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It’s been a while since I last made a video! Today, it’s about something special – my new, favourite skin care tool! A facial cleansing brush that does the job well without ruining your budget plans for the month! 😉
Hope this review will be helpful to a lot of you who are looking for their own facial cleansing brush. 🙂
More later.
Love,
Carol
*Product sponsored by Althea
Makeup is all about fun and self-expression in my book so I’m totally on board with L’Oréal Paris’ new name and brand direction.
L’Oréal is a trusted brand that’s been around for ages (since 1909!). I remember growing up with it and getting my first ever foundation from their brand years ago. So the rebranding actually came as a surprise – a good one. 😉
They’re now known as L’Oréal Paris Makeup Designer. So what’s behind the longer name?
Don’t just wear makeup, design your look!
The brand is actually encouraging everyone who uses their products to exercise their freedom and self-expression using makeup. They want you to actually design your whole look. It’s 2016, after all.
As far as mineral makeup goes, I wasn’t interested in it. Ever. I was given a brand to try once back when I was working for TV and it made me look washed out on camera. Since then, I shunned the idea of going back to it.
Just a couple of years later, I find myself writing about beauty most of the time and the call of mineral makeup is back and a lot harder to resist. Maybe it was time to give it another go?
Enter Youngblood, a makeup line created by aesthetician Pauline Youngblood who has made a career for herself in Hollywood. She often encountered clients with severely traumatised skin (damaged by aesthetic treatments or harsh products) that took months to go back to normal.
Variety.
For people that are going through a healing process for their skin, there are very little makeup options available. So Pauline began working with chemists to come up with a line of cosmetics that are gentle enough even for the most sensitive skin types.
I’ve been a nail biter from the age of 3 till right about a few months before I turned 24 which basically means I’ve been nail biting most of my life. It was such a nasty habit that was too hard to break and I’m so happy that that phase is over.
I’ve been enjoying pretty nails for over two years now and I gotta say, getting regular mani-pedis is quite addictive. I love seeing how my nails are at the right length, with a straight edge and sides that are gently curved. They look so much prettier now.
Mani-pedis, when done regularly in spas and nail salons, can actually be hard on your wallet. I was enjoying them a lot, to be honest but doing them every weekend was a bit of a stretch on my budget. So last year, I decided to learn how to do my nails on my own.
In this DIY Mani-Pedi journey of mine, I found out that I love how gorgeous my nails look after a good filing. While I do file more than cut, I still haven’t developed the patience for it.
Seriously. Who loves filing for such a long time? While I enjoy doing my own nails, I do wish that I don’t have to spend so much of my time filing, buffing, and polishing my nails. It takes forever! Oh and in case it isn’t so obvious yet, I’m quite a busy girl!
That’s why when Scholl sent me their new Velvet Smooth Electronic Nail Care System, I was totally excited to try it out.
Hello, my loves. I’m back with another skin care review cos as you all know by now, I’m pretty obsessed with giving my skin some TLC.
Quite recently, this obsession became a lot more intense as my skin has been acting out. 🙁 From having dry skin for over 2 decades, I’m now dealing with something that’s so new to me – combination skin. I blame the crazy heat and the hormonal rebalancing that’s been going on. Pfft.
Just in time for this sudden skin shift, I was contacted by the people behind Korean skin care brand Sorabee to do a review on their skincare products. I was kind of hesitant at first due to my skin’s current state. However, after being given more information about the range, I changed my mind.
Sorabee‘s Balancing range promised to be suitable for any skin type – something that I’m in dire need of since my skin has been so weird. Sometimes, it’s oily and sometimes, it’s extra dry. Extreme combination skin, anyone? Ugh, can’t wait for this phase to be O-V-E-R.
The range’s products also contain marine collagen extracted from Sea Stars (star fishes) which helps in hydrating and balancing out combination skin.
Shall I walk you through the products?
Hello my loves! Today’s feature will be on the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons palette. My sister who lives in Denmark sent me this as a gift recently and obviously, I was way too thrilled when I got it.
I just want to share this quick review of the palette before moving on to a video tutorial at the end of this post on how I use this palette to make my eyes look bigger – especially when I’m wearing my glasses. 🙂 I’m nearsighted, just in case you’re wondering and lenses for my eyes, often make them look smaller.
This is my first Too Faced Chocolate palette. I know – how in the world was I able to resist the first two, right? I guess it’s because I’m more of a lipstick collector and I felt that I always have more than enough eye shadows.
Of course, after going down the beauty blogging rabbit hole, that way of thinking has now gone out the window and I find myself struggling harder to resist palettes.
Oh, and before I move on into the review, I just wanted to share with you guys that you can now get your favourite Too Faced Products via Sephora online! 😉 It’s great to have an online option, especially if you’re having a lazy day and you just want to do your shopping on your couch while you have a face mask on.
I love the sturdy, metal case of this palette. It’s great for traveling since I know the eyeshadows inside will be perfectly safe. The case is a soft pink and the lettering comes in gold and white and most of the shadows come in heart-shaped pans. Girly? Definitely.
Normally, I would go for classic or sleek packaging for makeup (except Sailor Moon makeup!) and girly-looking products usually have me thinking that they’re too kiddish for my taste but this palette has so many other great qualities that actually helped me overlook the cutesy-ness of it all.
Hello, my loves. I’m back once again with a palette review for you guys. I know what you may be thinking right now and I agree with you.
I don’t need another contouring product but alas – Tarte got to me. I recently got the Tarteist Contour Palette because I easily cave like that. To be honest, I was actually thinking long and hard whether to go for the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Blush Palette or this one. The decision wasn’t easy and there was no way I was getting two palettes in one month. I am quite disciplined with my expenses.
I know this product has been out for a couple of months in the States and in Canada but living in Asia means we are kinda delayed with some releases. Thus, this delayed reaction.
The medium-sized, round packaging is something that I love about it. The gold colour paired with the black lettering (thank goodness they didn’t go for their usual purple) also made it look classy. It’s also a bit heavy thanks to the metal base of the palette, giving it a luxurious feel to it.
The top has a gold tin foil feel with on the top but a certain bounce to it kinda makes me think of faux leather. I could be wrong though. I do find it pretty although I doubt the shine will last. Also, it’s very prone to scratches so if you’re particular about that, you’ll really have to be careful with this palette. Especially if you plant to bring it with you when you travel.
One thing I can say that I don’t like about the packaging is how the pans were positioned. Yes, I love the round palette and its size but I just find the pans too close to each other. If you’re using a full-sized brush, there is always the danger of getting some of the bristles into the other pans.
This won’t be a problem if you’re using travel-sized brushes though and if you’re careful.
Hello, my loves. Today, we’re back with another skincare review on a line that I only finished trying out recently.
I’m talking about Japanese brand Kosé’s Sekkisei line which I used right after trying out the Mentholatum Botanics range. I wanted to post this entry sooner, to be honest. But seeing as I only have one face, I do take a while in reviewing products. And I did promise you guys that you only get quality posts (that I would work hard on) in this blog, right? 😉
The Sekkisei line has been around for 30 years, this line boasts of an age-old ‘beautiful, translucent skin recipe’ that is said to be gentle yet effective in brightening and evening-out one’s skin tone.
You may remember that I got a pretty big package like other bloggers from my friend Tammy‘s community – The Butterfly Project.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBwBKPOiqfQ/
Inside the humungous box filled with balloons was the Sekkisei trial kit which is perfect for traveling. As someone who travels a lot, I really do appreciate it when companies make such sets. It makes it easier to pack and unpack when you have everything in one to-go bag.Continue reading
We’re finally done with the Paris leg of our trip and we’re now in the UK! I’m so happy about getting through my backlog, bit by bit.
Today’s post is about one of my favourite bits of our Europe trip in 2015. This happens in the middle of our London leg but I opted to write about it first due to two reasons: 1.) It will be easier to link it to different posts and 2.) The first one is something I just made up the real and only reason is that I’m just hella excited to write about this one. So prepare yourselves. This is going to be a lengthy post.
If you know me personally or if you’ve been following the blog for a while now, you probably already know that I’m a humungous Harry Potter fan. Yes, I’m a grown woman and no, I don’t care what you think. It came out when I was young, okay?!
It’s weird though how this isn’t my first time in Europe yet I only got to go to the studios during this trip. I guess timing really is one of life’s most important factors. That, and a companion (husband, in my case) willing to spend all day with you at a studio and watch you drool over things while being such an insufferable know-it-all (see what I did there?) and the ultimate fan girl.
Before I move along, I just have to thank Alvin for being such a great husband. We even marathon-ed all 8 movies prior to the trip just so he can be up to date with HP knowledge. I really can’t believe he only saw one of the movies and he can’t even remember which one! Forgave him for not reading the books though. His interests do lay in the non-fiction section of the bookstore.
Though I must say, he did look like he was enjoying himself in the studio in the end. Or… was he just humouring me?
The Making of Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour is often advertised to be in London but it’s actually in Leavesden – an area that is actually 20 miles Northwest of Central London.
We took a train from from London Euston station to Watford Junction and the journey took a little over an hour so do take this into consideration! Upon arrival in Watford, we took a double decker bus operated by Mullany’s Coaches to the studio. The bus stops right in front of the train station and is decked in Harry Potter decal so you won’t miss it. The bus ride takes about 10 minutes and will cost you GBP2.50 for a return ticket.
We booked our tickets through the official website months in advance to make sure we get slots. The studio does not sell tickets on-site. So, no walk-ins.
You will get your booking confirmation via e-mail which you can exchange for actual tickets upon your arrival. There are ticket counters right outside the studio. You also have the option to have your tickets mailed in advance to you for a hassle-free entry.
Our tickets amounted to GBP85.85 in total. The breakdown is as follows:
Adult tickets: GBP33.00 each (GBP66.00)
Paperback souvenir guidebook: GBP9.95
Digital guides: GBP4.95 each (GBP9.90)
Tip: If you’ve read most of the books, the digital guides may end up being useless to you. It’s pretty cool though. It has audio and video so you can watch some behind the scenes stuff. But it ended up being more useful to my husband. So reserve the guides for people in your group who are not that much of a die-hard fan. As for the paperback souvenir guide, get it. It’s a steal for the price and is an exclusive piece of merchandise from the studio. You can see me talking about it here at 20:30.
When booking your tickets, you get to choose what time you want to start your tour. This is the studio’s effort to do some crowd control since it can get pretty congested. I suggest you go in the morning since people tend to stay longer and the afternoons will most likely leave the studio full with all the people from the morning tours, still lingering and taking photos. Our schedule was at 9:30 and we arrived to this:
Not to worry. The line moves pretty fast. While waiting, you also get to see the cupboard under the stairs. It’s enough to get anybody who’s read the novels or seen the movies excited.
You will then be ushered in to a theatre room where a message from the cast will greet you. Cameras weren’t allowed so sorry if there are no photos of that. After the short film, guests will be guided towards the doors of the Great Hall.
You can just feel the excitement in the air as kids dressed as Hogwarts students and adults who wished they could do the same and not be judged for it await for the doors to open.
Tip: Go on your birthday. They would normally pick you to open the enormous double doors and be the first to go inside.
Confession: I almost pretended like it was my birthday just to be the one to get to open the doors. Knowing that my husband may not look at me the same way again, stopped me. In the end, the privilege went to a kid dressed in Hogwarts robes with a Gryffindor scarf.
I did not scream nor run as I entered, I promise. I was able to retain my poise that’s normally reserved for diplomatic events that I attend with my husband. I was the perfect model of calm and cool until I saw these:
And that’s when I started gushing and pointing at stuff. The fake food supposedly prepared by House Elves, the costumes worn by the cast (Tip: Look for the one worn by Daniel Radcliffe while filming Sorcerer’s Stone), the utensils – everything just lives up to expectation!
Right before 2015 ended, I updated my hair colour and I’ve been getting a lot of compliments for it. Along with the compliments came the questions and inquiries so what better way to address all of that than via a short blog post? 😉
I should have posted this earlier since I did the treatment before the new year. However, time and commitments got the best of me yet again. *excuses*
As most of you might know by now, I decided to take the plunge last May and get my full head of hair coloured. Prior to that, I only experimented with my fringe back in my university days where I went from blue to pink to purple.
The change last May was pretty drastic since I went from dark brown to bronde. It was a big change yet I loved it! Here’s a little throwback:
https://www.instagram.com/p/4_21CTCqaT/
I had a great run with my bronde hair and the honey-toned highlights that accentuated my curls like no other.
However, we all know that at some point, you have to update your colour as regrowth can get the best of you. Andy Ho did a great job on my first colour and it took months before my regrowth became noticeable. I loved how my hair was so low maintenance especially during our Europe trip last August. It looked great without having to put too much effort.
For our trip to Japan for New Year’s, I wanted something a little bit more cool-toned to go with current temperatures in Tokyo and Nikko so when EVO invited my friend Samia and I for a hair colouring session, I just couldn’t resist.
Before I get into detail about the colour and the procedure, let me just show you the ‘before’ photo of my hair:
