January Beauty Haul

Though I don't purchase beauty products all the time, I think it will be great to share with you on the beauty products that I have collectively purchase throughout this month. My parents went over to the UK for a holiday, so I took the opportunity and asked them to get me some products that is not available here in Malaysia. However, it was during the holiday season so must of the stuff were out of stock, therefore it is quite a small haul :)

1. Lush Angels On Bare Skin Face & Body Cleanser

With natural ingredients like lavender, chamomile and essential oils, I love the smell of this product! The best thing about this cleanser the multipurpose function where it can be used on the face and also the body! It's to be used within 3 months, so probably I would do a review on this :)

2. Lush Soaps

Fruity & sweet scent filled up my room as I opened the packaging. One of it is called Karma and the other one is probably Miranda. Both smells amazingly good and I can't wait to use it after using up the body cleanser!

3. Real Techniques Stippling Brush

This dual fiber stippling brush  creates airbrushed, high definition results with all types of makeup. I use this mostly to apply BB cream as it gives an even application. Sometimes when applying cream blusher, I use this brush to blend the blush properly as well :)

4. Real Techniques Power Brush

Love this big, soft and fluffy power brush that applies on powder evenly!

5. Real Techniques Shading Brush

A really soft brush that is great for blending eyeshadow. I really look forward to getting my hands on more Real Techniques brushes soon!

6. Nivea Visage 3-in-1 Daily Deep Cleansing Exfoliating Wipes

Came to know about this product while watching YouTube videos. It was an ad that played for quite a long time which honestly is quite boring. However, I decided to purchase this product from Watsons as it was on sales and the 2 different surfaces of the wipes is really intriguing. Plus, I think it will be great to add another step to my makeup removing regime.

7. Soap & Glory Puffy Eye Attack

I ran out of eye cream for some time and couldn't decide which brand to go for next. The email from Sephora came just in time as they featured this product in their newsletter. For RM81, I think this eye cream is really reasonable and the gel texture is lightweight which I really like because I am not suited for heavy moisturizing eye cream.

8. NYX Retractable Lip Liner

Decided to try out lip liner since I did not have one before! Plus, NYX is quite affordable so I bought one in Sephora from RM19. Retractable is great since I don't need to sharpen it constantly, but with retractable I think it will loose its shape in time as well. Oh well, there are pros and cons!

That is all for my January beauty haul! What beauty products did you get?

Bloop Nail It! Toe Strip Review

If you have seen my previous blog post on Bloop's Nail Polish & Nail Strips, I am now here to blog about the Toe Strips! Yes, Bloop offers these lovely nail trips for your toe nails too! Bloop nail strips are fast and easy to use, forms a sheer layer of protection to prevent nails from breaking, does not contatin alcohol or chemical, no drying time and looks realistic on nails.

Instructions at the back for your reference!

Inside the package comes with the nail strips and also a nail file. Notice that there are 2 sets of nail strips in it? One set it for bigger nails and the other is for smaller nails...cause each person's nails is different like that :) For me, I choose the bigger ones as my toe nail are wider and the smaller one does not cover it fully. I gave the smaller ones to my mom as her nails are smaller but she hasn't used it yet. So if you're not sure what to do with the extra, you can keep it for use another time or share it with your mom or sister so that you'd have some matching nails ;)

I'd thought that this would be 'easy-peasy' after I had my turn on the nail strips previously but boy, I was wrong. I think I spent around an hour measuring and cutting the nail strip to the size and shape accordingly. Not as neat as I hope it would be, with a couple of bumps but it was still ok. My favourite area the pink ones because the colour is really soft and pretty. Added a layer of top coat to ensure the nail strip lasts longer. Usually, it lasts about 5-7 days.

Check out http://www.hishop.my/nails?brand=20 for more products from Bloop! They have various patterns for the nail strip with costs RM38 for a set of 3. There is also an ongoing promotion where you purchase a minimum of RM99 and get a special rebate of RM20 off! Just enter the code "BLOOPNAILS" during checkout and this promotion is valid until 31st Jan 2014!

For more info, visit:

Bloop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloopinc

HiShop
Website: http://www.hishop.my/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hishopmy
Twitter: @hishopmy
Subscribe for exclusive updates: http://www.hishop.my/subscribe

Not forgetting, Bloop is teaming up with Vanity Trove to giveaway Zalora Vouchers worth RM50 each to 4 lucky ladies!

 All you have to do is:

1. Like Bloop on Facebook and Vanity Trove.

2. Post a New Year makeup look and tell them what product you would like to try from Bloop by hashtagging #trybloop on Vanity Trove.

* Contest ends on 22nd January & the vouchers won can only be used to purchase Bloop products!

Urban Decay Naked Palette 3 - Review & Swatches

When I saw a post on Facebook that Urban Decay was launching another Naked palette, I was beyond excited! The reason being that I was immediately sold to the new colours. I do not own the Naked palette 1 or 2 because I felt that the dark eyeshadows does not compliment me as it makes me look really tired. However, with the new Naked 3 palette, I fell in love with them because it has more rose pink hues which I will brighten up my eyes compared to the previous two palette.

The Urban Decay Naked Palette 3 was launched in Malaysia on 12th December at Sephora. I immediately went to the store in the morning to get my hands on one :D Naked 3 is sold at RM188 in Sephora.

The light weight, rose gold metal casing looks really lovely with the 'waves' pattern embedded across the casing. Besides that, the metal casing reminds me of the metal pencil case used when I was a kid ;)

A week's worth of primer potion sample is also included in the box for you to try out!

Look at how gorgeous the eyeshadows are! A dual ended brush is also included for eyeshadow application and blending. This brush is really soft and picks up a fair amount of eyeshadow :D

With 12 gorgeous shades in this palette, it consists of 3 mattes and the rest are shimmer/metallics. Now, for the close up of the shades!




Strange / Dust / Burnout / Limit / Buzz / Trick




Nooner / Liar / Factory / Mugshot / Darkside / Blackheart

Swatches for your reference :D
The top picture is how it will look under direct sunlight and the bottom one is slightly away from sunlight. These shades are pigmented and easy to apply on. I love that all the colours are easily blendable where I get to mix around different shades to create different looks.

Words in bold are shades description taken from Temptalia and the rest are my personal opinion :)

Strange: "Pale neutral pink matte-satin". To me it looks more like a matte beige with pink undertones which is great for highlighting under the brows or used as a base colour for the lid.

Dust: "Pale metallic pink shimmer with iridescent micro-glitter". Fell in love with this colour but it wasn't as pigmented as I thought it would be. It would be perfect if the shade is more pigmented. The micro-glitter is lovely but the glitters are prone to fallouts, so you will have to dust the glitters off your face. I usually use this for the inner corners of the eyes.

Burnout: "Light pinky-peach satin". One of my favourite shade that has a gorgeous shimmery shade. It's a good eyeshadow for the centre of the lids.

Limit: "Light dusty rose matte". A nice shade of light brown with pink undertones. I usually use this on the crease or the outer lid.

Buzz: "Metallic rose shimmer with silver micro-glitter". Gorgeous metallic rose colour that I absolutely love! Very pigmented and great for all types of application, be it base colour or inner lid.

Trick: "Light metallic pinky-copper shimmer with tonal micro-glitter". Lovely gold metallic shade with is perfect for Christmas makeup or night events :)

Nooner: "Medium pinky-brown matte". A matte brown shade that is great as transition colour or to define to crease.

Liar: "Medium metallic mauve shimmer". Looks quite similar to Nooner with the rich brown shade except that is has a metallic finish.

Factory: "Pinky-brown satin". Warm brown shade with pink shimmers. The pink shimmers are quite hard to see unless you look at it up close.

Mugshot: "Metallic taupe shimmer with slight pink shift". A gorgeous metallic taupe with amazing texture.

Darkside: "Deep taupe-muave satin". Have yet to explore this shade but I think it would be great for smokey eye effect.

Blackheart: "Smokey black matte with rosy red micro-sparkle". Those reddish pink glitter really looks amazing on the palette, but I wish the glitters would stand out more during application. Not a colour that I will use often.

So far, these are the two looks that I went for by using different shades in the Naked 3 palette. Can't wait to play around with the other shades as well ;D

My current favourite shades are Burnout, Buzz, Trick & Liar. This palette is really versatile as the shades are suitable for every day use or for night time to glam up for events or parties! The left half of the palette are the pink & brighter tones and the right side move towards the brown hues and darker makeup look for smokey eyes.

Have you gotten your hands on the Naked 3 palette yet?

Bloop Nail Polish & Nail Strip Review

Thanks to HiShop and Bloop for the opportunity to review their products!

The Bloop nail polish I received was in H215, a neon red with slight hint of salmon pink. The unique features of this nail polish is that it is quick drying, ultra glossy and long lasting. It is perfect for women who are always on the go as it dries really quickly!

This neon colour nail polish is really bright and loud!  Perfect for festive season. I think it would be great for Christmas if a snowflake nail art is drawn. Too bad my skills are terrible :P

Personally, I love this nail polish as it is quick to dry. It takes less than 5 minutes for the surface to dry, in fact... it was about 2-3 minutes. I hardly go for manicure because nail polish tends to take a longer time to dry and it ALWAYS chip off within 1 hour after my manicure when I am doing housework or other stuff,...so no point. My friends recommend gel nail polish that  is longer lasting but it is really drying to the nails which I don't like.

This Bloop nail polish really changed my mind with it's quick drying effect. I love that I am able to continue with my work or accidentally bump into something without the nail polish chipping off.  The ultra glossy finish gives a really nice effect.

The nail polish is pigmented and easy to apply :) However, I felt that this neon red was too bright for my liking. It is a very bold colour and I usually prefer pastel or softer colours for the finger nails. To me, it would make a great nail polish for the toe nails which I will definitely wear for Chinese New Year in 2014 ;D

Moving on to the nail strips, Nail It! is a fast & easy to use nail art sticker that has no chemical & alcohol content. It also required no drying time!

Inside the packaging, there is the nail strip and also a nail file! Very convenient as the whole set is there for you to use. Besides that, there are also instructions at the back of the package.

I cut out the nail strip individually so that it is easier to measure the size and adjust it accordingly if it's too big. Notice that there are 6 nail strip on each side? Additional ones are for there just in case you mess up with one of the nail art which is great because we do get clumsy sometimes :D

How to apply the nail strip?

1. Make sure nails are clean beforehand.
2. Choose the best strip size for each nail.
3. Remove the transparent protective layer.
4. Align and place the nail strip onto the nail. The rounded ends should be facing the cuticle.
(Note: If the width of the nail strip is too big, cut the edge of the nail strip accordingly for it to better fit onto your nails)
5. Rub strip over the nail starting from the centre, and working it out towards the sides.
6. Press the excess nail strip across the edge of the nail.
7. File off the excess strip in a downward motion using the nail file.
8. Rub striped nails again to move away any excess bubbles.
9. Apply a layer of top coat nail polish for a longer lasting wear.

Check out my nail strip! Not too bad for a first timer eh?

The nail strip is really easy to apply and I could take it out easily to readjust. It also does not remove the nail polish along when adjusting the sticker as it is not the super sticky type :D However, being a first timer, I had a hard time cutting the shape of the nail strip accordingly. Perhaps with practice I will be able to do better!

Check out http://www.hishop.my/nails?brand=20 for more Bloop products! They have many other colours for nail polish and various patterns for the nail strip. Each product comes in a set of 3, where the nail polish costs RM28 and nail strip at RM38. It's very affordable!

There is also an ongoing promotion where if you purchase a minimum of RM99, you can get a special rebate of RM20 off! Just enter the code BLOOPNAILS during checkout and this promotion is valid until 31st Jan 2014!

For more info, visit:

Bloop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloopinc

HiShop
Website: http://www.hishop.my/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hishopmy
Twitter: @hishopmy
Subscribe for exclusive updates: http://www.hishop.my/subscribe

HiShop Beauty Ambassador Welcome Pack Review + Readers Discount!

HiShop [pronounched as hai-shop] is an online beauty and cosmetics store that carries genuine products that is made accessible for everyone - anytime and anywhere. I am really grateful to be chosen as one of their Beauty Ambassador to be able to review beauty products that is available in their online store! HiShop carries numerous brands such as Antipodes, Heaven on Earth and many more which I believe are not easily accessible in physical stores. With HiShop, all these brands are available with just a click on the mouse :) Personally, I haven't been exposed to a lot of the brands which HiShop carries and I am glad they are a website that offers these alternatives! Delivery is free if you purchase over RM50 :D

As HiShop's Beauty Ambassador, I received a parcel on my doorstep which is filled with samples of beauty products such as face mask, makeup and so on! I also received discount vouchers from MilkADeal and HiShop. Continue reading below for product reviews and exclusive readers discount ;D

Nature & Co Vital Purity Lift Mask

My first impression when receiving this sample sized mask is that it was a floral scented/lavender mask because of the picture. The description behind was in Japanese....so yeah, I only found out that it is a clay mask after opening the sachet xD I was delighted anyway, since it has been long I have used one. Full size (140ml) retails at RM88.90.

According to the website, the Nature & Co Vital Purity Lift Mask works to tighten pores, leaves skin smooth, banish skin dullness and smooths sagging skin. Directions said to spread an amount of four cherries evenly over the face and rinse off after 5 minutes. Apply skin toner/lotion after.

I only used half the sample size because I felt it was too much if I finished the whole packet. Around the size of two 20 cent coins is enough to cover my face. The light herb scent was alright for me, it goes off as the mask starts to dry/tighten around the face. I am impressed by the mask as it really tightens the skin when the clay mask dries...I could hardly move my face! It gives a tightening/lifting feeling for the skin during that 5 minutes. Remember to not talk, laugh or move your facial muscles when you put on this mask! I rinsed the mask off with lukewarm water after 5 minutes and I love how smooth my skin was when I touched it ^^ 

(L) Nature & Co Pure White Lotion Light

(R) Nature & Co Pure White Milky Lotion Light

Nature & Co Pure White Lotion Light works as a skin toner to soften skin and boost ability to soak up nutrients, at the same time delivering whitening ingredients ingredients into the skin. Love how lightweight this toner is! Has a very watery texture too. Full size (180ml) retails at RM58.90.

Nature & Co Pure White Milky Lotion Light is a moisturizer that wraps dry skin in a solid veil of moisture that leaves skin plump and firm. It also claims to suppress melanin generations and wards off spots and freckles. I think this moisturizer is great for people who are under the aircond most of the time. Thick consistency but lightweight when applied onto the skin. It's not sticky and blends into the face well to provide moisture. However, for my combination skin and under non aircond area, the T-zone produces sebum quickly so there is an oil shine after a while. Full size (130ml) retails at RM58.90.

Baviphat Woori Gokmul Mung Beans Mask Sheet , RM5.90

Korean face mask! Love the cute packagingMung bean extracts supply moisture and nourishment to dey and flaccid skin. Removes dead skin cells to reveal soft and smooth skin. Leave on mask for 15-20 minutes.

Love how this mask is able to cover my forehead entirely because most of the mask I use doesn't. There is a faint scent to the mask which I like because it is not too overpowering. The mask isn't superb but it does its job. After removing the mask, my skin had a slight sticky feel when massaging the remaining essence into the skin.

Deoproce Hydro Pomegranate Face Mist, RM19.90

HiShop gave a full sized product for this :D The price is really affordable too! Thanks HiShop for safely wrapping this face mist in bubble wrap :) However, there was a slight leakage as I opened the wrap as the bottle cap was not closed tightely. No worries about that! Was excited to try this out because it contains two of my favourite things - face mist and pomegranate  Description is in Korean which I don't understand even though I know how to read the characters. haha...

This face mist is designed to soothe, moisturize, replenish, relax and rejuvenate the face. Helps to set makeup and also make your tired looking skin look bright and dewy.

I really adore face mists because it helps to refresh the skin when the weather is humid or when the skin feels dry in air conditioned areas. I like this face mist because it absorbs into the skin easily. But the scent wasn't really to my liking. I love sweet scents but when I sprayed this to my face, the scent was leaning towards the strong side. However, the scent only lasts for about a second or two when sprayed on, so I am okay with that. Just have to get brace myself/get use to the scent when I spray it on my face...lol. 

When I am at home, I usually use this during the afternoon/midday when the skin gets oily...wash my face with water and then use this pomegranate face mist. Very refreshing! ;)

Farmasi Terracotta Mono Eyeshadow 12, RM38.90

FARMASI is the brand name of Tanalize Cosmetics where they are the market leader in Turkey at cosmetics and toiletries export market. This Terracotta Mono Eyeshadow is a baked eyeshadow that provides luminous/pearl shine effect. Long lasting and easy to apply, it can be used both wet (for intense colour) and dry (for basic pearl shine)

I was really excited to try out this colour as it looked really dark and sultry when I looked at it for the first time. Love that it can be used both ways. But it was not as pigmented as I thought it would be. Had to use my fingers to apply the eye shadow a few times to achieve the pigment that I want. Like the soft pearl shine effect this eye shadow has when applied dry. For the intense colour, I used the wet brush and applied it on for about 5 times to get the intense result.

Thanks for reading my reviews on HiShop's products! Now, I'm sure you want to know what what the discount you readers are getting :D Here it is:

• Purchase above RM100 and you will get RM20 off you total bill! The discount code is: LOVEHISHOP (Expires 30th June 2013)

Other perks that applies to everyone:

• Free nationwide delivery within 7 days if you purchase above RM50.
• 3 FREE samples (valid with any purchase)
• Subscribe to HiShop's newsletter for exclusive offers
• Like their Facebook Page to get updates about their latest news and contests

For more information, visit HiShop's:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

MAC Archie's Girls Ronnie Red Lipstick

Stumbled across the latest collection of MAC cosmetics while I was in the mall earlier this month. The huge display counter in the center of the mall piqued my curiosity, so me and my friend went to check it out. I'm glad I did, because I was quite an Archie's comic fan during high school :) And a part of me was immediately sold to the concept already xD

What caught my eye from the Archie's Girls collection was the Veronica matte lipstick in Ronnie Red (RM75). Tested it at the MAC counter and I fell in love with it! My friend in Aussie said most of the Archie's Girls collection were sold out over there. Plus it's a limited edition, so I went back to the mall and bought the lipstick a couple of days later :)

Ronnie Red is a mixture of cherry/hot pink and red which makes it a very vibrant and unique colour. I love the fact that it is outstanding and attention grabbing! The colour lasts very long too and it does stain your lips. 

Before this, I don't consider myself a lipstick fan as I tend to stick to lipbalm and gloss. Red lipstick in particular, have never been on my list because it screams bright and loud. But this year, I've been wanting to get my hands on a red lipstick for reasons unknown. Is it due to age, that I'm ready to move on to the next phase of life? xD I've been looking for a red lipstick for some time. Nothing held my interest while I was on my search and I'm glad that I found this amazing lipstick in a shade that I love! 

However, this matte lipstick made my lips dry after a while. So I'll have to constantly apply Vasaline every couple of hours so that my lips don't get chapped. That is the only thing that I didn't like, but I'll overlook this matter :) If you have pink undertones like me, it is best to apply foundation or bb cream on your face because the Ronnie Red lipstick tends to make the redness on your face more visible.