Author

Carol RHM

in Beauty & Fashion

Beauty: MAC Dark Side Lipstick (Holiday 2015 Magic of the Night) Review + Swatches

November 10, 2015

I know, I know. I said I’ll post some things up that aren’t about beauty. But when I checked my beauty backlog, it was horrendously long and I knew I just had to do something about it. By that, I mean start posting the reviews.

I’m having a hard time writing and editing some posts that will go into the ‘Diplomatic Incidents’ category of this blog recently. You know how delicate some of the topics might be. But I’ll get to that soon. I promise. Right now, I’m having a bit of trouble with writer’s block.

So to cure that, I’m going for something lighter – a beauty post.

So I guess it’s no news by now how I was so giddy a couple of weeks ago over MAC’s Holiday collection for this year. They’ve got tons of beautiful pieces in the collection – from the Oh, Darling highlighter to a limited edition lipstick shade called Evening Rendezvous.

I usually go for the limited edition shades when new collections pop up. So of course, some friends were expecting that I’ll get Evening Rendezvous since it was the only limited edition shade while the rest of the lipsticks were permanent but instead, I went for Dark Side – a shade I always wanted but always forget to get.

I guess it has something to do with my excitement for Star Wars: The Force Awakens or maybe just my never ending love for dark, bold, daring lips. Or maybe it’s the pretty packaging that makes the wait for me to get this shade worth it… Lots of reasons. If you’re new to the blog, you should know that even though I do love makeup, I often get told that I’m smart with my purchases. I do over think most of them, to be honest.

Also, I tried on Evening Rendezvous and took it for a walk around the mall before deciding. It’s a pretty colour but it fades so easily and not in a nice way. It only left a bit of colour on the outline of my lips making it look like I just decided to wear lipliner today and skipped the lipstick. What is this? The 80s?!

So there. Now that I have justified this purchase to my over thinking self, let’s move on to the review.

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Almost Diplomatic - Newens Tea House - Kuala Lumpur - Diplomat's Wife
in Asia, Expat Life, KL Food, Kuala Lumpur

Foodie Adventures: Newens Teahouse at Starhill Gallery

November 9, 2015

Tea is a part of my everyday life. Ever since I cured my coffee addiction, tea has been my everything – and while that may not sound like much of an improvement to some people, well, in my case… it kinda is. Even before the major shift to tea happened, I’ve been drinking it in lattes and during afternoon tea (and sometimes even high tea) as this a part of British culture that always had a special place in my girly-girl heart.

There’s just something about sitting with some of your best girls, talking about topics that range from politics to makeup while you sip on something that relaxes you as you treat yourself to a couple of sweets and sandwiches. Not to mention my love for fancy table settings, cutlery, and plates that actually play a big role in my ever so often afternoon tea excursions with friends.

Recently, my friend (and actually one of my fave afternoon tea buddies) Tammy brought me to Newens Teahouse in Starhill Gallery for a new menu item preview and we ended up seeing some of our other friends there – ShopGirl and Kelly. ❤️

Fancy tea places are kind of a fun splurge every-now-and-then for me and our last afternoon tea date at the Ritz-Carlton Lobby Lounge, left us thinking where we should go next.

Newens is the home of the original Maids of Honour tart. Its recipe dates back to the time of King Henry VIII and coincidentally, one of my favourite ladies in British history – Anne Boleyn. After the tussle with Catherine of Aragon that was followed by the creation of the Church of England, Anne married the King. She eventually had maids of honour (ladies in waiting) following her around and entertaining her in the ladies’ private chambers. One of these ladies created a tart so exquisitely delicious that Anne got the King to try it.

When the King tasted how good it was, he just knew that he couldn’t share it with others and he decided to have the lady imprisoned and only let out to bake for the Royal Court. Such a Henry VIII move if you ask me. *rolls eyes*

After the lady died, everyone thought that the recipe was forever lost but it resurfaced 200 years later when a palace cook leaked the recipe to a baker named John Billet. In 1850, one of Billet’s apprentices – John Newens – opened his own bakery and used the recipe.

Almost two centuries later, Newens Teahouse is still making the tarts based on that same recipe down to the T. And it has been loved by generations of British people from Winston Churchill to Queen Elizabeth II.

The recipe made its way out of the United Kingdom for the first time last year and landed in Kuala Lumpur – inside Starhill Gallery to be exact.

Sandwiched between Dior and Louis Vuitton, it’s hard to miss Newens. With its posh yet inviting couches and the sweet smell of tea and pastries wafting through the halls of the luxury mall. It can be quite intimidating to some but I find the servers are quite nice and welcoming.

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in Beauty & Fashion, Skincare, Video

Beauty + Video: October Favourites (Matrixyderm, Beauté FX, Dr Jart, Tarte, IOPE, Happy Skin, MAC, Star Wars!)

November 2, 2015

Hello, my dears! Sharing with you my October faves video consisting of skin care and beauty products as well as an app! 😉 Not really a techie but this app has got me head over heels. I think most of you might have already guessed what it is.

Also, allow me to just address three things before we go into the products. 😉

Hope you enjoyed it, my loves! Next post probably won’t be about beauty. I plan to write about a recent realisation I had over diplomatic life. Hope that will also interest you! 😉

Till then,

Carol

in Uncategorized

Travel: Paris Day 1 – Musée de l’Armée + Les Invalides + Napoleon Bonaparte Tomb + Eiffel Tower

October 28, 2015

Back to travel posts! Right after we arrived in Paris, my husband and I freshened up and went straight to exploring for a bit. The first stop was Musée d’Orsay.

And since it’s summer in Paris and it was about two in the afternoon, we found the longest line known to mankind.

Of course, my spirits weren’t dampened. We each have a Paris Pass! Surely, there’s a special line. Yes, there is! But it’s also equally long. *insert disappointed face emoji here 😒*

For those who haven’t heard of the Paris Pass, it’s your ticket to a lot of the attractions in Paris and includes a lot of perks and freebies too. Oh, you can also opt to get a train ticket with them that will give you unlimited Metro rides for the duration of your stay.

Some would say it’s kinda gimmicky but you actually save money and time by using it if you plan to go to a lot of museums and attractions. Since it’s the husband’s first time in Paris, we had a pretty tight itinerary so we could go to a lot of the ‘must-sees’.

Sadly, we had to skip Musée d’Orsay for this trip due to the crazy line. I really wanted to go show him my favourite Renoir which can be found in this museum. 🙁 Weird enough, we didn’t have the same problem with the Louvre. But I’ll talk about this on a different post.

We then moved on to Musée de l’Armée which is something we’re really excited about.

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France’s National Military Museum is located inside Les Invalides. A compound in the 7th Arrondissement that houses a couple of beautiful buildings that relate to the country’s rich military history. Aside from Musée de l’Armée, you can also find a couple of war monuments, a hospital and retirement home for war veterans, and even a former Church that houses Napoleon Bonaparte’s tomb. We’ll get to that in a bit. 😉

 

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in Beauty & Fashion

Beauty + Review: IOPE Air Cushion XP (Cover)

October 23, 2015

So I’m back with another review and this time, we’ll be talking about the IOPE Air Cushion XP which is one of the most popular brands in the market today – both in Korea and in other countries.

IOPE has 3 kinds of this cushion – sheer, natural, and cover. So as the names suggest, sheer provides very minimal coverage and works well in just brightening your skin, natural gives you light coverage, and cover gives pretty good coverage while maintaining the fresh and dewy finish this cushion is famous for.

I got the Air Cushion XP Cover in the shade C23 from Althea Korea. When ordering, do consider that IOPE’s shades are really light so be careful in choosing the shade for your skin tone.

At RM115 (Regular Price: RM199), the Air Cushion has 15g of product and comes with a refill that also contains 15g. So technically, you are getting a beauty product that will last you twice as long than your normal foundation or BB cream.

The compact is similar to the size of the Laneige BB Cushion Pore Control. Looking at the top surface, this compact is pretty standard in size but like the Laneige cushion, the IOPE Air Cushion XP is a bit on the thicker side so it has the tendency to take more space in your makeup bag.

Like most cushions, it comes in with an awesome sponge that applies and blends the product really well just by patting it on to the skin. No swiping as it won’t deposit the foundation properly on your skin.

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in Beauty & Fashion, Skincare

Smart Buys: Support Breast Cancer Awareness while getting Velvety-Smooth Feet with Scholl

October 20, 2015

Just a quickie post to let you lovelies know about something awesome!

I’m all for a good cause and with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, painting the town pink is something we should all be up for.

I’m sure every one’s familiar with Scholl‘s nifty contraption – the Velvet Smooth Express Pedi. Almost everyone and their mothers are talking about how it gives you smooth and baby-soft feet! 😉 But for those who need a refresher, do allow me to give you a short run through of what this device is all about along with a bit of comments here and there that will serve as my mini review. 😉

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in Beauty & Fashion, OOTD

Fashion: Trium Card Celebrates 1st Anniversary + Nichii’s New Collection

October 19, 2015

Kuala Lumpur is definitely a shopping a city. I remember telling my husband a few months ago how it’s always a problem for me to close my wallet due to all the shopping and membership cards I acquired since moving here last year. Almost every brand or store has a membership card, all promising rewards. The more you shop, the more you get out of it.

Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? You actually get more value for your money in the end. 😉

One of these membership privilege providers is the Trium Card which handles three of the most popular and affordable retail brands I’ve seen in KL (They have stores every-effing-where!)  – Nichii, Kitschen, and Dressing Paula. The Trium Card loyalty programme was actually launched last year and what I like about it is that – it’s not really a card so it doesn’t physically take up space in my wallet.

****Photo****

What I Wore: Star Wars Long Sleeved shirt from Uniqlo, Black pencil skirt from Zara, Lace-up flats from H&M, Black leather handbag from Manfield.

No, really. It’s a digital version of a shopping privilege/membership card that you can access through your smartphone. Every time you shop at Nichii, Kitschen, and Dressing Paula, you get a point for every ringgit you spend. Once you accumulate 500 points, you get a 50 ringgit voucher for your next shopping trip.

I must admit that sometimes, I forget that I am a member of one store as there’s just so many cards to remember! Having just one card to cover these three fashion brands, makes transactions easier. Plus, I can use the points I accumulated in my Trium Cars to either one of these three brands.

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in Beauty & Fashion, Hair, Video

Beauty + Video: Care and Styling for Naturally Curly Hair

October 14, 2015

I get asked about my hair a lot. So I figured I’ll just put everything in one video. Are the curls real? How do I style it? Did I ever consider straightening it?

Spoiler alert: I actually did. Once. And I’ll never do it again because I’ve grown to love my hair so much despite all the pressure shampoo commercials in Asia put on people like me! Haha! Also, have you guys seen how popular curling wands are nowadays? 😉

Most people with curly hair find themselves struggling with how to style it. I went through this when I was young and for a long while, I thought I have bad hair! Turns out, all I had to do was get to my curls better!

So without further ado, Allow me to share with you my current favourite products for my hair and all the ways I style and care for my mane!

Enjoy! 🙂

More later!

Love,

Carol

Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomat’s Wife - Wedding - Wedding Planning - Affordable - Alvin Malasig
in Diplomatic Incidents, How-Tos, Personal Musings

Marriage: How we got our dream wedding without breaking the bank

October 12, 2015
18 Comments
Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomat’s Wife - Wedding - Wedding Planning - Affordable - Alvin Malasig

Everyone at my wedding! (Well, almost! Francis, our photographer, was obviously taking the shot)

Four things: Lots of research, careful planning, friends and family who love us dearly, and a teeny tiny bit of luck

When my husband proposed on February 2013, we got into planning our wedding right away. We had a theme, a budget in mind, and 8 months to get everything in place. Sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it? But truth be told, wedding planning isn’t as bad and excruciating as some people might think. It was actually a breeze for the both of us. (I didn’t turn into a bridezilla at any point in the planning and even on the wedding day!)

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Nope. No bridezilla! Although I did cry on our wedding day – a lot.

With a husband who gets a kick out of planning along with friends and family who were ever so supportive, we got what we always wanted. A very classy (if I may say so myself) and intimate wedding with just our closest family and friends where we were able to talk, laugh, and mingle with everyone which made everything just oh-so special.

Plus, we were also able to go on a honeymoon in Singapore and Bali within the wedding budget! How much did everything cost? Php 250,000 (Conversion rates: MYR1=Php11.04, EUR1=Php51.92, USD1=Php45.69)! Which is basically unheard of in the Manila wedding circuit these days.

**In case you’re looking into having your honeymoon in the Philippines, you can check out this post by Honeymoon Backpackers!**

Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomat’s Wife - Wedding - Wedding Planning - Affordable - Sofitel

In fact, someone who writes for a wedding magazine found out about our wedding, saw the photos, and was eager to write about it for a feature on intimate weddings. However, when I told him how we did everything by ourselves and how much money we saved by not going through planners and all the people in the wedding business, he told me he couldn’t write about it anymore. Why? Because the magazine will lose advertisers. 😛

So I won’t go into detail about everything as this is not a timely wedding guide anymore since it was two years ago. But I hope what you read here will be great advice to anyone who’s in the planning stage! 🙂

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