) and Porcelain Pink MSF from the ColourCraft collection. He was really nice. I honestly wasn't too sure of the contouring part as its my first time but I decided to give it a go and bought both products. Most of the times, products and colours grow on me so I did not want to give up too early.

Whilst helping me with the makeover, I was so caught up with the softness of the brushes that I decided to get 2 of them (he used 3 on me). So I got #116 and #226. Initially he used another blending brush on me (I think it was #224?) but it was out of stock so I got #226 instead (I had been wanting to get a blending brush for quite some time alread). It was only when I got home that I realise that #226 is an LE brush that came out with ColourCraft and before that, with the BBR collection and quite well-loved, I guess Im lucky that way. However, one blogger mentioned that it can be scratchy but that washing it with conditioner will help things. #116 is a blusher blush which some use to put on foundation. I did not intend to get that initially but I was won over by its softness when Zayne used it to apply an overall highlighter. (I do think I am vulnerable due to the lack of sleep and homesickness o_O).

Truth is I am pretty happy with my buys though they were extremely pricey for me. They were sort of an impulse buy but I have been contemplating getting such items for a while now so, no regrets and I think Harmony can be used as a blusher too while #226 can be used as a highlighter brush for small areas on top of being a blending brush. I'm off to play with my new babies!


Prices (All MAC):
Porcelain Pink MSF - S$46
Powder Blush - S$35
#116 Brush - S$59
#226 Brush - S$47

Buy of the Day - Dior Gaucho Gloss Palette

I was at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA fr now on) waiting for my flight to Singapore and I decided to roam the pathetic selection of shops they have at the airport. Its sort of sad really, the chocolates, liquor and makeup are all sold by the same proprietor and I do believe that the price really isn't 'duty-free' as I checked out the chocolates before and they are not necessarily cheaper than what is sold outside. Anyways, that's not the point.

The point is, with RM250 in my pocket and determination to get something, anything to take advantage of the 'duty-free' prices and possibly unique palette/combos, I ran my eyes through the array of cosmetics that were sold. I considered Lancome Juicy Tubes (3 for RM 175) also but in the end decided on the Dior palette (Rm 185) as I have recently read raves about Dior Addict glosses and am curious as to how great it really is.

I came back and ran a search on the palette and turns out its a 'Limited Edition Travel Exclusive' palette Dior came up with. YEAH! I got my wish, something special from the airport, regardless of when it came out or whether the price really is cheap (but I guess I cant compare with prices elsewhere as it is not sold).

[Edit: Anyways, here are some pictures of the palette. I hope you guys can see the colours clearly. It also included a double-ended brush. They are no longer brand new when I took the pictures as it took me more than a week to get a camera (I do not have one of my own yet). After using them for a while I can safely say that this palette is a really nice one to have. It gives me colours that I would not have bought if it is sold by it self but also 'safe' colours. The glosses are non-sticky at all! I do like them. I might just get myself a full size Dior Addict gloss :)]




Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Hair on my Head

My very first post will be about my hair. Why? because it is bothering me this very moment.

I had just gone for a wash+haircut at a salon which seems reputable, selling quality products like L'oreal and Keratase but I am left with dry, tangly hair and an irritated scalp. I am usually used to slightly irritated scalp but this seems a bit out of the ordinary. I would have forgone the scalp irritation if i had silky smooth hair, even if for one day only.

I used to have nice almost stick straight hair that people would ask whether I have had them chemically straightened before (which I did not) but now my hair is almost always dry and often frizzy looking. I am so disheartened that I started using 'natural' products which does not contain SLS and random chemicals hoping to improve my scalp and hair condition. They seem to work ok, Im not sure if they help solve the problems but they definitely do not make the situation worse. Although I like the idea of going natural, it can be a bit of a expensive indulgence to maintain for a student with a tight budget like me. For the past month, I have been using Johnson's Baby Shampoo as I am back at my parents' place and do not want them to ask questions on how I spend their money. My hair is very dry but never as tangly as this.

This pretty much confirmed my suspicion that I should not go back to conventional shampoos, at least for now..

I'll probably be doing reviews or at least talk about the shampoo bars I use but that will be when I get back to school/hostel. Wait for it :)