Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

Recently Garnier has developed and released a Micellar Cleansing Water. It is  200% a dupe for the now cult Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution.

A knack for buying MAC

I'm a little late to hop on the MAC bandwagon but recently I have just been obsessed. I have to have a look, have a swatch, (maybe have a quick swipe of the credit card) every time that I walk past a MAC counter. This is what I have bought in just the past month for MAC products alone. 

Tom Ford Beauty Haul

This impulse purchase is not my usual chocolate bar. I've been eyeing and lusting and wanting Tom Ford products for quite a while but whenever I hear the price, I set the product back down and move onto the next cosmetics counter. Recently, while shopping with my mother in the city, I swatched the eyeshadow quad cocoa mirage and it was the most creamy powder that I had ever set my fingertips upon. At the time, $100 seemed outrageous to spend on a neutral matte eyeshadow quad so again, I walked away.

I may have physically walked away, but my soul must've stayed behind because I could not stop thinking about it. I needed it like my body needs oxygen. I don't know what came over me but everyday I tried to plan a trip to the city (without letting my husband know that I'm taking little bubby all that way just for some cosmetics...again). 

Once I had decided to buy something from Tom Ford, I thought; what the heck...may as well buy what I want since I'm already succumbing to the heavy price tag. 

So this is what I walked away with this time...no longer empty handed and feeling triumphant. Like I leaped over one of life's many hurdles. Tom Ford - achieved, what goal next?

Tom Ford products really do have the most luxurious packaging. If you went all warm and fuzzy when you purchased your first Chanel Palette, trust me, you are going to go nuts over Tom Ford's. It is a gorgeous dark brown and gold compact. Very sturdy, thick plastic with a little weight to it (but not so heavy that it is a burden to carry in your purse everyday).

L - R: Cocoa Mirage, Orchid Haze, Golden Mink

L - R: Frantic Pink, Love Lust

L - R: Spanish Pink, Pink Dusk

Stay tuned, swatches coming soon :)

Premium Synthetic Kabuki Makeup Brush Set

About two months ago I heard about a seller selling some pretty good quality Sigma Sigmax brush dupes on ebay. So of course I checked it out. As soon as I saw the price, I snapped that deal up. US$17 for 10 brushes, what's the worst that could happen? The brushes took about three weeks to arrive (after instant paypal payment) and even though the seller is from China, the parcel came from Singapore. For this pack you get 5 face brushes and 5 eye brushes, all shaped exactly like the Sigmax Kabuki range.

MAC 217 Blending Brush

For the past 5 years I have worked at a successful international duty free chain store. And for 5 years I was able to get unlimited MAC cosmetics at half the retail prices. I was never that interested in MAC. I liked their shadows and powders and bought the odd limited edition products every now and then. Recently, MAC was replaced by a La Mer counter which is understandable from a company's perspective. Each MAC product averages between $30-$40 and each La Mer product basically starts at $300. And it's only now, when I can no longer buy MAC at privileged prices, do I go on a MAC craze.

Recently I did a little MAC "all-stars" haul. Where I bought some of their most popular, most loved and most raved about products. One of these products was the 217 brush. I never knew what the fuss was over MAC makeup brushes. I played around with them at the counters and was like "pfft, feels like any other brush to me!" This was before I started to apply eye shadow on a daily basis, so when I keep hearing 217, 217, 217 echoing around in the bloggers-sphere, I knew I had to try it for myself. 

Birthday Girl

January 24th was my 25th birthday. I'm a quarter century old! I am so lucky and so blessed to be able to spend it with my loving husband and our sweet baby girl. She is the best present I could ask for. (would be even better if this present didn't come with late night/early morning breastfeeds!)

For this particular occasion, my husband treated me to Singaporean Chili Crab at a restaurant in Neutral Bay called Ginger & Spice. This restaurant is quite sentimental to us as it is also the restaurant where we were introduced three years ago. (can you believe it? just three years ago I was single and ready to mingle, and now I am married and popped a bubba!)

Singapore Chili Crab is a mud crab cooked in and drizzled in a special chili sauce with egg stirred through it while it cooks. It could be mild or extra hot depending on your taste. The sauce cannot be wasted as it is the star of the dish really. The sauce can be eaten with rice, roti or steamed buns. It does get a bit messy as you have to give up all dining etiquettes and use your hands acquire the crab meat.

We also ordered chicken satay sticks, a fried octopus dish and Mee Goreng as it is Chinese tradition to eat noodles on your birthday. I think it's because noodles symbolizes a long life...? maybe.

Evelyn was extremely excited to see all the yummy food. Too bad she's still got a few months to go until she can start on solids! She's just like her food-loving mummy!

January Haul

As it is my birthday month, the haul has to be like no other where everything can be justified and excused. Nothing my husband said or did could deter me from every damn beauty product that I set my eyes on.

And here it is...

I stopped by:

- Tom Ford: Golden mink, cocoa mirage and orchid haze eyeshadow quads, lovelust and frantic pink blushes

- Hourglass: Femme nude #1 and #3

- Nars: radiant creamy concealer

- Laura Mercier: Matte radiance baked powder Bronze 01, mineral powder compact

- Estee Lauder: Raisins eyeshadow duo

- Dior: Diorskin nude BB creme, Diorsnow BB eye creme

- Benefit: Rockateur blush, Gimme Brow Gel

- Chanel: Mat Lumiere powder, Les Beiges, Poudre universal compact, rouge coco #48, Illusion d'ombre #83 Illusoire

- La Mer: the cleansing oil, creme de La Mer, The rejuvenating essentials

I will definitely do some more detailed reviews for some of these products once I have used them a few times. 

Is there any particular item that you would like to see a review of?

stay tuned for the drugstore haul for January :)

NYX Matte Bronzer

As many of you may already know, Nyx has recently just become available in Target in Australia. Previously we could only purchase from cherryculture.com or beautyjoint.com and chose colours/shades based on google image swatches and reviews. I have already tried some products and I'm happy to say that they carry some really high end quality products.

So I didn't think twice when I picked up Nyx's Matte Bronzer is shade 01 Fair. I like it when companys make different shades in bronzers rather than just a universal one (which just seems so lazy) and usually only suits one or two skin tones on the colour scale. 

Since I only like a little subtle bronzing rather than full-on bronzing, I thought shade 01 would work perfect for me. But when I got home and brushed it onto my cheeks, it was way too pink to be a bronzer for me! Excuse me Nyx, why is it so pink?! I tried it again the next day to see if I can buff it in some more to make the finish look more natural but its just makes my face look red and puffy. 

Eek! #*@&&#%%!

The texture is very creamy and smooth. So soft and creamy that it is bordering on chalky, but don't worry...it's just bordering, not actually chalky. The slightest amount adds a flush of colour to your skin so apply with a light hand and blend the product right in. Aside from how this shade totally doesn't suit my skin, I would highly recommend Nyx bronzers. There are 3 shades to choose from. Actually come to think of it, this could be a highly pigmented powder for dark skinned goddesses.

Here is how it compares to some of my other matte bronzers. My holygrail favorite Nars Laguna is a complete different colour to Nyx's Matte Bronzer. Is it because I'm so used to Laguna? Is anyone else noticing how pink toned this bronzer is? I've decided to either keep it and use it as a blush or sell it in an upcoming blogsale. 

L-R: Benefit Hoola, Nyx Matte Bronzer, Soleil tan de Chanel, Nars Laguna

L-R: Benefit Hoola, Nyx Matte Bronzer, Soleil tan de Chanel, Nars Laguna