More Hauls (EXPO & CK Tang) & Crafting

My ironing board broke. Actually it didn't break, it was just wobbly and the covering was coming off, and I didn't want to iron on it, in case it really broke. So, I catastrophised and thought the iron might drop on my feet. Then, took the opportunity to ask the husband to drive me to the Expo, where the Robinson's warehouse sale was happening, and I knew there was some good Lunasol and Kanebo buys to be had. I don't like driving his car (I do have a history of adding bangs and dents to his cars) to strange places, and Expo is strange to me, I always get lost in that area. So, Sunday morning was the only time he was willing to bring me there, and I hauled makeup and skin care on top of a nice, new sturdy ironing board haha. Obligatory haul photos. Lunasol Palettes at S$35 in Orange Coral (05) and Blue Green Variation (05); Coffret Dor lippies at S$19 (I think) in RD171, OR-98 and PK-236; Coffret Dor concealor at S$25; and Givenchy Prisme Again! in Charming Violet (04) at S$20. Faircrea Mask at S$20 I think, Faircrea fash wash (not pictured) S$20, Ahava Dead Sea Mud mask packaged with face wash and sample cream at S$51. The other day I was over at CK Tang to look for lunch, then on a whim bought this Guerlain Pearly White compact at S$35 (thanks to the info from Haru and Tracy). The SA said there's only colour no. 32 left. It's fate that it's the closest colour match to my skin tone. I got to make sure that the next few months will be haul-free. I need to start on project 10-pan or something similar so I can finish up all that I bought. Haha. On another note, I thought I was going to give up crafting, forever, but it looks like I can't. I ended up working on these. And made a felt needle book. Now all my needles are sitting pretty, nice and neat inside. And Christmas decoration work-in-progress, using left-over scrapbooking material. I've been having this cough for I don't know how long, and finally I succumbed to the doctor's advice to get a blood test and xray done to rule out this and that. And to confirm if it's pneumonia or whatever. I don't know. Thank goodness it's all covered by the husband's company health insurance plan. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

A Totally Unnecessary Haul

Alright, since when have hauls been necessary? Haha, but truly, I never lemmed for Guerlain items. They were completely off my radar until I saw Haru's and Tracy's posts about a good offer price of S$45 on Guerlain's Meteorites Pearly White. I called the counter and also asked about the compact. So I ended up getting these. Meteorites Pearly White (the SA asked me "how many" I wanted, I only got 1, maybe I should have bought 2? haha) and Guerlain's Meteorites Voyage Compact powder in Mythic at S$184 for both the compact and a refill. I actually fell for the lovely casing and the great price pushed me over. Honestly though, I wouldn't have bought it at the original price of over S$200 for just the compact. Here's a look at the inside. And shucks, I started lemming for the Midnight Butterfly compact that I saw when I was researching on Meteorites. It's so pretty, but thank goodness it's no longer available because it's really too expensive! And I'm thinking of the Guerlain Pearly White Compact Foundation too. Oh well, that's what I get for reading beauty blogs. :p Yes, Tracy, you're right, feel broke but happy. Haha. :D I'm away from the office these couple of days and have limited internet connection. It will be a busy weekend ahead too, I can't wait to watch Transformers! :D © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Mask Reviews

Ohhhh this morning, I was so grateful to be sitting cosily in the car as my husband drove me to work, because the sudden rain that appeared was really freaky and so heavy! I got into the office with not a single drop of rain on me. I'm grateful he sends me to the office every morning. I used to drive the car and pick him up after work, but for the past year, his work schedule has been crazy so he brings me to work instead and I get home by the MRT (thankfully, less than 20 minutes' ride home!) Some peeps have asked me to review the masks I've been using. I'm pleased to oblige. :D But I didn't want to take anymore new photos, so you'll be seeing old ones. I've not used the Fancl mask or Skin Food White Cheek sheets yet, but Blanchir is exactly like the Blanchir Clear Conditioning Lotion and clarifies the skin. I like it. Gold Caviar mask is wonderful. It moisturises and hydrates my skin, makes it plump, smooth and soft! Skin Food mask sheets are quite thick. And the serum is also thicker, like more gel-like. Honey and Royal Jelly was meh. I didn't think it did much, except give some moisturisation. Good thing I only bought 1. Have not tried Snow Tea mask yet. Blue Corn mask is a deep cleansing mask. It gives a tingling sensation, so I don't leave it on too long, else my skin becomes red. After it dries, you moisten it with water then scrub your face. The granules are quite rough, so scrub gently!! It removes rough skin, unclogs pores, and makes my skin appear brighter and cleaner. But I use it only maybe once or twice a month because too much will aggravate my skin. For oilier skins, I think it'll be a fantastic cleansing mask. Honey & Oat is also a 3-in-1 scrub mask, used the same way as Blue Corn mask. It's more moisturising and the scrub granules are very much softer. It leaves my skin milky and soft. I like the smell. Yummmm. Finally Aloe mask. The SA told me it'll hydrate and strenghten the skin. It feels a bit like some yoghurt masks in the market. Makes my skin soft and hydrated. I also like this. I do have a few other masks haha, I'll post reviews as I get along to using them. I tend to use according to my mood and also how my skin feels on the day I want to mask. Normally don't need to spend alot of time masking, just about 15minutes? I usually go do something on the computer or walk about the house or watch tv and chat with my son while the mask is on. Then, soon enough it is time to wash off or peel off the mask! Easy. ^__^ Hope this post was useful! I'm going to do tags in the next post. :D © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Weekly Routine & Beauty Swatch Giveaway

Here's my weekly routine for my face: Two times a week, I use a nourishing/moisturising mask, either in wash-off form or sheet mask. And once a week, I use a deep cleansing mask. Currently I'm using masks such as these: I exfoliate my face once a week with a gentle exfoliator. I like Cure, that I reviewed before. I'm not so keen on abrasive exfoliators, but those such as The Body Shop Blue Corn mask and Honey & Oat are ok for me. Contrary to popular belief, I find that my skin becomes bumpy and rough, when I exfoliate too much. It's because my face becomes over-sensitive and too dry as a result of removing too much of the protective layer of skin. I also find that even if I have pimples during PMS, my skin benefits from hydrating masks. The pimples heal faster and have I experience less scaring. BeautySwatch is having a giveaway. I saw it via Fuz's blog and I had to join. :D It's fun. I plan to do a giveaway myself, closer to the year-end (maybe like a Christmas thing?) and I hope people will join. So, I want to join others' giveaways to lend my support. :D These are the giveaway rules: You must have a blog account and be a follower of BeautySwatch. Create a post on your blog & do three things:

• Upload the competition poster on your blog post & link it to her giveaway post
• Upload a photo of your lips wearing your favourite lipstick or lipgloss and specify the details / shade number of the lipstick or gloss.
• Leave a comment on her giveaway post with a link to your entry

Here's a picture of me wearing one of my favourite glosses, Lunasol's EX08 from the 2009 Anniversary makeup set. Have fun and good luck! :D I also listed some items on my ebay. If you are interested in scrapbooking, stamping, doll and skincare stuff, you might want to check back there through this week, as I am working hard, listing all my goodies. :D I need to clear out some stuff because I've bought too much and I need to scale back on some of the stuff I've accumulated for my hobbies. :D Go buy my stuff here. Maybe prepare early for Christmas? :D Have a great week ahead! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Shopaholics Annoymous

Hellow everybody. I am Aichaku and I am a shopaholic. I've been bad. I hauled. I didn't succeed in not buying anymore skincare or beauty stuff. *feel guilty* I confess I bought these items in the past few weeks. But I thought they were quite worth it. :D Darned Great Singapore Sale! And yes, I saw Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was so hilarious and I loved it. On to the shopping hauls. Besides the fact that I was still searching for a HG whitening body lotion and the White Perfect body lotion one was at a 20% discount at Watsons, I don't know why I bought another bottle of whitening body lotion when I still have 1 bottle each of Nivea, Fancl and Orbis whitening body lotion to use! Anyway, good thing is, it's turning out good. I feel it visibly brightens my skin. When I popped into the recent Loreal Warehouse sale, I bought 2 more, which were packaged together with Loreal White Perfect for the face (which I might use on my neck or whatever) at S$20 each. The Loreal Cellulite thing, I think it was S$10 or S$12? (Where's my receipt?) and the La Roche Sunscreen at S$20 for the adult version and S$15 for the children's version. Vichy eye cream was S$30 each, I think normally S$60plus. I thought I'd try it. Loreal mascara at S$10 each. Maybeline at S$15 for 2. Also thought I'd try them. Loreal glosses at 3 for S$20? I think. The products were made in either 2008 or 2009, they are not expiring soon or super old, so I'm quite happy. :D Few weeks ago, I heard the Phyto Organics store was having a 70% storewide moving out sale and I HAD to take advantage of it. I paid about S$3-4 for each of the Organic Surge items. And maybe about S$15 for each of the Mukti items? A mask and a handcream. And about S$20 for this? And this package came for me last week. I had to buy the arbutin stuff when I saw Mika selling them. She included some extras, thank you! I couldn't find these arbutin items when I was in Tokyo. Ok, technically this doesn't count because I think I bought it before I declared, "That's all the skincare/beauty spending ,I'm allowed for this month." Well. End of my confession. Stay tuned for more reviews. :D © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Night Routine

It just occured to me I should tell you my skin type. Long-time readers may know, but I think I should still be clear about it. :D I've added my "beauty profile" in the side column of my blog. Anyway, here it is: I am a Mac NC20. Overall, body and face, my skin is sensitive or hyper-reactive. I consider myself to have aging skin ie. getting drier and losing lustre. I have freckles body and face included. Open pores on t-zone. Some milia also, which I intend to remove soon (if I don't procrastinate further). Sharing with you my night routine today. 1. Cleanse off make-up with Fancl Cleansing Oil 2. Wash face with foaming face wash. Currently, using Kose Seikkisho soap. 3. Blanchir Whitening Conditioner Clear Conditioner (Moist) lotion on entire face and neck. 4. Biotherm White Detox Yeux around eyes 5. Kose Ultimation Eye Cream around eyes 6. Blanchir Whitening Conclusion serum on face and neck 7. Blanchir Whitening Smoothing Conditioner on t-zone (it's for pores and sebum) 8. Lavera Faces Wild Rose Liposome Intensive Cream on cheeks 9. Blanchir Whitening Night Conditioner, recently I've switched to using Kanebo Impress IC White Cream Returnology, I want to finish up the Blanchir though. 10. The Face Shop Post-Acne Night Time Spot Eraser on PMS pimple scars (mostly on my chin) 11. Sofina Memory White Medicated Whitening Stick on freckles 12. DHC Lash Tonic 13. Some neck cream / neck massage (I switch around, and use up old products that don't really work well on my face) © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Morning Routine

As promised, I'm going to start sharing with you some of my skincare routines. There are basically 3 routines that I follow: Morning, Evening and Weekly. I'm going to show you Morning Routine today. It's a wordy post. :D To start, I'm not proclaiming myself as a skincare guru and I do not claim that my skin is wonderful!! :D There are many people with much more beautiful and well-maintained skin. I just thought I'd share with you this routine because it helped improve my skin. I think my skin is good enough for the age I'm at. I am in my thirties, by the way. It's not a secret but I don't usually "announce" it.

My skin history: I used to have troubled skin, very agitated and sensitive, and swinging between too dry and too oily on different parts of my face. In my twenties, I managed to clear my skin up after I had a bout of bad acne and skin allergies, so now I have enlarged pores as a result. In fact, at this point of writing, I'm having some allergic reaction, I think to some food I ate, rash on my chest and cheeks! The women in my father's side of the family don't have terribly wrinkly or saggy skin and I have been lucky to have inherited some of those genes. My main battle is with pigmentation. My mother has freckles and so do I, even on my neck and arms. These freckles get darker when I am exposed to the sun, so I avoid sun as much as I can. I don't want to have huge age spots when I'm older!! If I ever get any, I'll go get them removed, but my aim is to keep them minimal. Few age spots is cheaper and easier to remove than many, right? Keke. I've always been about skincare. Even when I'm trying to be thrifty I still get all the skincare that I need. For some time, I couldn't use "whitening" products because they were too harsh and caused irritation. I was also keen on simple, because of my hyper-reactive skin, I couldn't use alot of "whitening" and anti-aging products. So, my freckles went abit haywire. However, lately I started using stuff from Kanebo and they worked well for me. Maybe their "whitening" formulations are gentler. Now that my face is clearer (freckles lightened), I feel the need to keep it that way. I am also aiming for uniform skin colour ie. my face, neck, arms and legs are the same colour. That's why I have a routine for my body too, which I'll share later. I'm currently using up my Blanchir items. I've been using Blanchir since March 09, but I intend to switch slowly to Impress IC as it has anti-aging components that Blanchir doesn't. Soon, I will test-drive all the Impress IC samples I received and will review them later. OK, my morning skincare routine. In total, including shower, making coffee and etc, I take about 30-40 minutes to get out of the house.

1. Wash my face with foaming face wash. Currently, I'm using Kose Seikkisho soap. (I'm thinking it's getting a bit drying to use this twice a day though.)
2. Blanchir Whitening Clear Conditioner (Moist) lotion on entire face and neck.
3. Shiseido Bio Performance Super Eye Contour Cream around eyes
4. Blanchir Whitening Conclusion serum on face and neck.
5. Orbis Pore Care or Fancl Pore Essence on t-zone (I'm switching between the 2, they both work equally well for me)
6. Blanchir Whitening Milky Conditioner on cheeks and neck
7. Lavera Faces Wild Rose Liposome Intensive Cream on drier areas (this is another reason why I feel I need to switch to Impress IC)
8. Fancl Sunguard 30 on whole face and neck

This is the end of the skincare portion! LOL. My makeup routine will usually begin with either a primer or BB cream. :D Does putting so much stuff create alot of ickky sticky feeling on my skin? No, it doesn't. All the products absorb well into my skin and don't leave a film one on top of the other. Personally, I believe it's Kanebo's skincare "philosophy" that has helped to balance my skin and the improvement shows on the skin analysis machine. I don't think the machine can lie. My melanine levels really went down and my skin has become normal instead of combination. What I like about most about Kanebo's skincare is the range of "Special Care" items available. It always focusses on hydration and then a whole slew of products for special care (which includes melanine control and pore care) regardless of whether you consider yourself to have oily or dry skin. In fact, I realise Kanebo doesn't usually market products based on skin-types (I'm not sure about other Japanese brands but some Korean brands still subscribe to the oily-normal-dry skin categories). The only difference in product labelling is whether you prefer to have a "refresh" (sometimes this one is called "regular") feeling or a "moisture" feeling. Besides the fact that my skin hasn't reacted badly to the products yet, it has given me a new perspective on how to care for my skin, ie. always hydrate and use specific products to also address skin problems. It might seem weird that this knowledge comes late to me. However, I think it's because of the way most companies "categorise" skin products. These categories always led me to many difficulties - oily skin products that deal with my pores are too drying for me and dry skin products that deal with my dryness are often too "rich" because they don't focus on hydration but pile on the "oily" ingredients. Ie. open pores does not always equate to oily skin. And dry skin does not always equate to no pimples. That is why I think the Japanese/Asian skincare philosophy is better suited for me instead of the American or European skincare ranges. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Review: Stable Sun Protection That Prevents Tanning

I have alot of different sun protection products in my current arsenal and I use different products for my face versus my body. I wanted to give a brief review of products I've tried in this post. My primary aim when using sun protection is to prevent sun damage. I also need to consider there might be times when I can't reapply sun protection every 2-3 hours. So, I am also on the look out for "stable" sun protection. Finally, I also hope to prevent tanning. I read that sun protection does NOT help to prevent tanning. However, I also read that tanning happens when UVA penetrates the skin and triggers cells to produce melanine. I also happen to conclude from my readings that tanning/UVA/melanine etc. are signs of sun damage and aging. So, I figure that if the product is effectively blocking out the entire UVA spectrum, it should be able to prevent tanning. And if the product helps keep me "pale", I conclude that it is THE PRODUCT and goes into my HG list! I marked (HG) next to the product for your ease of reference. :D Below are my personal reviews taking from my own experiences. It should not be considered an academic lesson on what is the best product or ingredient for sun protection. :D (I also didn't include ingredients lists, because I forgot to photograph them and I've thrown some bottles away already! Sorry.) FACE

Fancl Sun Guard SPF 30 PA+++ (HG) So far, the best I've tried is Fancl's Sun Guard. It is now in my HG list. I had previously dedicated a review on it.

I recently learnt that it is a physical sun block that uses "UV dispersion agents" and also employs "nano-sized UV dispersion particles" that ensure it doesn't give a white-cast. To be honest, I can say that it is the ONLY product that has proven to prevent my skin from getting darker, although I can't find any write-up on what makes it so effective in preventing tanning. I use Sun Guard exclusively on my face and neck. My face and neck never got darker when I got into the sun. In contrast, I got darker on my arms etc when I got into the sun, using other sunscreens on my body. And I don't reapply this, needless to say, because it's on my face, below all my makeup. The slight negative is that it's very expensive in Singapore, retailing for S$45.50 (in Japan it's only 2,310円! Darn, should have stocked up!)

Biore UV Perfect Milk SPF 50+ PA+++ I liked this for its drugstore price and the "feel". It is milky, light and absorbs quickly, leaving the skin smooth, but beyond that, I'm not sure about the effectiveness of this product. I don't think it helped to prevent tanning. I've finished all the bottles that I have and won't be buying more of this.

BODY
Avene Very High Protection Lotion (HG)
I bought Avene's Very High Protection Lotion at a huge discount a couple of days ago. Robinson's is selling it packaged with a wash at $49.90 and I got an additional 20% discount with my Robinson's card. The sun block itself is retailing for about S$62, if I remember correctly. From what I read on the label, it looks like it is a combination of physical and chemical sun protection. It also claims to be photostable. I basically bought it because I remembered the recommendation from Cacaopack. ^__^ Look at how much product you're supposed to use in order for your sun protection to work effectively! I think it's generally true for all sun protection products (although Avene is the only one that is so specific about the actual amount to use). The good thing about this lotion is that it's not sticky at all, even though I apply so much, and it does not leave a white cast on my skin. And I read that it contains an ingredient that protects against a wide spectrum of UVA and UVB. I'm thinking I need to go back to get a few more of this while it's on offer. I haven't used it long enough but from my short usage, I think it does prevent my skin from tanning! So I'm thinking it is going into my HG list as well.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-touch Sunblock SPF 50 (PA+++) It used to be my HG body sun screen because it felt really nice and smooth on the skin, no ickky sticky. According to the label, it's also supposed to be stabilised with Helioplex. But it does nothing for preventing my skin from getting darker. And it's a fully chemical sunblock and contains butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane that Cacaopack advised against (though I did a search, I'm still not so sure why it's to be avoided). So, it's off my HG list now. Lavera Sun Spray SPF 30 Neutral. (I forgot to take a photo of this, so I'm using an old photo, it's the product on right-most of the photo). For some time, this was one of the primary lotions that I used for my body. I think I bought this because it was the highest SPF that's still available at the time I was buying it. I'm not sure, my memory could be wrong. Purchased it at a huge discount, at the princely sum of only S$7 during a promotion! It's a mineral sunblock that claims it is effective immediately after application. Thing about this sunblock is, it gives a very white cast and it's quite sticky. PLUS, it doesn't seem to do anything for preventing tanning! *shucks* And *more shucks* I just read that Titanium Dioxide, the main sun protection component in this product, doesn't work on blocking the full UVA range. Good thing it was cheap, so I don't feel so "hurt" when it doesn't really work so well. I won't be buying more of this and I probably will chuck this too, unless my son wants to try using it (but maybe I shouldn't let him use it, since it does not give full protection against UVA). Ok, we've reached the end, thanks for staying with me! Basically, I've given my personal preferences and experiences in this blog post. For additional information about sunscreens, you'd have to read more elsewhere. Personally, I'm really very confused by all the information that's available! The person who has the most well-written information on sun screens and the site that I constantly refer to would be Viva Woman. She also recently wrote about new sunscreen labelling standards under EU Regulations. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Reviews: Fancl, DHC, and Kanebo Cleansing Oils

Today I will review 3 Cleansing Oils that I've tried these past few months: DHC Mild Touch Cleansing Oil, FANCL Mild Cleansing Oil and Blanchir Make Off Conditioner First, FANCL Mild Cleansing Oil. I normally use Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil to remove everything, including my eye makeup, then use a foaming cleanser after. I'm actually a committed long-time user of Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil. I even prefer it over Shu Uemura, which I tried in the past. I find Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil is almost the perfect Cleansing Oil for me: not too pricey (oh well, it's expensive compared to Japan but still affordable here in Singapore), not too thick or oily, doesn't irritate my eyes or seep into my eyes at all, and cleans off even the most stubborn eyeliner (eg. Make Up Forever) and mascara (eg. Majorlica Majorca). I don't even have to rub hard (in fact you're advised not to) so there's no tugging on my skin and eye area, which is another big plus point for me. This Cleansing Oil is not only for people with dry or sensitive skin, even people with oily skin can use it as it is really very light. It also doesn't have any scent and rinses cleanly away with water. Next, DHC Mild Touch Cleansing Oil. After I had some success using DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil, I wanted to try DHC Mild Touch Cleansing Oil. I found DHC Deep Cleansing Oil abit heavy for long-term use, so I bought DHC Mild Touch Cleansing Oil when I was in Tokyo. Also mostly because of the very pretty pink container! I just finished my only bottle of Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil, so I opened up my bottle of DHC Mild Touch Cleansing Oil. I read that DHC uses the same technology as Fancl's Mild Cleansing Oil. So, I thought that DHC would be a nice alternative. Boy, was I wrong. Although I love most DHC products, I think DHC Mild Touch Cleansing Oil isn't as good as Fancl. DHC only cleans off my face makeup (ie. BB Cream, powder etc.) but leaves a dark smudge of eye makeup around my eyes. In fact, due to this, I begin to doubt the efficacy of the DHC Cleansing Oil at removing even my face makeup. Texture wise, DHC's about the same as Fancl but I also don't quite like the strong floral scent in DHC's.

Since I was committed to finishing my products, I was thinking I should continue to use this cleansing oil until it's completely finished. However, after writing this review, it occured to me that maybe DHC isn't doing a good enough job cleaning my face, so I had to go buy some Fancl Cleansing Oil! Hence, I didn't succeed in my goal to use up stuff before opening new ones.

Too bad I didn't have enough luggage space and chose not to stock up on Fancl Cleansing Oil and Fancl Sunguard. They are my 2 HG Fancl items! (I'll talk more about sun protection in the next post). I made a quick calculation that it's best to buy Fancl from Robinsons where I get a 5% rebate. Then, the price difference between Fancl in Japan and Singapore is a bit easier to take, though still quite substantial. Finally, I have another cleansing oil to review, Blanchir Make Off Conditioner. Blanchir Make Off Conditioner suffers the same problem as DHC's. I find the eye make up is not removed thoroughly. I also feel it's abit too thick and sticky for my liking. It is hard to spread and takes abit more "rough" massaging action to clean the face. The plus point is that it doesn't have any strong scent and it was free (cause they were samples that the SA gave me).

Needless to say, Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil is my HG and the other 2 pale in comparison to it! I will leave the other 2 cleansing oils for days when I'm using only light makeup.

© Copyright. All rights reserved.

Thank You Jamilla & Using Up Beauty Supplies

I received Jamilla's 100th Follower Giveaway contest gift, a couple of days ago! She was too generous! I'm so happy with everything, look at the cute softie, the pretty pouch and pretty notepaper! Jamilla knows me well. :D Inside the pouch is a delish Molton Brown body cream, and Dior and Lancome glosses that are exactly the colours that I like. And she included a disc of very useful beauty information! Thank you so much, Jamilla! Meanwhile, I'm on a mission to use up my supplies! This is a variation of what's going around in many beauty blogs. I'm just intent on using up stuff before opening up new ones, but I didn't really succeed (I'll tell you about it in the next post). So far, I've finished 1 bottle of Fancl White Body Milk, a bottle of Body Shop shower gel (yea, I think I overuse the shower gel, I like alot of bubbly foam when I'm showering), 1 bottle of Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil and I've almost used up my White Rose body lotion, even though it does nothing for my body whitening efforts. I think I'm almost used up quite a couple of other products, I just need to keep using them until they're finished instead of opening up new stuff to use. I love finishing products, it makes me feel justified in buying new ones. :p And let me tell you something that blows my mind. I've finished using my Shiseido Bio Performance Super Eye Contour Cream. I rather liked it though I couldn't tell if it really made alot of difference for my eyes. But there's so little product in this and I suspect something is wrong!! Why? Because I was already using Biotherm Hydra Detox for some time before I started using Shiseido's Bio Performance, yet Bio Performance is now empty and Biotherm is still going strong! Shiseido might be cheating me! Both claim to contain 15ml of product but Shiseido is finished so much faster! Still, the husband is going on a business trip and I was going to ask him to get me another Bio Performance and the White Lucent Brightening Eye Treatment that had worked wonders for Jamilla from the duty free shops. I hope he got my sms, because he left the house without taking my to-buy list! (Which means no Chanel glosses that are only available from Departure Hall Duty Free T_T ) By the way, do you use up stuff even if they are not working well for you? If not, what do you do with them, besides trying to sell them? I don't mean things that cause allergy or breakouts. Just things that don't work as well as you expect or you'd like them to. Do you feel "guilty" if you just throw them away? I usually give stuff that I don't like or don't work to my mom for her to try but my dad is lately getting abit irritated with me for sending "junk" to their home. LOL! I just sent them a bag of ... handbags hahaha. My mom is happy and she always says her friends compliment her on her new bags and stuff, but my dad really hates the clutter (I got that from him, so I send clutter out of my house to theirs!) :p I'm off to catch a movie (I've been doing that alot lately) and reading (it keeps me really busy)! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Take Care of Your Skin

Woot, it pays to take care of your skin! I'm pleased to announce my skin is in good condition! *happy dance* I was at the Kanebo counter yesterday and did the machine skin analysis again. All in tip top condition. :D My skin is normalised and even the melanine is now low, whereas a few months ago, my skin was on the dry side, with slightly oily t-zone and melanine was high! Proud to say my skin firmness, skin tone, elasticity, etc. are all good too. SA pronounced my skin, "Very GOOD!" I was actually at the Kanebo counter at BHG today to take advantage of the 20% discount they were having. I wanted to get a more moisturising/hydrating cream for night use. The SA recommended that I should use Impress IC instead of Impress. Because my skin isn't too dry and doesn't show signs of aging yet, Impress would be too rich for me. I decided on the Impress IC whitening cream. Almost got the entire range because I was quite impressed with it. The texture is gorgeous - light yet hydrating and I could see immediate brightening effects on the parts where the product was tested on my skin. However I controlled myself and only got this and the Impress PT Essence (for pores). Impress PT Essence is sold out, but I purchased one at the 20% discount and the SA will call me when the stocks come in. Good service, huh? *grin* The SA also gave me samples to try. That's all the skincare/beauty spending ,I'm allowed for this month. (That's what I told myself, see if I keep to it! :p) Hehe. I'm thinking that in the next few posts, I'll show you what I have been using (like what Fuz and some other bloggers have been doing). I didn't have baaaaaad skin to begin with as I have been taking care of my skin and I think I have good enough skin for my age and condition (I have hyper-reactive/sensitive skin), but the machine says it's better now! On hindsight, I need to "strategise" where and when to get my skin care. If I can buy my skincare at 20% discount during sales, it's a big savings isn't it? Think about this: Impress IC Cream retails at S$170 without discount. It retails for 10,000 yen/S$147 (before tax) in Japan. With a 20% discount, it's a big savings of S$34. Reviews coming up soon. I've not forgotten. :D I've sold some stuff (thanks!) and added new stuff into the Make Up section. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

More Body Shop Hauls & Etude House Opening

Thank you all for your get-well wishes, I've finally succumbed and swallowed the antibiotics that the doctor gave me. I went to see her last week. Then again this week on Wednesday because my cough and fever didn't subside. She said for a cough that lasts that long, it's probably microbacteria, and she wanted me to do a blood test!! Eek! I told her, "Nevermind, just give me the meds." But honestly, I resisted taking them, until yesterday, when my fever had me shivering and I was so phglemy! It was a good thing I ate those antibiotics, because today, the fever is down and I felt better, so I could go out for groceries. But then, I ended up not just getting groceries, because I saw more sales and bought stuff!! Darned Great Singapore Sale! *shake fist* LOL. I'm supposed to be saving money, but resistance is futile. Sale-sale-sale everywhere. I felt had to get those things, or I'll regret paying full price if I need them when the sale is over. I was telling some peeps I'm not going to get more Body Shop stuff, but I saw their masks going for much cheaper than usual. S$10 off if you buy 1, S$25 off if you buy 2. So I bought 2 others that I wanted to try. Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask (retails for S$32.90) and Moisture White Hydrating Mask (retails for S$39.90). I'm kind of a mask addict. I mask 2-3 times a week. A cleansing mask once a week, and moisturising/hydrating mask (sheet or wash off) 2 times a week. I don't have time to go for spa facials, so I do DIY "facial" by masking and scrubbing at home. :D According to the SA, Ionic Clay Mask can tell where your skin is dry and where it is oily, then hydrate or deep cleanse accordingly. So high-tech! LOL. I'll do a review when I have tried it and tell you if it's true. As for the Moisture White Hydrating Mask, it has whitening ingredients like Vitamin C and Liquorice to enhance the skin tone, plus it's hydrating. I liked it when the SA applied it on my hand. Also will try on my face and let you know how it is. I owe you all a couple of reviews on the other masks I bought. Some of you have asked about them. I've tried them all already, promise I'll make time to review them this weekend. Spa Wisdom Africa Spa Salt Scrub is really great. I've used it before. You apply it on slightly damp skin and the salt forms a gentle abrasion scrub that makes your skin soft and smooth. It normally retails for S$52.90. I love the smell and it's on such a good offer right now, 30% off, so I had to get it. I was telling Fuz that I obsess about my skincare routines, including the body and hair. Haha. 99% of bath and hair products in the bathroom are mine, including 2 different scrubs and 2 different shower foams on the shelf at 1 time. I like to change about. I scrub twice a week. It helps my body moisturiser absorb better and makes my skin soft. :D The bag (according to the receipt it costs S$35.90?) and Passion Fruit Shower Gel (retails for S$12.90) are gifts-with-purchase. I was asking the SA if I could just have 2 bottles of shower gel instead, but she said, "Sorry, no." LOL. We had a giggle over it but hell, I don't like this bag! Oh well. It's "free". Keke. Oh, and the Divine Calm Massage Oil (retails for S$18.90, on sale for S$12.90) is good. I use it for DIY head massages and it helps with relaxation or soothing a headache (but nothing beats a Zomig for the killer migraine, I admit). By the way, Etude House is finally in Singapore!! I happened to be there today, on opening day. They were giving out a free mask sheet to visitors but I didn't see any other promos going on (maybe there were some but I didn't have time to check). I didn't buy anything, nor did I have time to talk to the SAs. It was packed liked sardines in there!! It's a small shop at basement 1 of Plaza Singapura, but rather cute! I love the pink-pink-pink decor, even the SAs were dressed in pink. Here's a look at what they are marketing as their best-sellers. A quick check around allowed me to see that prices are not too expensive. Offhand, I think they didn't jack up the prices too much higher than Korea. I'll do a better review of the shop next time when I have more time to spend browsing around. :D Oh I hope they bring in Lee Min Ho as their spokesman for a special visit in Singapore!! He's plastered all over Etude House in Korea (together with Ikko-chan, who's like the guru for all makeup/skincare that everyone must listen to, lol). *sigh* Why didn't they bring Lee Min Ho in for opening day? Well, anyway, hope you all have a good weekend ahead! I love the weekends. :D © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Magazine Scans & Talk

I'm at home today, as I have sick leave from the doctors! I have a fever and cough that's now controlled by the meds so I have been quite "busy" at home, watching tv, laying in bed, sleeping and reading. Fortunately, over the weekend, I recently got some magazines from Kinokuniya, so I have new reading materials. L'officiel magazine comes with what Kinokuniya claims is a S$100plus sunscreen! So worth it! What? They are giving it away free with a S$5.90 magazine? I had to get it! Hahaha. I don't know this brand at all. I suppose Kinokuniya can't be lying. LOL. L'officiel isn't really very exciting in terms of content and layouts. Very typical "fashion magazine" like Vogue, with boring fashion spreads featuring moody photography and models, though it tries to give an up-market feel with many brand labels. An article in L'officiel magazine stated that chemical sunscreens might be a possible cause of skin cancers! According to the article, "Although sunscreen protects against sunburn, there is no proof they protect against carcinomas (malignant cancers)..." It is stated that "... various studies have linked sunscreen usage to high incidences of melanomas ... " Further, "... UV blockers [are] made of synthetic chemicals. They are designed to absorb large doses of UVA and UVB radiation, converting them into free radicals that pave the way for cancer to develop." OMG, this means we should hurry up and get physical sunscreens instead! I so prefer Japanese magazines! With detailed fashion and makeup tips geared towards the seasons' trends, and focussed on specific styles and age-groups. I like Sweet alot, even though it seems to be targetted for the younger person. I am a Loli at heart (though I've never gone into Cosplay) and I always try to find ways to incorporate sweet and pretty into my life. So, eg, I can take ideas from Sweet and adapt it for an older me. Do you know of any Sweet or Loli type of magazines for the older woman? :D And the freebie from More is so cute, and includes 2 pens! I love these quirky types of lettering. I was kinda thrilled to see that this print is actually part of the new Coach Poppy collection. I can't read Japanese, but is the Poppy range exclusive to Japan? I don't see them on the US website. Can someone CP me some Coach from Japan? LOL. *sigh* Maybe another trip to Japan is in store. *sigh* Coach is getting more and more quirky, I'd love to get some of their new bags for casual use, if only they didn't price themselves so "up-market". Eg. I really like their Bonnie bag but why is it so expensive? By the way I'm having a blog sale over at a new Sale Blog called Beautification Stuff, which I'll be adding lots of makeup and skincare to as I find more stuff I'm no longer using that could go to better homes. I'm also trying out putting up my scrapbooking stuff for sale, before putting it up on ebay. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Review: Shills Dust It Hair Powder & Other Random Stuff

I've been trying hard to stop shopping, but it's really hard for me to go on a beauty shopping diet! I tried to stick to only buying essentials in May. I didn't really succeed (as you can already tell) but I did buy less. :P In my defence, there really isn't much else to do here in Singapore! Besides shop and eat, you can do sports. If you like sports, Singapore is really a great place to live in. It's summer all year round, beaches and watersports less than a 30-minute drive away, etc. I used to live just a short walk away from the East Coast beach and used to go walking there if I'm bored. But other than that, I don't really like the sun, heat or sweat. Lately, it's worse after I moved houses and am now living near the city, Instead of walking at the beach when I'm bored, I walk at the shopping centre! LOL! Anyway, the other night, I meant to just stopped by Plaza Singapura on the way home, to pick up some groceries, but I just had to look in at the John Little 20% storewide sale as well. This sale has been happening so frequently that I don't get too excited by it anymore. Still, it's good to pick up stuff when there's a sale. So I found some new things, and among them was this hair powder which I had to buy and try. It's working nicely for me! I find it fluffs up my hair without making it look stiff. I use it together with Air Arrange. Somehow it accentuates the natural waves in my hair but keep them very orderly, so I'm quite pleased! It retails for S$24.90 at John Little Star Dust. With the 20% discount and the 5% cardmember rebate, this is relatively cheap, but I imagine it'll be "dirt cheap" in Taiwan? I really can't tell. I don't know how much it retails for in Taiwan. Look at the hilarious language on the label. "Magical Hair Fully Powder"!! *so amused* I have some updates on Kanebo. I went to my usual Kanebo haunt and told the SA that Blanchir isn't moisturising enough, then told her I've tried Revital and it's better. So she said Impress is a range that I can explore as it's a comparible to Revital in terms of anti-aging care but addresses a wider range of "problems" than Revital. I did a search on Impress and shall I say, "I'm impressed!" Check it out here. I'm now leaning towards going for Impress, because I have good experience-history with Kanebo skincare and it has a wide range of items to address different issues. I'm waiting for the sale before buying some Impress. Off topic, some of you know I scrapbook. I haven't been scrapbooking much in the traditional sense of 12"x12" layouts, because I have been really un-inspired and also very busy. I still want to do memory-keeping so I adapted some ideas that have been going around in the scrapbooking scene. A new way of scrapbooking: First I get a nice album (I use Muji's - I need to get mooooawwwrrr). I prefer slot in albums, they don't harm photos like those sticky ones with a film covering. (You might want to note that most of those sticky albums have adhesives that will cause your photos and other papers to deteriorate very fast, so avoid them if possible). Then, I make the labels (this allows me some freedom for creativity and journaling, plus use my pretty scrapbooking supplies) Finally stick in the photos! And I also label them with more journaling on the photos.

I like this way of scrapbooking for now. I might continue to make yearly albums this way.

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