Date Night

It has been a while!! Sometimes I imagine my life if I still lived in a foreign country (Melbourne mostly) and how it would be like; working and living with JagiBOY. To have more time for myself, for us and to do the things I like. 

When I was living abroad, I used to commute daily; train-tram-walk. I really enjoyed it because it gave me more time to put on makeup, get dressed, read, daydream and plan out the day. Public transportation is relatively clean, on time and safe; roads have proper lanes for pedestrians to cross and pavements are safe for walking (in heels). 

Back in Kuala Lumpur, none of these options are viable. People drive everywhere- public transportation is only an option if you don't drive/live extremely close to a station. Trains here are generally dirty, littered with pickpockets, oh and people shove you to get in/out of the train (without letting people off first!). Pavements are uneven, there are holes and chips- not safe for heels at all. 

So I drive- an hour (each way) to get to work and back; I have to endure the crazy heavy traffic to get into the city centre everyday. On weekends, my home is only 15-20 minutes from my workplace, so you can imagine my frustration. During the rainy season, it gets worse; once it took me 2 hours to get home. There is only so much I can do in the car: sing, play games on my phone (Triple Town!!!), sing some more.

I miss commuting to and fro using the train, trams and walking. Convenience is something I expect a city to offer, and I miss it terribly! 

Convenience >> time saved >> more time to spend with loved ones i.e more Date Nights!!

What do other people do when stuck in traffic?

Ladurée Les Merveilleuses

I saw this on Chasing Elixir and I just had to repost it..

Ladurée (macaron god) x Albion (cosmetics house)

 Official website for Ladurée Les Merveilleuses.

Isn't this collection tooooo prettyyy?!?! TAKE MY MONEY ALREADYYY!! Recently launched and only available in Japan (at the moment); I am so glad this is not a limited edition collection so I can take my time to read up on reviews and think about it.

Items which are tagged LE have an effect on me- they instantly becomes more appealing and more often than not; I have to convince myself why I don't need them. Yes, I am weak like that. But these days I have been quite good; just this month I was gifted with so many products you wouldn't believe! And it is only the first week of March.

I have come across so many items of "TAKE MY MONEY ALREADYY" awesomeness, but I am going to take it as a personal test of will power. Most collections/items I have dismissed in the past month or so, but I am seriously still lemming for these..

1. GUERLAIN Iridescent Illuminating Powder

Meteorites Cruel Gardenia

2. CHANEL Nail Polishes

3. YSL Arty Rings

Its hard to save up for the big picture when there are so many distractions along the way!

Las Vegas De Chanel Collection

"Welcome to Vegas, where stardust dreams shine bright.

Inspired by the city's gilded glamour and electric excitement.. 

shimmery golden accents for face, lips, and nails create a winning look."

Las Vegas De Chanel Make-up Collection- specially created for the reopening of the CHANEL boutique at the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, in early February.

I have been ogling this limited-edition collection since it came out on CHANEL.COM  a week or so ago. Included in the line up is a Lucky Stripes face/eyes highlighter, a Gold Fingers nail polish, a Gold Rouge Coco Shine in Brilliant and a Vegas Gold lip liner.

The only item I have my eye on is the Gold Fingers polish. I have been waiting so patiently for a gold from Chanel so I was very interested when I saw this. The palette also lingered in my mind for a bit but after reading a few reviews, I concluded that it is a bit too shimmery for me.

Since it was for the re-opening of a US boutique, I never expected this collection to show up at my local Chanel. Imagine my surprise when my sister called yesterday to say she was testing out a Gold nail polish! I immediately knew what it was but before I could even get all excited, she quickly adds that they were only stocked at 3 boutiques and 2 were already sold out, including the store she was at.

I felt a ray of hope as the unmentioned store which still carried the collection was the one I frequented! I speed-messaged my usual SA to check and after an agonizing minute or so, she replies saying that she does indeed have a few left. YAYY!! I managed to secure 2 bottles so now I can safely share...

THE LAS VEGAS DE CHANEL COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE NOW AT PAVILION, ISETAN KLCC and 1 UTAMA! :D

I have a weak spot when it comes to Chanel polishes; with Gold Fingers ticked off the list, I am highly anticipating the launch of Diwali next...

TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY!!!

 

Empties: February 2012

1. SANA HADANOMY Collagen Mist, 90ml
I am a sucker for packaging, when this line debuted I didn’t even bat an eyelid. But when they came out with the Limited Edition heart packaging, all of a sudden I had to have it! This mist contains collagen and smells of roses but not of the sweet variety. I use this on my face and neck after my toner. It doesn’t break me out and my face does feel more supple when I use it. Repurchase? Maybe after I finish my other mists.

2. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, 30ml
This trial size was a GWP (Gift with Purchase), I took it along to Melbourne in Dec/Jan and this lasted me for more than a month. I use it nightly after my toner (and mist) and sometimes in the morning. This essence is really worth every dollar, while I was using it regularly (a year ago) I did notice my skin to be more refined and radiant. Repurchase? Most definitely! After I get through the unopened bottle first.

3. BATISTE Dry Shampoo (Diva), 150ml
This product is one of my must-haves! I always have a can on my dresser as I only wash my hair about 3x a week. I have long, thick hair which I prefer to air-dry and this takes forever, so if I get home late, I don’t wash my hair. I never really use the hairdryer (though I own one), not even in Winter. This product soaks the oil up and leaves the hair smelling clean and also gives it volume. Comes in a few scents too! My only gripe is that it is not available where I live. Repurchase? YES!! And in bulk!!

4. ADIDAS Women 3 Action Deodorant, 35ml
I received this in a goodie bag, the scent is nice and it is also a good size for travel. However it has been sitting for way too long on my dresser so I used it on my feet as well. Repurchase? No, I still have another can waiting plus I am trying to phase out using deodorant.

5. LANEIGE Star White Cream, 50ml (old formula)
My sister abandoned this whitening face moisturizer a long while ago in favor of Anna Sui’s prettier packaging (sidenote: a nice scent + pretty packaging does not equate to a great product! The Anna Sui was eventually demoted to elbow/foot cream *boo* ) so I picked it up as a neck and elbow cream. While it was great on my face for Melbourne Winters, it feels heavy for the tropical country I live in now. Repurchase? No.

6. HADA LABO Retinol Lotion, 170ml
Touted as the alternative to SK-II’s FTE, I bought this a year ago after I finished my first FTE bottle thinking I could save major moolah. I used it the same way I did the FTE, after toner, before serum. In the first few months my skin did experience smoothness and the fine lines on my forehead seemed to disappear, but after that, nothing. I demoted it to arms/legs lotion status as I do all my other rejected serums and moisturizers. Because it is such a huge bottle and you only need a little bit, it took me AGES to finish this. Repurchase? No.

7. GARNIER Clean Sensitive Gentle Eye Make-up Remover, 150ml
Not to be mistaken with the awesome 2-in-1 Gentle Make-up Remover, this water-based product was shared between my sister and I when we had our eyelash extensions done (oil-based removers loosen the lash adhesive). This product is so gentle that it couldn't even properly remove my light eyeliner. I gave it a few weeks before I decided to bin it. Repurchase? Neverrrrrr.

Total products emptied: 6
Thrown out: 1

P/s: Happy Birthday to those who only get to celebrate their real birthday once every 4 years!♥  

Empties/Project X Pan

I actually wanted to blog about my new regime (sidenote: so far so good! someone in the office commented on my skin condition yesterday and actually asked if I was doing anything different. YAY!), but before I get to that post I want to share what I have been doing with my beauty products for the month of February.

Not too long ago, I put myself on a shopping ban. I was not to pick up any bags nor cosmetics/beauty products. While I did very well in the bag department, I still found myself splurging at almost every Chanel makeup launch in 2011 on top of the occasional body lotion here, mask there, kinda purchases. A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a bag of unopened products while I was cleaning out my room and rearranging furniture. By the way, I am finally getting customized wardrobes for my room, with help from Jagi (where are my 3D drawings?! Haha) and I can’t wait to have them ready!! Anyway, I digress.

I honestly don’t know if I should be happy for “rediscovering” those products or feel guilty for making purchases I don’t remember. Even though I’ve been buying much much less, I’m definitely not using as much/fast as I should.

Quite a few beauty blogs spring clean their stash by doing monthly “Empties” or a “Project 10 Pan”. As the name suggests, Empties is where you’ve managed to “empty” a product and Project 10 Pan is where you “hit-the-pan” on powder pressed products such as eye shadows, powders or even palettes. It’s a great way to finish up products and also keep track of what you’ve used before.

I am thinking of doing this instead and writing shorter reviews of the products. February ends in a day, so we'll see how many products I have gotten through (:

P/s: Project365 has not disappeared, it has just been moved to another site :D