Thursday, October 28, 2010

Dangerous Affair

How perfect is this nail polish for Autumn/Winter?


 
This 'Dangerous Affair' polish by Ciate came with the November issue of Marie Claire UK. Seeing as it's still October, I figured some of you might still be able to get your hands on the magazine and score yourselves this gorgeous polish - normally worth around £10 I believe!


Ciate nail polishes have one of the best formulations I've ever tried - in the same league as O.P.I in my opinion! The polishes are super smooth, opaque and very shiny, everything you'd want in a nail polish :) There are 2 shades to choose from, this one and a bright red (a la Mary-Kate Olsen). I opted for this darker one because it's ever-so-slightly more subtle, and perfect for winter nights.


The colour looks different in different lighting. As you can see here, it looks like a brighter shade of red in direct lighting, and more of a vampy dark burgundy red in the shade. Lovely.



So if you're at all interested in this nail polish, or have been looking for a great red for Autumn/Winter, and the November issue of Marie Claire UK is still on the shelves, go grab yourself one (or two!) - you won't regret it, promise :)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Tuesday Poll

This 'poll' (or commonly known as 'summary' on other blogs), was inspired by Karen's 'Monday Poll' on her blog, Makeup and Beauty Blog (www.makeupandbeautyblog.com). I think it's nice to fill out one of these polls every once in a while, to allow yourself to evaluate your current frame of mind, preferences, wants, needs, and what needs to be changed in your lifestyle!

 (Whoa I look like Casper! It's just the lighting I swear. Also, please excuse the bra peeping out LOL)
 
1. Mood: 
Slightly tired (eyeballs are aching!) because I didn't quite get enough sleep last night. Hmph! Wish my body was less greedy with sleep - I need at least 8 hours to feel fully functional the next day!

2. Do you have any bad habits you’d like to break?

I would like to consume less caffeine on a daily basis - I have a terrible coffee & tea habit!

3. Red wine or white?

Usually white - red makes me incredibly sleepy, but if in the right mood, red is nice too :)

4. Your favorite book(s) when you were a teen?

The Gossip Girl series!! I remember compulsively reading the books over consecutive summers! (and now I'm addicted to the TV series haha).

5. Favorite way to exercise?

I've been really enjoying doing circuit training at home, on my yoga mat, but I just bought a Yogalates (as in Yoga + Pilates) DVD today, so I'm sure that will become my new favourite way to exercise!

6. Do you wake up to an alarm clock?

Most days, yes. But if I desperately need to catch up on sleep, I'll allow myself to sleep as long as I want, until I naturally wake up. Hehe.

7. Have you ever baked a pie?

Umm.... no... but I wish I had!! Unfortunately cooking isn't a strength of mine.

8. Do you have a temper?

Hmm... not really? Unless I'm really tired, hungry or the person talking to me is being REALLY annoying, persistent and inconsiderate, lol.

9. Favorite Halloween candy?

 Don't really have one!

10. Weekly goals:

Maintain my new routine of drinking & eating a fresh coconut every other day, exercise every other day, and try to sleep earlier.

So what did you guys think of this post? Yay? Nay? Should I do this once in a while, or is it just terribly dull to read? Let me know! xxx

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Colour Me Happy!

Since it's a Sunday, and since I spent the entire afternoon trawling through furniture stores and feeling very inspired, I thought I would share some of the interior design inspiration I've come across recently online!

I've been loving vibrant colours recently. They instantly lift the mood in a room, and are a delight for your eyes - I find mine darting back and forth in a colourful room, landing on every splash of bright colour they can find! Very effective eye exercise really, lol.

So without further ado, here are the pictures - Enjoy!











Which is your favourite? xxx

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Yesterday's FOTD


Yesterday's 'Face of the Day' involved:

Base: Revlon Colorstay foundation (03 Nude); MAC MSFN (Medium).
Cheeks: Benefit Dallas
Eyebrows: Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil (Dark Brown)
Eyes: MAC Carbon eyeshadow as eyeliner; The Body Shop 'Glowing Amethyst' eye definer pencil (smudged under lower lash line); Diorshow Blackout mascara.
Lips: Chanel Rouge Allure Laque (77 Santal)

P.S. Today is my 1 year anniversary with my boyfriend! :D Love you Bear.

xxx

Monday, October 11, 2010

My New Room So Far :)

This is what you see if you're standing outside my bedroom (and my sister's). The door straight ahead is my sister's room, and mine is on the left. The colourful painting (of a stairwell at boarding school) on the right is my GCSE Fine Art final piece :) I love it very much and it adds the perfect 'POP' of colour and warmth to an otherwise extremely neutral interior design.




















Once you've entered my room and shut the door behind you, you're greeted by a full-length mirror on your right, and a whole mass of my handbags on the back of the door! I have minimal storage space in my room (see my tiny wardrobe there?), so the bags will have to stay there (and actually, it's super practical and I like seeing my beloved bags everyday haha).



















Next up, my desk/ window area:



















I opted for this 'green tea ice cream' (as I call it! Hehe) paint colour for the 'arch', to form a sort of eye-catching feature. I've always loved this shade of green - it's soothing yet energetic and natural (duh, it's GREEN) :P. The ceiling light was brought over from our previous apartment, and was hand-picked by myself when I was 14 or so, and I still love it to bits :) It's also perfect for this area of the room, as it peeps out behind the arch, and also emphasises the high ceilings nicely! As you can see, one of the lightbulbs needs replacing lol.



















The white desk is from Ikea, and was also brought over from the old apartment - also love it to bits. It's spacious, looks clean and simple, and has a really decent amount of storage space. Desk chair is from an office furniture shop called 'POSH'. The red back provides a nice kick of energy to the room.

Almost everything you see on the desk is from Ikea, haha, including my plant! He's a lucky bamboo and his name is Bamboo (creative, huh?). He keeps me feeling (relatively) energetic and motivated when I have work to do. Live plants/flowers can do wonders for a room - they really breathe life into the room.




















This is the opposite side of the room, with my bookshelf (Ikea), vanity (Ikea) and bed (linens from Ikea) - do you see a trend here??? Hahahahah. I didn't have much time (or patience) decorating my last room, so just got everything from... IKEA!!!

The feature wall is painted taupe (one of my favourite colours). I opted for a darker feature wall in an attempt to separate the sleeping area from the working area (where the arch and desk are). This taupe came out much more grey than I had anticipated, and therefore clashes ever-so-slightly with the arch's green! It's bearable though, so I'll be sticking with my two colour choices :)

The green vanity chair is only temporary (I stole it from the kitchen!). My new stool is arriving this Thursday, along with a white chest of drawers (I desperately need more storage space!), and a little white add-on unit for my printer to sit on - to be placed next to my desk.

And that rounds up my updated room tour!! My room is still a work in progress - I love decorating, so little bits and bobs will be added here and there over time, to my heart's content :) So you will probably be seeing more posts like this in the future. Hope you enjoyed this post and please feel free to leave your thoughts/ advice in the comments! xxx

Black Cherry & Olive Gold


















I dyed my hair. 'Black Cherry', using L'Oreal's Casting Creme Gloss hair dye. It turned out way darker than I had hoped! I was going for a lighter reddish brown, but this is pretty much straight-up black with a cherry tint! Red fades really quickly with washing though, so hopefully in a couple weeks it'll lighten up to my desired shade :)

You can watch me ramble on about the my new hair development below lol:



In other news, this nail polish is stunning:




















It's a metallic olive green base with tons and tons of gold shimmer!! It's way more sparkly in person, trust me :) And here's the nail polish itself...

It's by the brand 'La Jour', which I presume is a French brand (it does say Made in France at the back). I found this at Sasa (Asian beauty store). The best thing about the formula of this nail polish is how THICK it is (therefore one coat is all you need!!), while being super fast-drying! I was literally able to apply my top coat straight after applying one coat of this polish. Oh, and how could I forgot the unbeatable price.. pretty sure it was only HK$15 or so! (a bit over £1).

Sasa carries a lot of niche brands (as well as big brands) that are not readily available elsewhere in Hong Kong. If you're interested in Asian beauty products, from skincare to make-up to body care products, Sasa is a safe bet. They also have a website from which you can order things online, and they do international delivery :) Here's the link if you're interested:

http://www.sasa.com/SasaWeb/splash.jsp

Disclaimer: This post was in no way sponsored by Sasa!