Weekend Project

Arts and crafts always interest me and once in a while I enjoy taking up projects which are challenging, but not too challenging, if you get what I mean ;D

The DIY paper kit below was purchased in a toy-store in Tokyo, the pieces are so detailed and tiny that it took me much longer than I expected to put it together. I thought it was going to be fairly simple but noooooo, on the instruction leaflet it said a blade, glue and tweezers were needed to start.

After 3 hours I only managed to erect ONE floor. I have a record of not finishing DIY projects which are too hard or which take too long.. which really makes me out to be an impatient quitter. But not anymore! Anything which I am going to do, I will do it whole-heartedly and see it all the way through.

I may have only built one floor (about 3 weeks ago) and haven't touched it again since, but I will have it completed by the end of May.

*Please feel free to mock me when May comes and there is no sign of the completed project. LOL. 

 Must complete this by the end of May!!!

Sunday Shopping!

Sunday shopping at 1 Utama.. Ken's Apothecary was having a promotion and all the brands under their belt had deals going on- Laura Mercier, diptyque, REN, Caudalie and Dr. Brandt.

Laura Mercier was having 40% off on body care sets and some makeup. The set below retails for MYR299 but I scored this Creme Brûlée Luxe Quartet at MYR179 (about USD55)!

So glad I didn't get it a few months back. Good things do come to those who wait (but bear in mind this doesn't apply to limited edition items haha). 

A sugar scrub, honey bath, body creme and candle all for only MYR179.. Such a steal! I've used this range before and I love the scent but didn't repurchase as it is quite expensive. Yay to giftsets!

My sister also got a diptyque set, for MYR345 there is a Baies room spray and a candle which are usually sold at MYR245 each. Love a good deal, but passed on this as I am on a temporary diptyque ban.. 

Aveda is also having limited edition candles for sale under their Light The Way campaign. The candles are made of soy wax with organic ginger and ginger lily from India and 100% of the purchase price goes to protecting and providing clean water to countries under Global Greengrants. These are retailing at MYR45 and is for a good cause, also I find the scent rather relaxing.

I usually do not support such "charity" products as not 100% of the sale goes to the cause (usually only a tiny portion is forwarded), but this is different and I appreciate how everything is made of recycled materials. Am thinking of going back for more. 

Haven't had a lazy Sunday in a while, I even had time for a nap and ended the day with delicious fresh fish caught by Papa.

Hope everyone has had a (un)productive Sunday! :D

Empties: March 2014

It's Friday!! I don't talk much about work, but I do have a job in an industry I am passionate about and though I enjoy it immensely.. I enjoy my weekends even more! haha

3 months has already flown by, feels like I've just done February's empties yesterday!

Chanel Le Jour is a bit of a in between for me, I didn't break out but neither did I see or feel any substantial difference even with consistent use. It is supposed to reactivate and soothe the face, to give a smooth, luminous base. I would give this miss, the La Nuit is much better (I already bought a 2nd). Indeedlabs hydraluron is something which I really liked, but is not readily available in my area. There is only one store which carries it but I don't like it enough to drive 40 minutes to get to that mall. For a serum. My skin has been okay so far, I guess I can do without it. Until we meet again, dear hydraluron! Clarins Multi-Active Night cream is from the same range I am actively using, nothing excellent but it does the job and doesn't break me out. 

The Lotus Face Oil is something which I have repurchased over and over again, I think I have purchased almost 10 bottles of these? I use this in my moisturizer, in my masks, on its own, works beautifully and I strongly recommend to anyone with congested and oily skin. UV protection is really important to me and I only wear sunscreen on the makeup-less weekends, but only because my BB cream already has a SPF40. Whilst I've tried many brands, Clarins UV Plus HP is my favourite- it lasts, dries fast, isn't oily, soothes my skin and doesn't break me out. This is the Tinted Pink, which gives radiant skin, but I much prefer the Tinted Beige and the Original (white). I have quite a few samples from La Mer and I am slowly going through them. The La Mer Hydrating Infusion was a bit heavy on my skin, the texture is a little thick but I do like the scent. 

I have been slacking with bodycare, I finally finished the rose-scented Anna Sui Moisturizing Body Lotion. It's a nice rose and the light lotion absorbs really quickly. I had a little accident in my bathroom, left a very large candle burning for 24 hours and came home to a pool and waterfall of red wax down the walls. It looked rather artistic and I felt a little sorry I had to break it up. Some products were in the way and got wax trickled down the sides- Acca Kappa White Moss Shampoo & Conditioner, I LOVELOVELOVE their brushes, but their haircare... not so much.

Makeup! Been so long since any makeup appeared in the Empties posts.. the Shu Uemura x Aya Takano Gel Blusher (limited Edition) is a product I really liked. It was a bright cherry and when used sparingly, gave off a very natural flush which lasts the whole day. Only gripe was everytime I took it travelling, it would "explode" when I used it (even after waiting hours). Powder blushers are the way to go for me! The Clarins Instant Light Complexion Perfector can be used as a base or blended into foundation/BB cream. It was received as a Club Reward (redemption from Clarins purchase points), I'm still undecided on this.. it doesn't irritate my face but I am also not convinced. I switch between this and the Chanel Illuminating Base. For the past 10 years, my choice of eyeliner has been Bobbi Brown Gel Liner (Black). I love the staying power, the real pigmented black shade, everything! Except the price. Have since found a dupe for half the price, which even comes with a decent brush. 

It is so hard to use up perfumes because admittedly, my collection is not as small as I would like it to be. I do give them away, provided the scent has not turned but I still can't bear to throw out the older perfumes (might be due to the pretty packaging!). The YSL Babydoll is one of those which I have had for many many years, it doesn't smell good on the skin anymore and thus, has been reassigned as a Bathroom scent. It's a young scent, one which my mother got me whilst I was still in University and I was obsessed with it, collecting all variants of this perfume. This is the only one remaining and had shimmer. I love how scents are able to trigger memories.

The second scent, Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Bouquet Numero 2 came in a mini collection.. I liked it, it was a floral based, but not enough to buy it. Most of the Aqua Allegoria range wears off quickly and would not last the whole day but it doesn't bother me as I can't handle most strong scents anyway. Side note: I am wearing Pampelune today and I can't stop sniffing my wrists!

I've changed the writing style for the Empties posts, the previous style feels a little.. robotic? Going to try and strike a balance between too many and not enough words LOL

Happy Friday, everyone!

Makeup: An evening look (recreated)

This is actually my first time posting a step-by-step of the makeup products I used to recreate a look. I wouldn't call it a tutorial as I am by no means fit to give any makeup advice, the way I have been doing it has been the same for many years (boring!!!) and I very rarely use eyeshadow.

I used to shy away from eyeshadows as I felt they only looked good on double-eyelids and deep-set eyes; I myself have hooded lids/monolids/single-eyelids. And it seemed like so much work, blending and picking colours every morning. On most days I just draw on thick eyeliner and rush off to work. 

Just recently I had my makeup done by a professional for a friend's wedding, the artist was really good and managed to "open up" my eyes without using excessive glitter or shimmer. A reader also liked the look and asked if I remember what colours were used (Hi, Linh!), unfortunately I don't. But the look I recreated below looks somewhat similar, so I hope it helps! 

There will be pictures of my semi-bare face below, so please be kind! LOL. Below is what the makeup artist did for me:

I products that I will be using: 

Clockwise: Chanel Charming palette, Estee Lauder eyeshadow in Pale Moon (shimmery lilac), Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in Bone, Bobbi Brown gel liner in Black, Estee Lauder palette 

Here, I already have Clarins BB Cream on my face and lightly drawn in my brows:

For evening looks or dates I usually put on falsies or eyelid stickers as they help create a crease which looks better in pictures. Below, I am using eyelid stickers. I have also used Bobbi Brown Bone on my whole eye area. It acts as a base and evens my skintone.

I don't think there are and rules when it comes to colour selection, I have used as little as 1 colour to up to 3 colours for a look before. As long as the colours match, it should be okay.

I used the shimmery brown, 3rd from right

And the middle colour, a darker brown

I used the shimmery brown first on the entire eyelid, followed by the darker brown which only covers about 3/4 of the eyelid area. 

After blending the eyeshadow so that there are no jarring lines between the two colours, I drew on eyeliner and ended it with a little flick at the end. (Sidenote: After I removed my makeup only did I realize I forgot to use mascara, and also the sunlight has washed out the colours so you can't see the shadows properly! Will aim to take better pictures next time.)

With lippie and contact lenses

The Estee Lauder shadow in Pale Moon, a soft shimmery lilac) was applied last to the inner eyes in a "V" shape. This made my eyes look brighter and in photos it looked really nice as well.

Finished off with Chanel Rouge Coco in Gabrielle, Chanel blusher in Frivole and some contact lenses from Fresh Look in Brown. I only wear my lenses when I attend parties or weddings, so I am not blind when someone across the rooms smiles or waves at me. Also, its so that I don't mistakenly wave at a stranger (it has happened a few times LOL).

So, what do you think? Similar?

I really used to avoid applying eyeshadow as they seemed to make my eyes appear smaller, but I guess it all comes down to knowing what techniques works for your eyeshape. Monolids can look good with eyeshadow too! For me, I never change my eyeliner shape as I am really happy with it.. I just need to practice using eyeshadow to find more colour combinations. 

Hope you enjoyed the post! If you have any tips for monolids, please do share them (:

Little ball of fur!

Presenting the cutest, most adorable, obedient, lovable dog I have ever met... Choko!

Choko is a apricot poodle who wears a tuxedo (white chest and marking on feet), he loves sleeping, car rides, walks in the park, his stinky tennis ball and enjoys eating riceballs.

Choko circa mid 2013

His temperament fits our family dynamics so well and we all love him so much. Choko is also very well-trained and allows us to snuggle him for long periods (something which I enjoy doing every night!). Poodles generally don't shed much, but we do brush him daily- else he looks unruly.

Choko's baby tooth! So cuuuute

Having him in our family has brought nothing but joy to our lives. He's made us laugh so much and even when he does nothing, we can't help but coo over how adorable he is. Understandably, not everyone shares the same enthusiasm I have for dogs, these people don't necessarily hate dogs but would rather just not touch one- stray and domesticated ones alike. I know of friends and even relatives who are like this, but once they meet Choko, they all *LOVE* him! Snuggling him, taking pictures, wanting to kidnap him. He just draws people to him and we can't figure out what it is!

This extends to people who encounter Choko on his daily walks around the park where I live, many not knowing our names (walker of the day would be either my parents, my self or my sister) but would ask us, "Is this Choko?", remembering the dog but not the owners LOL. Strangers have come up asking for pictures, saying he looks like a bear, asking my parents if they could breed Choko. There are also runners who whiz by, but not before waving or smiling to Choko- whilst ignoring the walker-of-the-day. This is the norm and has happened many, many times. LOL.

Choko turned 2 in March, but he will always be a puppy to us..

Waaaaaaiiiittt.....

OK!

A week ago, Choko had his first roadtip.. he was so good and we didn't have any issues at all. Everything was on schedule, eating, pooping and even pee-ing (we brought his pee-pads). I did however have a slight concern when we were heading out for dinner.. we were leaving him all alone, free to roam, in a house which he had never visited until that day. We came back 3 hours later to a eager pup sitting by the door and no mess or ripped furniture in sight *phew* I knew you were a good boy!

His favourite neck pillow LOL

Okay, enough of adorable Choko pictures, I shall end the post with the "real" Choko LOL, I laughed so hard..

Hmmmnnn?

ARE WE GOING FOR A WALK?! ARE WE?? ARE WE??????????

Why are you laughing at me? What??

BAHAHAH.. we love you Choko!!!