Review - Hope in a Jar (Oil-free Gel)

I have heard so much about this cream on the internet and reviews have always been mixed. But my luck on mixed reviews products has been good and I could almost always find a way to make it work. So along I trot in Sephora and popped this into my shopping basket since I am in the market for a new cream. 

First up the consistency....

The cream/gel has a very unique texture and it always reminds me of how custard feels like. When applied onto my face, it spreads really well and is absorbed almost immediately. That got me really excited. I mean... that should mean that the cream is so light and so well formulated that my skin pretty much just drinks it all up!!

Hand after the cream is absorbed.

After consistent use of close to 2 months, I gotta say that this cream does nothing for my skin. Compared to the other moisturizers I used before, this just doesn't do enough for my skin. I started developing some really fine expression lines which were never there before and it went away the moment I switched back to my SkinFood Avocado Essential Oil. 

The only saving grace is that I got the sample size version and it is already used up by now. I hate to waste stuff and it would be painful if I have to endure through the full-sized tub.

Pros:

- Light texture

- Easy to spread

- Light to no scent

Cons:

- Insufficient hydration

- Expensive

Re-purchase:

No way! It's a lot of money to pay for something that doesn't even work. I live in Singapore where the weather is not as harsh as some of the winters out there. This is very unlikely to work to combat dryness in the winter since it already failed miserably in the perpetual summer weather we have here. 

Hope this review helps and thanks for reading. XOXO!!

Catching up on my Hauls - The Korean phase!

One of the best thing about Singapore is that it is a melting pot of both Eastern and Western influences. Makeup included!! And if you talk about makeup stemming from the Eastern world, who can escape the tempting clutches of Korean cosmetics. Gosh!! I know first-hand just how damaging it is on the wallet shopping in Seoul!!

Lately, I have been thinking about trying the BB cushion foundation, which is the latest trend in Korean makeup. And the most famous among the lot would probably be the Laneige BB Cushion. And while I was shopping online on Qoo10, I got sucked into buying both the Mineral melting BB Cushion and MIneral Melting Foundation from Innisfree!!

Laneige BB Cushion (SGD$54.90) & Innisfree Melting BB Cushion (SGD(36.90)

Innisfree Mineral Melting Foundation (Glow) - SGD$20.90

Both the BB cushion from Laneige and Innisfree came with additional refill and it is a couple of dollars less than what you would pay if you get it from the stores in SGP. However, the shipment of the products took close to 3 weeks and honestly it's not worth the wait for a few bucks off! 

The pictures below show the Laneige BB cushion in it's box with it's refill as well as the actual cushion itself. I am sure you have seen it a million times on the net so I shall not talk about it again. 

Laneige BB Cushion with additional refill in the box

Laneige BB cushion - the inside!!

Now, the product that I was really excited to try out was the Innisfree Mineral Melting Foundation (Glow) shown below as there was so much positive hype about it amongst the bloggers and Youtubers!! 

I was so excited that I couldn't wait to take a picture of the virgin state of the  before dipping my hands into it! I have used it a few times and I think the hype is real!! This is a great product even for a warm and humid climate such as Singapore.

Innisfree Mineral Melting Foundation (Glow)

Innisfree Mineral Melting Foundation (Glow)

I have been loving everything in this haul so far and I would be doing a review of these products and comparison posts with other similar products that's on it's way to me right now. Some 3CE haul is coming soon to this blog as well as another mega online haul for Korean cosmetics.

Stay tune and thanks for reading. XOXO!

Catching up on my Hauls - Chanel

I tried resisting the lure of Chanel Les Beiges sheer powder when it launched since I am not really big into powders. I only lightly powder my face whenever I have makeup on and with all the powders that I own now, I am covered for the next few years to say the least! And partly also because the reviews have been pretty mixed on them. I wasn't really sure whether I wanna spend so much money just to try a product with such mixed reviews

I must say that I was pretty successful for a couple of months but then Christmas came and I thought why not pamper myself with a nice little present. I got my first Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder in N20. 

I love the duo colour packaging for the Les Beiges range and it looks so chic when you pull it out of the handbag for touch-up. I swiped it on.... I am SOLD! Like completely!! It's hard to describe but it just impacts this radiant glow to my face and makes me look so awake and healthy. I am so sold that I went to Chanel and got a darker shade for contouring. And I didn't stop there... Hehe....

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder in N40 & Chanel Cream Blush Intonation (Frm the Spring 2014 Collection)

Close-up of the powder

Side by side comparison of N20 and N40 (natural lighting)

 The gorgeous Chanel cream blush in Intonation. 

I have been getting into high-end makeup a lot more lately and I can totally see the draw. While some drug-store makeup does the job equally well as their high-end counterparts, the enjoyment is still slightly different when you are working with luxe products. The way it looks on your dressing table, feels on your hand and the quality, etc.....

The next few luxury brands I am looking forward to trying would be Tom Ford, Charlotte Tilbury, Hourglass and Burberry!! Stay tune for more.

Thanks for reading. XOXO!!

Catching Up on My Hauls - The Sephora Phase!

I was on a crazy shopping spree for the past 2 months from all the festivities - Christmas and the upcoming Chinese New Year. Not that the enticing holiday collection/ sets or the current spring collection did anything to help the situation.

For such a HUGE makeup geek as me, I actually have never tried anything from Benefit! Yes, I have heard about their blushes, their Porefessional and actually loads more. I was just constantly distracted from them and ended up buying makeup from other brands instead. In comes the holiday sets on sale at Sephora and all things changed!

Benefit Do the Bright Thing Kit

Benefit Primping with the Stars Kit

Both of them retails at SGD$50 each and if you look inside and see the array of minis you get to dip your hands into, it's a really good deal!! Especially for the uninitiated like me, I get to try out most of their star products before I decide on investing in a full size product.

Benefit Do the Bright Thing: That Gal Brightening Face Primer, Dandelion Blush, High Beam, Badgal Waterproof Liner and They're Real! mascara.

Benefit Primping with The Stars: Stay Don't Stary Eye Primer, The Porefessional, Some Kinda-Gorgeous, Benetint, Girl Meets Pearl and They're Real! mascara 

 Nope, I didn't stop there. Strolling past the Laura Mercier shelves, The Flawless Face Kit was just calling out to me! Retailing at SG$100, tt contains sample size of their foundation primer, tinted moisturizer, full size Undercover Pot, Secret Camouflage brush, Camouflage Powder brush, a velour puff as well as a sponge. The Undercover Pot cost more than SGD$50 when purchased on it's on!! So again, I scored a really sweet deal!

 I am really psyched up about the range of brands we get in Singapore nowadays. Can you believe that we never used to get brands like Laura Mercier, Tarte, MUFE until 1 - 2 years back?!! Well, it's great for shopping but just really hard on the wallet!! Haha. 

Thanks for reading and hope you have a great Sunday! XOXO!

Me and Colored Contact Lenses

I love colored contact lenses! No beating around the bush, no going around in circles. I just adore how wearing them makes my eyes bigger and more importantly makes me look more awake even if I had only had a couple hours of sleep. 

My current favourite brand would have to be the monthly lenses from ClearLab.

I generally like shades that looks more natural against my eyes, hence no crazy colors and I only buy the darker colors in the series. The ClearLab lenses are super comfy. I have had no issues with dryness or discomfort for up to 12 hours of wear during the few times I got held up at work.

Onto the best part of wearing them, it makes my eyes look bigger and more defined which leads to me looking more awake. And God only knows how much I need it! Below are a series of picture comparing me with and without the colored lenses.

Without colored contact lenses

With colored lenses

I know the whole controversy surrounding colored contact lenses and how they can be bad for your eyes. But like all things, moderation is the key! I would say give your eyes a break from them a few days each week and wear glasses!! I have been practicing that for months and I don't see myself going back to clear lenses anytime soon. So viva la colored contacts!!

Thanks for reading peeps and hope you have a good night! XOXO!

NOTD: OPI Steady as She Rose And Faceshop Silver Accent

2 coats of OPI Steady As She Rose with an accent nail on my ring finger.

And my favorite nail polish of the moment from Faceshop is as shown below. They have no names or numbers on the bottles itself, which can be a little frustrating when trying to describe it on the blogsphere. But it's still a beauty nonetheless - dense silver shimmer with holographic rectangular glitter flakes! I have paired this polish with so many other colors - it always works! And since it's densely packed only with shimmer, it's not a pain to remove like some of the other glitter polishes. I simply love this!!

If you are in the market for some shimmer or glitter polishes, do check out the offerings in Faceshop. I really think they have upped their game and I have not been disappointed with my recent purchases. Let me know in the comments below if you have tried any of their polishes.

Have a good night and thanks for reading. XOXO!

The Korea Haul - SkinFood

Prior to the trip to Seoul, I had already been to the SkinFood outlets in Singapore to browse around and tried to identify the few real gems. Well, not that it helped..... when I stepped into an outlet for real in Seoul. I pretty much just went crazy!!

Starting off with the cleansers:

Wildberry Milk Cleansing Cream (Moist):
I only bought the cream cleanser because it was so cheap at about S$5.30 and also because I have been thinking about trying them for a while. I loved it!! Started using it when I got back to Singapore and I hasn't stopped since. It has taken over the Ponds Cold cream as my daily makeup remover.  

Green Tea Milk Cleansing Cream (Fresh):
I am keeping this in the back-room for a while but I am having high hopes for this based on my love affair with their Wildberry Milk! :-)

And then the toners:

Thermal Water Multi Toner:
I had high hopes since I loved the mask sheet under the same series, but I am still a little on the fence about this. It's not a bad toner, I am just not sure that I love it. But price wise, it's pretty reasonable at S$11.30 so I can't complain much. 

Glacier Water Multi Toner: Pending for trial

And the other skin-care stuff :

Black Raspberry Saeng-gi Ampoule (~ S$17.95)

Avocado Essential Oil (~S$16.93) 

Aloe Moisture Ampoule 100 (~S$22.58)

Salmon Brightening Eye Serum (~S$19.19)

Gold Caviar Collagen Cream (~S$30.48)

Gold Caviar Cream (~S$24.84)

The mask sheets:

Deep Sea Water Mask Sheet (~S$1.13)

Gold Caviar Nutrition Mask Sheet (~S$3.27)

Gold Caviar Collagen Mask Sheet (~S$4.40)

And the only makeup item I got from SkinFood was:

White Grape Fruit Fresh Base

SkinFood together with Banila Co are my among favorite shops in Seoul. Other than the toner which I am not too sure of, I really enjoyed the stuff I bought from SkinFood. Definitely highly recommend you checking them out if you happen to be in Seoul!! Thanks for reading. XOXO!