August Favourites

St. Ives soothing oatmeal & shea butter advanced body moisturiser:

This is the first St. Ives product I've tried, and I'm pretty impressed! The oatmeal really does soothe my itchy dry skin immediately, while the shea butter provides pretty long-lasting hydration (around 12 hours). Something in the ingredients also provides a slight cooling effect, which is very enjoyable :) According to St. Ives, this body moisturiser is formulated with 100% natural moisturizers, and without parabens and phthlates. It is also 'non-irritating' and has been dermatologist tested, so should be suitable for sensitive skin. You also can't beat the price - less than £3 for 532ml :)

Sea of Life mineral butter with date palm extract: 

This mineral butter is something my dad picked up in Israel. Sea of Life is a skincare/body care company that specializes in products containing natural ingredients from the Dead Sea, such as Dead Sea mineral water and Dead Sea mud. This particular mineral butter with date palm extract is their most moisturizing mineral butter - formulated to hydrate the extremely dry skin, with an 'immediate and long lasting moisturizing effect', whilst the mineral butter 'melts right into your skin'. I can't agree that it gets absorbed immediately. It does take a good half hour to an hour for the stuff to get fully absorbed into the skin, but the result is really hydrated, soft and supple skin :) This is particularly good for people with ezcema (such as myself - I have a mild form of ezcema on my calves which tend to get itchy).

All of the Sea of Life products are prepared with bio organic natural ingredients and are 100% natural.

The ingredients of this mineral butter are: water, Dead Sea mineral water, Dead Sea Mud (silt), Date Palm, Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Algae extract, Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil, Avocado Oil, Green Tea extract, Ginkgo Biloba extract, Dehyclroacetic Acid, Bengyl Alcohol.

Are those lovely ingredients or what! I am very pleased indeed :)

Not sure about the availability of the Sea of Life products - the best way would be to have a browse on their website for more information. It seems that you can only buy their products through their website: http://www.sea-of-life.com/

MAC Happy Together, MAC Warm Soul:

Benefit Dallas

I've been going for a more natural make-up look this month, and these three blushes have been perfect! Happy Together gives the ultimate natural colour to the cheeks (just slightly darker than my skin tone), Warm Soul gives the most beautiful warm healthy flush to the cheeks, and Dallas gives a sexy sun-kissed glow. I have been absolutely in love with these 3 cheek products this month!

Chanel Rouge Allure Laque #77 Santal, Bobbi Brown lip colour #02 Beige:

These have been my go-to lip colours this month. Chanel's Santal is a brightened coral liquid lipstick (thereby removing the need for a separate gloss), and really brightens (go figure) up your complexion. The scent of the Rouge Allure Laque is divine as well - a kind of tea-infused floral scent. The Bobbi Brown beige lip colour is perfect for an everyday neutral, natural lipstick, and lasts a good amount of time.

MAC Brule, MAC Satin Taupe, Max Factor Burnt Bark:

Brule is a godsend of an eyeshadow. It makes blending out harsh lines so easy, camouflages mistakes effortlessly, and also acts as a very natural brow bone highlight. Simply put, I could not be without this eyeshadow. Satin Taupe is a much raved about eyeshadow in the youtube and blogging community, and understandably so. It was one of my first MAC eyeshadows, and remains one of my firm favourites. I have been going for a simple wash of colour just with Satin Taupe. When I want a more subtle version of Satin Taupe, I reach of Max Factor's Burnt Bark, which is basically Satin Taupe's sheerer younger sister!

ASOS Paint by Ciate in Chloe, OPI natural nail base coat:

The ASOS Paint by Ciate, in shade Chloe (named after Chloe Sevigny) is the perfect everyday nude nail colour - suitable for both work and play! OPI's natural nail base coat does a great job at preventing staining on your nails, which can be caused by brighter nail polishes.

Diorskin Nude foundation:

 















I have already done a review on this. It remains my HG foundation! Here's the link to the video review if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpSXMYlJzDM

Diorshow Blackout mascara:

This mascara has been on my wishlist for months now, and I finally took the plunge, and am so glad I did! It's the blackest mascara I've ever used, and gives a really nice glossy finish to your lashes. It almost seems to coat your lashes in a glossy substance! The wand is also monstrously lush (in a good way of course!). It's pretty big, and is made of natural bristles. The bristles are arranged in a very defined helix shape (or spiral if you will), resulting in your lashes being very defined as well. My only gripe with this mascara is that it doesn't seem to hold a curl! I still love it though, it's a real joy to use, and the packaging is so sexy :P Also, the fact that it's so black really helps to accentuate your eyes more than the average mascara is able to do!

And that wraps it up for my August favourites!! Phew! Congratulations if you managed to read to the end of this post, and thanks for bearing with me! It would be really nice if you could share some of your favourite products this month with me too, in the comments :) See you all in a couple of weeks xxx

I'm Off to Europe!!

Tomorrow night, I'm flying off with my family to Prague and then London, respectively!! I literally can't wait. The trip will last 2 weeks, so I will be back mid-September to update you all with (hopefully) lovely photos from the trip :)

I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful architecture in Prague, visiting cute little cafes, and checking out their infamously beautiful lighting (as in the actual furniture lights!). Hopefully we will bring a ceiling light home for our new dining room :)

As for London, I'm literally shitting myself (sorry hahahah) because I finally get to see my boyfriend again after almost 2 months apart! It will also be nice to take my family around to all my favourite places that have grown on me over the past 3 years. Oh, there's also my graduation ceremony, but that pales in comparison hahaha. Also really looking forward to London shopping!! Boy have I missed all the high street stores, along with Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, and of course the markets such as Portobello Market, Spitalfields and Brick Lane!

(Sorry about the cheesy photos lol - Google images at its best!)

Look out for an August favourites post/embedded youtube video later today/tomorrow, before I fly off :)

I sincerely hope that none of you ditch me while I'm away! Please stick with me guys! xxx

Recent Collective Haul!!

Recent Interior Inspiration Favourites

Here's a mish mash of my favourite interior design pictures from the past week. My family is moving to a new apartment soon, and the renovation is nearing the end (and I couldn't be more excited)! This has resulted in my perusing interior websites even more than usual. I'll shut up now and let you enjoy the pictures :)

Oh, and you will definitely be seeing pictures of our new place once we've moved in :D

Different elements and details from these inspiration photos will definitely be reflected in our new place. Everything will be pretty casual-cool and modern but still classic and timeless. Helping my mom out with our design choices has been so much fun, and has reaffirmed my raw passion to become an interior designer in the future (my ultimate dream job - if you can even call it a job)!

Loving the feature grey wall (I'm going to have a feature taupe wall in my bedroom, along with a splash of green tea ice cream paint in a surprise area)

This bookshelf-come-projector screen railing is genius. So multi-functional and discreet.

An industrial touch is always cool - I just wish there was more warmth and individual personality in this loft.

Check out that burlap wall (above) - is that creative or what?

This is exactly what I mean by warmth and individual personality. Here (above), we see a perfect balance between industrial-cool and warmth. The injection of colour through the pillows is what does it.

Ah... walnut wood... exactly what we've used for our new place. Perfectly neutral-toned so that it goes with every possible colour of the rainbow, and will never become outdated. The slightly oriental dining chairs are a nice touch.

When the time comes for us to change our sofa covers, I would love something like this - fresh, clean cotton with a neutral palette - gotta love greys.

 The stainless steel counter tops exquisitely off-set the country-style white wooden paneling of the body of the kitchen island, while the metal stools harmoniously complement the overall industrial theme.

Love the long, sleek console behind the sofa - it reflects draws your attention to the length of the sofa. Also loving the antique-looking pot holding the flowers. And who can forget those two raw wooden tree stump stools! Raw wood always gives me a fresh feeling. Can't get any more natural than that.

I would love to own a massive painting like that. Especially appreciate how raw and neutral-toned it is. The animal skulls are pretty cool as well. Nice tribal touch. They make me think of All Saints (the clothing store).

Hope you enjoyed that installment of weekly interior design! I will try to be more consistent with the postings. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

NARS Rajasthan Tutorial

I filmed this NARS Rajasthan tutorial last night. I used the eyeshadow duo to create a simple smokey eye - using a technique that is most suitable for Asian eye shapes. Hope some of you find it helpful!

Below the video, I've included a picture of the key products used to create the look, as well as pictures of the completed look.

Key products: NARS Rajasthan, MAC Happy Together mineralised blush (from the In The Groove collection), MAC Brule, MAC Carbon.

Sorry!!

Sorry I haven't updated in a week or so =S I haven't been feeling very inspired recently and to be honest, I'm struggling to think of things to post about! Apart from an upcoming post on a look featuring NARS Rajasthan eyeshadow duo, I'm pretty stuck for ideas, so please feel free to shoot me ideas!

To tide you guys over, here are some photos I took on a boating trip a few days ago. Luckily it turned out to be a gorgeous day, and you can really appreciate the beauty of Hong Kong in these photos :)

New Goodies!

Two new goodies from the weekend: a NARS eyeshadow duo and a Bobbi Brown lip colour!

1. NARS Rajasthan duo

Left: bronze/taupe; Right: blackened peacock blue

The bronze/taupe is much smoother and applies much more evenly than the blackened peacock blue, which applies a little patchy. The key to getting an even finish with the darker colour is to pat it on instead of swiping it on.

Some people think this colour combination is strange, but personally, I think it works pretty well. The result you get is a unique blue-taupe smokey eye.

This was the only item I really wanted from the NARS Autumn/Winter 2010 collection. I felt that it was a lot more unique than the other eyeshadow duo (Tzarine), and although I was tempted to get the Douceur blush, I resisted because people say it's virtually the same as NARS Madly - which is virtually the same as MAC's Happy Together mineralised blush - which I have! Congratulations if you managed to follow my poorly articulated train of thought! Haha.

2. Bobbi Brown lip colour in Beige

This is my first Bobbi Brown lip product. As you can see, the packaging is simple and classic - just what you would expect from Bobbi Brown. The shade I chose is a very natural beige-pink-peach, which is just slightly peachier than my natural lip colour.

This shade is extremely wearable and works to give you a polished finish to pull together any eye look. It's light enough to work with a smokey eye, and at the same time not too nude that it would wash you out when wearing a neutral eye look.

Texture is smooth and creamy, but feels lighter on the lips than a MAC amplified formula (e.g. Blankety lipstick). Finish is opaque with a healthy sheen. Wear time is good, and actually lasts pretty well through a meal and drinks.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! x

Great Workspaces

A great workspace can completely change the way you feel about your work. It can inspire new ideas, keep your mind feeling fresh and alert, and make you want to work for hours - just because you love being there.

Here are a few that I have fallen in love with:

Which one is your favourite?

July Favourites

101st Post!!

Can't believe this is my 101th post. I only started blogging recently!! It's been a lot of fun :) This is going to be a quick and snappy post (purely pictures) on Eyeko's Big Eyes mascara.

Before

 













After

(before the formula dried out)

 














(after the formula dried out... 3 months later... getting clumpy!!)

Please excuse the scary angle and huge pores!!


Overall I really rate this mascara. It's great for its price (£8), the packaging is adorable, the brush grabs onto your lashes perfectly, and the formula lengthens and volumises while separating!! win-win-win-win.