Smoochiezz Haul (April 2013) - e.l.f Studio cosmetics, Leaders Insolution masks, O.P.I nailpolishes

While walking back to Tanjong Pagar MRT from a job interview (which was a success, HOORAH! No more job-hunting!! They also read this blog, so HELLO!!), I realised I was in Tanjong Pagar Xchange! I can buy cheeky makeup stuff from Smoochiezz! It was the best walk-to-an-MRT-station ever because I wanted to spend some moolah!! 

I got myself quite a few random things, which totalled to S$39. Not too bad. Not too bad! I controlled myself very very well because initially I wanted to get the NYX Nude on Nude Palette, but I decided to save up for the LORAC palette instead. VERY GOOD. 

Beauty items:

• e.l.f studio Eyebrow Kit in medium (amazing stuff, review coming up soon!) - S$7
• e.l.f Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Sun Kissed (this is a repurchase! I used up my last one COMPLETELY. Love this product so very much) - S$4

Skincare items:

• Leaders Insolution Teatree Relaxing Skin Renewal Mask (1 for S$3, 2 for S$5)
• Beauty Clinic AC-Dressing Ampoule Mask (1 for S$3, 2 for S$5)

Nail items:

• O.P.I The Blondettes Collection (or The Skyfall collection) - S$20
• mini Seche-Vite topcoat (I misplaced my other one booooo) - S$3

Overall, I'm pleased with my haul. Tried everything out (except the masks) and so far so AMAZING! :) Smoochiezz really earning a lot from me. HAHAHA. Thank goodness the company is moving to another location soon, but I may need to rethink the "thank goodness" part because apparently the new location is only a 3-minute walk away. So, expect to earn more from me, Smoochiezz!! :D

Hello to my new New Balance 574! GORGEOUS!

Nothing can stop me from buying a damn good pair of shoes. If I feel like the price justifies the quality, then why not invest in it? Usually for everyday-wear shoes, I tend to allocate a much smaller budget; like below S$10. Yes you can find chio shoes for less than 10 bucks if you try hard enough. 

However, for special occasion shoes, I like to pay a little bit more. Yes, a pair of sports shoes falls under that category because I'm not going to wear them everyday unless I'm travelling with them! 

I only have one pair of sports shoes (for a shoe-holic like me, that is atrocious) and they are falling apart!! That pair was bought in 2009 and it has lasted me a good 4 years. Now, I need another pair so that I can retire the old one. 

So many local bloggers have been hyping about the New Balance 574s and to be honest, I'm quite easily influenced when it comes to shoes. People like it, looks nice, I'll get it (or a cheap knock-off). I haven't paid much attention to New Balance in the past, but after I start knowing more about the brand, THE SHOES APPEAR EVERYWHERE. On Running Man, on We Got Married, on the streets, even one of my neighbours has New Balance 574 shoes! Selective looking FTW. 

So yes, I got mine in the blue shade with neon pink details. The purple with neon green one was also very pretty but I figured the blue one will be easier to match. They retail for S$125, but I got them for S$112.50 thanks to Lily's Citibank card! :) 

PRETTY! I have been running in them for the past couple of days and they are AMAZING. So light-weight! Some hard-core runners may not like the idea of running with this pair but I'm not so hard core lah. Comfy enough for me to run can already.

Also, notice the "bermuda triangle" scar that looks like vampire bites (if vampires have three-pronged teeth lah. hahahaha)? HOW TO GET RID OF THEM? OMG SO UGLY!! Stupid mosquito bites and stupid me for scratching them. Lesson of the day: Don't scratch your insect bites!!

Can't wait to walk around Japan while wearing these babies. YAY to another opportunity at wallet-emptying! :)

My skincare routine (updated for post-acne skin)

I'm glad to announce that the crazy acne that attacked my face last year has officially stopped sprouting. What I'm left with are unsightly scars, but I'll rather handle the scars than more acne. Luckily, my concealer is quite heavy-duty so most of the time, the scars are unseen (except for those rough terrains, yes I have mo-peng areas. haiyah). 

These days I try not to use face primer/liquid foundation/BB Cream on my face. Just concealer on needed areas and then brush the areas over with my trusted ZA two-way foundation. I'm scared of clogging the pores and hence inviting acne again. This makeup routine is both good and bad. Good because it cuts down my application time and my skin actually doesn't feel so heavy. Bad because this hinders me from reviewing such products! :( Such a dilemma. I'll still apply the amazing Holika Holika BB Cream if the occasion calls for it though. 

I wear makeup almost every single day (I try to let it breathe during the weekends) and so removing them at the end of a long day is an extremely important step. For girls with oily skin, please please remove your makeup before you go to sleep. I was lazy to remove once (after a long mahjong session) and in the morning, I immediately noticed bumps. IT'S THAT FAST!! The mantra to remember is when you sleep and rest at night, you gotta let your pores breathe and rest as well! All that junk on your face suffocates your pores!! 

Therefore, I always make sure that my skincare routine is adapted to my skin condition. When I had crazy acne breakouts a few months ago, my skincare routine was very minimal. Cleanse with gentle cleanser, apply acne medication, then apply oil-free moisturizer and I was done. No masks whatsoever. Maybe the occasional exfoliating, but at most once a week. 

Now, my skin has cleared up and hence my skincare routine has been modified to keep acne away. I have been applying more moisturizing products too because the acne medication (both applied and taken orally) dried the heck out of my skin. 

Step 1: Removing the junk

• Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Cleansing Wipes 
• ZA Eye & Lip Makeup Remover

The Nivea wipes smell amazing and it does its job beautifully. I use the ZA one to remove stubborn waterproof mascara and eyeliner! 

Step 2: Cleansing

• Morning: VMV Hypoallergenics Spring Cleaning Oil Control Antibacterial Facial Scrub
• Night: Garnier Pure Active Multi-Action Scrub

Nowadays, I like to use cleansers that have some sort of scrubbing properties. They are not as harsh as exfoliators, but they ensure that any makeup that was not removed earlier is removed while cleansing! The VMV one is more gentle and contains less harsh chemicals (no salicylic acid) and so I use it in the morning because I don't have makeup on my face when I wake up. 

The Garnier one is a crazy effective cleanser. My skin cleared up faster after I started using Garnier. AMAZING. Cheap cheap also!! 

Step 3: Toning

• Neutrogena Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Cooling Toner
• VMV Hypoallergenics Superskin 1 Monolaurin + Mandelic Acid Toner
• Mentholatum Acnes Medicated Powder Lotion

Currently I alternate among these 3 products. The VMV one has a specific 8-week Application Frequency programme because it contains Active Treatment products. Basically that means that if I started using the VMV one twice a day from day one, there's a likelihood that my skin won't like the sudden surge of strong chemicals and hence allergies etc. may occur. The 8-week plan ensures that my skin slowly gets used to the product. I'm at week 7 now and so far so good! 

I use the Neutrogena one because I have ugly blackheads on my nose. =_= The Mentholatum one was included in the WKWSCI Exam Welfare Pack, so I'm trying it out haha. 

Step 4: Acne medication

• Galderma Benzac AC 2.5
• Mentholatum Acnes Medicated Sealing Jell
• VMV Hypoallergenics id Sweat Acne and Overall Anti-Bacterial Monolaurin Gel

The Galderma Benzac AC 25 has been a staple since my first visit to the dermatologist. It used to be really drying but I guess my skin got used to it. I use this twice a day on affected areas. 

Both the Mentholatum one and VMV one are becoming my "makeup primers" because they really keep my skin matte longer! I usually apply them before applying my makeup in the morning! 

Step 5: Eye creams

• Philosophy Hope in a Tube Eye and Lip Firming Cream
• Origins Plantscription Anti-ageing eye cream

Eye creams are a must for me now. Getting old means combating wrinkles early!! 

Step 6: Moisturizing

• VMV Hypoallergenics Spring Fresh Oil-Free Nourisher
• Clean & Clear Essentials Oil-Free Moisturiser

I use the Clean & Clear one in the morning because it's less heavy. The VMV one almost feels like a mask because of it's creamy consistency, so I apply it at night before resting! 

Three times a week: Exfoliating

• St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub

I swear by this product. It leaves my skin feeling SOOOOOOOOOOO clean. Regular (not excessive!) exfoliating is important because we need to get rid of dead skin cells that may clog your pores if not removed! I always look forward to my exfoliating session because my skin feels so smooth after that. Also, moisturizing is so much easier after exfoliating. The product gets sucked into the skin cells immediately. LOVE IT. 

However, please don't exfoliate too much. If you just started, maybe twice a week, then gradually work your way to thrice a week. You don't want to be scraping off your skin and making it ultra sensitive! 

Three times a week: Night Mask

• My Scheming Tea-tree Night Jelly

As said above, my moisturizer works doubly well after an exfoliating session. So I take the chance to nourish my skin more using a night mask! I love this one because it's moisturizing while protecting my skin from acne! 

And so, that's my skin routine. It may seem excessive to some of you, but it's important to take care of your skin from young. Some people are suited to the simple 3-step skincare or even just soap and water, but some people have skins that need extra attention!

Unless your dermatologist advises you to, don't stick to a certain skincare routine forever because as you age, your skin condition changes, hence your skincare routine has to change as well!

Hope this post is helpful! Have an amazing weekend guys! :)

Visual BOOM SHAKALAKAS

So addicted to Big Bang, I don't know what I'll do without their songs. Every single morning, a Big Bang or G-Dragon song will never fail to perk my mood up. :D

Anyway, so much things happened this past week. Freakishly, my "be careful of traffic accident" zodiac prediction by that channel 8 master came true. Yikes. 

On Monday, kengyang and I wanted to watch Saving General Yang at West Mall, so he picked me up after school. We were on the route that we always have taken, just that this time we were damn freaking unlucky. Just as we were turning (after the green arrow flashed) right, a damn huge truck came crashing into us. Like seriously?! We didn't even see it when we turned! Goes to show how freaking fast that driver was! :S So long story short, we escaped serious injuries because kengyang was quick enough to accelerate instead of stopping, and hence the truck hit the back of the car instead of the middle or the front (which meant I would have received the direct hit ohmygosh). Everything's fine now, but the car needs to undergo some repair. But of course, no injuries is always a good thing so yes we are not complaining about anything already. 

OK NO MORE SCARY STORY. 

Moving on to the photos that I took this past week! :) 

Amazing Greek Salad that I had after my second round of job interview. It was at Raffles Place MRT, but I can't really remember the name of the vendor. :S

My newly-discovered GAP sandals. I was cleaning my shoe closet and I realised I have a lot of unworn shoes. Not good at all. 

Successful tracing of the Sagrada Familia on transparency paper for the last week of Introduction to Printmaking.

Yay, my crown made out of Sagrada Familia! :D 

The only OOTD that I took last week. Every single day I tell myself I must take an OOTD shot, but in the end my poor memory got the best out of me. Blergh. Anyway, outerwear's from Uniqlo, tank and studded shorts from Chatuchak Market and shoes are from TOMS! :) 

MY FAVOURITE ICE CREAM. OMYGOSH. 

Very cheapo lunch at IKEA. This was only S$1.50 and I was fully satisified. <3 td="">

Yay finally met up with these two! Can't thank God enough for making amazing friends like them through my internship at MTV Asia! :) 

Food For Thought is officially my favourite brunch place. People complain that it doesn't serve poached eggs, but I'm fine because I very much prefer a good scrambled egg. The servings were CRAZY HUGE. I was on the verge of puking at the end of the meal but I persevered because everything was so good! :D Also, I didn't even order FULL WORKS (complete with chicken sausage), I only got the second largest (HOUSE WORKS) and I was filled up already. Great food from Food For Thought! 

Lizhen ordered the Granola pancakes. This was amazing too because the pancake had this pleasant hint of cinnamon! Everything was just deliciosoo~~

Ms Dora with her Black Ball shaved ice. 

This fringe is irritating me. I need to go for a trim before I fly to Japan! 

Thanks to Anthony for helping me get this from Hong Kong! Finally can play with my falsies again! :D

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe! :)

Review: Sleek Makeup Blush By 3 in Lace (Thank you Luxola SG!)

It has been long since I updated this space. I'm so sorry to all my readers! I have so many things due this week and I have been procrastinating (like always) and so everything just piled up. =_= Lesson for all university students - never procrastinate, or just try not to procrastinate so much. 

ANYWAYYY, I bought myself some Sleek goodies from Luxola.com! 

The Sleek Makeup blushes have been raved again and again by beauty bloggers everywhere and so of course I was intrigued! I purchased one last year, but it shattered to pieces and I'm now too heartbroken to use it because every single time I open it, more blush powder will be wasted. :( I know I should fix it soon, but as you have already noticed, I'm a procrastinator. So yes, I'd rather get a new Sleek blush. :S

First of all, before we go into the review of the Sleek Makeup Blush By 3 in Lace proper, I would like to comment on Luxola.com as a whole. My shopping experience with them was thoroughly enjoyable and a breeze. Even shipping was quick and my purchase was hand-delivered to me within 3 days for free! Amazing amazing experience! So thank you Luxola.com!!

So yes, I bought the Sleek Makeup Blush By 3 in Lace for only S$17! Currently there's a promotion going on for various credit card holders. More details at the end of this post! :) 

Packaging: Sleek Makeup has sleep packaging. Such an expected description and I'm not ashamed of it because it is really sleek! No busy and colourful designs, just a simple black, semi-matte packaging with the brand logo emblazoned on it. The packaging just makes the brand looks more expensive than it really is!

Pardon the eeky hair on the carpet. YIKES! 

The three colours included in this blush palette are:

1. Crochet - a bright orange with minimal shimmer. I think the formulation is quite matte. 
2. Guipure - a gorgeous pinkish-red with ultra-fine gold shimmers. 
3. Chantilly - a bright coral red with minimal shimmer. 

I'm such a predictable person. From the way I describe the colours, it's obvious that my favourite shade is Guipure. :D

Swatches taken with camera flash

Pigmentation: Ohmygosh, let's talk about how pigmented these babies are. They are so pigmented, you need a light hand to avoid looking like a clown. I prefer to see it as a positive thing because it means you are definitely getting your money's worth! The intense pigmentation can prove to be a challenge for those just starting out with makeup but hey, you learn from your mistakes! All three colours are beyond beautiful but Guipure does it for me. The ultra-fine golden shimmer is so breathtaking. It's one of those shade whereby under sunlight it looks like a normal blush shade, but with flash photography, you look like a bronzed and blushed goddess. AMAZING! <3 a="" always="" and="" brush.="" brush="" build="" can="" colour="" do="" easier="" ensure="" excess="" hand="" have="" i="" is="" it="" light="" ll="" minimal="" much="" my="" nbsp="" off="" on="" once="" or="" p="" product="" remember="" remove="" s="" swirl="" tap="" that="" the="" then="" these="" this="" to="" too="" twice.="" twice="" up="" use="" way="" what="" when="" with="" you="">

The amazing Guipure. 

Blush formula: The Sleek Makeup Blush By 3 in Lace has a powder formulation that can rival high-end brands. I'm dead serious. It's not powdery at all and it applies beautifully with a cheap or an expensive brush. After the blush is applied on the cheeks, it does not look like you have powder blush on, instead it looks more like it has a velvety texture, which is odd, but a very much welcomed odd. 

Longevity: The blush stayed on my cheeks for an entire day, like an entire 13-hour day. The colour did not fade at all, which is mind-boggling to me because I have more expensive alternatives to this set, but they don't last as long! Great job, Sleek Makeup! 

Will I buy it again? I will not buy Sleek Makeup Blush By 3 in Lace again, but I will buy it in other colours!!! My mind is telling me that I should collect these blushes because of how good the quality is! 

And yes, here's the information to the current credit card promotion that Luxola.com is having! My Sleek Makeup Blush By 3 in Lace was initially S$20, but I got S$3 off because of the promotion, so yay! :) 

Thanks for reading and I hope you have an amazing shopping experience with Luxola.com too (and no, I'm not sponsored or anything, I'm just impressed by them and hence I must share the love).

Have a good week everyone! :) 

Recent visuals (it's April!!! One more month to Japan!!!)

It is a hectic week. We still have FYP Oral Presentation to settle and I still have so many essays undone! Blogging will be quite difficult these few days but I'm not going to abandon it altogether! Here are some visuals from the past couple of weeks! 

And woohoo, I can't wait for Japan!! :D