New in: Super cheap Charles & Keith shoes

I was getting quite antsy because Chinese New Year is coming and I don't know what I should wear! I figured I should start on the shoe front and so I was browsing carousell for nice wedges and I chanced upon a seller who was selling a pair of damn chio and brand new Charles & Keith wedges for S$20, so yes I chatted with her for a while. 

Then, I went to the Charles & Keith website to check out the sale section and I FOUND THE EXACT SAME PAIR GOING FOR S$12.90!! I immediately apologised to the seller, cancelled the transaction and browsed the entire sale section. WOW. It's basically like Anchorpoint Charles & Keith prices! However, the website design is quite user-unfriendly. I filtered by price but kept getting the entire list of sale shoes. 

Anyway, if you want to look at those heavily discounted shoes, just keep scrolling down lah, you will find them in the end. I looked through 1000+ listings twice! When there's a will, there's a way okay. Initially I had so many pairs opened in new tabs, but most of them had size 38 out of stock. Blessing in disguise, I guess...for my bank account. 

So yes, I bought two pairs of shoes for freaking cheap. S$12.90 for the wedges and S$16.90 for the loafers. Delivery is quite steep (S$9.90!), but aiyah both pairs totaled to less than S$30 anyway, so I just checked out. 

To be honest, I'd rather go to Anchorpoint to check out the Charles & Keith outlet, but since I'm sadly busy these days, the online store sale section will suffice!

Talking about Chinese New Year - I used to have no visiting at all, hence I didn't need to worry about my outfit since I would be a sloth at home anyway, but now, I need to visit ky's relatives and I'm going back to Indonesia too. So I will need two nice outfits. Alamak. Shoes settled and now clothes! What to wear?? At times like these ah, I wish I'm as skinny and lanky as my sister because wear anything also nice one leh.

Such first world problems haha.

Have a good day guys! :)

Massive shoe haul - Out with the old, in with the new!

Taobao Black Sandals
Taobao Black Platform Oxfords
Zalora red Stripe Slip On Espadrilles
Zalora Floral PU Slip Ons
Taobao Black Flats with Silver Details
Zalora Kimono Print Canvas Slip Ons
Zalora Slip On Moccasins With Scallop Edging
Nike Roshe Run (Couldn't find the actual link for the black-white combo)

I have been getting rid of shoes that have long passed their lifespans. I threw away 2 pairs in Hong Kong because my black converse and sandals fell apart. Then I threw away 7 more pairs last week because all of them were either moldy (and unsalvageable), damaged or simply fell apart lah. I also got rid of some really old pairs that were just collecting dust. Felt damn awesome clearing my shoe closet, but aiyoh I'm not used to it being so empty. So hehe, time for new shoes. :D

The Nike Rosher Runs were a birthday gift from Mr Chung! :) Can't wait for all of them to arrive!

Review: MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette

Finally back on the product reviewing track. I was looking through my old posts and ohmy my last product review more than a month ago?! It's getting harder and harder to write my reviews nowadays. Usually I write my blogposts at work during lunch but these days, work has taken up even my lunch time (not complaining though because I'm actually enjoying what I'm doing). Once I reach home, I'm so tired I don't feel like stimulating my brain cells - just want to do brainless things like exercise/eat/sleep. Weekends lagi worse, my bed is my best friend and I just sleep the entire day away. HAHA yes I have become a sloth. Why ah, tell me why! I always just sleep my Saturdays away and most of the time I refuse to go out. WHY LIKE THIS!! 

So yes, here's a blog review for one of my current favourite eyeshadow palette. These days, I've been reaching out for this palette more than my Lorac Pro or Naked palettes! And it's much much cheaper as compared to the latter two. 

The MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette is the amalgamation of 12 gorgeous neutral shades in one very spectacular palette. To those who feel the pinch and do not want to spend more than S$70 on renowned neutral palettes, this is the palette for you. I bought mine from Carousell (such an evil app this one, my wallet is crying haha) for only S$18. The palette's obviously much cheaper online (4 pounds only!!), but I think you have to buy a certain amount to qualify for free international shipping. I'm not sure if the brand is available in any local stores. Do comment if you know where to find this brand in Singapore, and I'll update the blog post! :) 

First of all, the MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette is a second installation for this range of eyeshadow palettes. The first one is the MUA Undressed Palette and that is supposed to be the dupe for the cult-favourite Naked palette. The MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette is, expectedly, a dupe for the also hugely popular Naked2 palette. Since I didn't have the Naked2, I got this palette instead of the original Undressed Palette. 

Packaging: The MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette has quite similar packaging to Sleek Cosmetics' eyeshadow palettes. Of course, the main difference is this packaging is entirely in white and there's a transparent panel on the cover. This transparent panel is very useful, especially if you have way too many eyeshadow palettes that may last you several lifetimes. For those late-for-work mornings, the transparent panel is an excellent feature. Without opening the cover, you know what shades you're going to use already. You save those precious seconds!

Eyeshadow brush: The dual-ended sponge-tip applicator is not as bad as I would have expected them to be, especially coming from a drugstore brand. The sponge tips are dense and very sturdy - none of those filmsy, thin sponge layers that will disintegrate within 2-3 applications. The denseness also allows for easier application - you can compact more pigments, hence only one application is needed and you already get vibrant shades on your eyelids, and you get less fallouts. Not bad...not bad at all!

From left to right: Naked, Devotion, Tranquil, Exposed

From left to right: Shy, Fiery, Reveal, Wink

From left to right: Lavish, Dreamy, Obsessed, Corrupt

Shades: The MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette compacts 12 beautiful neutral and timeless shades, ranging from pearlescent flesh-toned finishes, to metallic bronze hues, to darker contour tones. In all, a very well-thought-out palette that's able to deliver everyday minimalist looks and sultry smokey looks. My favourite shade is Fiery. It's a perfect rose gold and it freshens up your entire face. I'm a true rose-gold eyeshadows convert! I always thought the orange in the shade will make my face look yellower, but nope I was wrong! I LOVE ROSE GOLD!

Pigmentation: Ah. This palette scores full marks in terms of pigmentation. How can a 4-pound palette produce such pigmented and vibrant shades on first swatch?! I don't get it, but I love it. This truly brings some high-end palettes to shame. The main difference between this and Sleek Cosmetics palettes (which I also love) is that there are less fallouts when using the MUA eyeshadows. The formulation of these eyeshadows is more compact hence you get tidier application.

Application: The only shade that bothers me during application is Corrupt, but that is expected from a darker shade - more fallouts. The other 11 shades applies beautifully and I dare say that some of them applies and blends out more easily than the more expensive eyeshadows that I own. Naked has a very pleasant buttery finish and and the extremely metallic shades (Devotion, Fiery and Dreamy) blends out like a dream with a normal blending brush. An utterly must-buy palette!

Longevity: I have really put this palette to the extreme test. I brought this palette along with me to Hong Kong and if you have read my previous posts, you will know that Hong Kong was terribly unforgiving in terms of weather. More humid and more hot than Singapore. If this palette can withstand such crazy conditions, it will definitely work in Singapore. And yes, the eyeshadows performed above my expectations even in such outrageous conditions. There was no melting scenarios, there was no fading and after a full 12 hours, the eyeshadow still looked fresh. Amazing right?! Of course, a good eyeshadow primer will definitely help to extend its life span.

Will I buy it again? Most definitely! I'm hoping MUA will come out with a third installation so that I don't have to purchase the Naked3. I'm extremely impressed by this palette and I'd highly recommend this to everyone. Even if you are a palette hoarder, you will still have space for this lah.

Hope this has been a useful read. Have a great weekend guys! :)

Taobao haul - July 2014

Some of the items that I bought have been taken down from the shops. However, a quick google translate and search bar input will almost always give you similar items from other shops. So make google translate your best friend and go on a Taobao adventure. I always start with hope of finding one product, and I will end with way too many things. 

All the items came in great quality and fit well. 

Taobao is my wardrobe's nemesis. 

Hope you guys are having a great Sunday! I'm two days away from my Hong Kong vacation! HUAT!

Stationery shopping on Taobao

Yep, I went overboard on stationery shopping.

It all started with searching for cheapo pens on taobao. That of course opened the evil pandora's box. I then found too-pretty-to-pass notebooks and stickers and markers and photo albums and yes, I bought way too many stuff that I already owned too many of. Well, at least I did purchase the cheapo pens that I needed. The cheapest I found was 13 fucking cents. WTF?! Taobao rocks lah.

So for all the above, I paid less than S$60. Shiok lah!!

You can simply enter search terms like "日记" (diary), "圆珠笔" (ballpoint pen) or "贴纸" (stickers), and a plethora of choices will be blessed upon you. Yes, google translate is my best friend.

ASOS Haul (July 2014)

ASOS Contrast Bandeau Cut Out Bikini Top - £5.50
ASOS Denim Premium Jacquard Envelope Skirt - £10.00
ASOS Boxy Crop Check Shirt - £10.00
ASOS Roll Sleeve Crop Blouse in Mono Floral Print - £13.00
ASOS Denim Pelmet Skirt in Washed Indigo - £10.00
ASOS Chill Palm Print Tie Side Bikini Pant - £4.00

I have been busy at work and I almost always slept right after dinner, hence updating blog has been a secondary priority for quite a while. Let me take baby steps - restart with haul posts. 

Quick life updates:

• Kengyang is back! :D
• We're going to select our HDB unit on 15 August 2014. 
• I'm going to Hong Kong from 21-23 July 2014 for work, and then for vacation from 5-9 August 2014. Shioks. 
• My bank account (the one for spending) has gone down to 3 digits because I spent over S$1K on a facial package. The good thing is after one session I saw remarkable improvement. Ok lar right? 

Upcoming: Etude House Lock’n Summer Proof 10 Cushion Lock’n Liner

Very very excellent. I'm still fascinated with the Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion and now they have eyeliners in cushion version? Genius! 

Of course, I had to immediately buy a couple on Qoo10. Anything for my blog right? Hehehehe. They were very affordable, S$7.50 each only!

I got the Etude House Lock’n Summer Proof 10 Cushion Lock’n Liner in Black and Brown. Very boring lor, I know. I wanted to get that amazing midnight blue but I won't get as much wear out of it, so yes, I stuck with my everyday colours. 

Can't wait for them to arrive in the mail. Aiyoh more eyeliners to play. So exciting! :D

Review: Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion in Honey Beige W24

I'm such a laggard when it comes to trying out new cosmetic technology and innovation. I have heard of the various BB Cushions in the market but I have yet to try any...till now. At first, I thought this beauty invention was just a gimmick, but ah, I couldn't be more wrong. 

Paydays are my favourite days. Not only because they make me feel happy about the financial department, but also because the sudden surge in moolah pushes me to buy new products to try out, like this Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion. I bought it for S$20.50 on Qoo10. 

I'm a BB Cushion convert, and here's why...

There are 3 shades available on the Qoo10 site:

• N02 Light Beige
• W13 Natural Beige
• W24 Honey Beige

As with most of South Korean foundation-type products, you have limited choice when it comes to finding the shade to match your skin. I bought the darkest one out of the lot (W24 Honey Beige) and I think it's still too light for me. 

Every single time I use the Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion, I will skip the sunscreen. It has SPF50+/PA++! I think that is a good number for a hot and humid weather like Singapore's.

Ingredients list

Packaging: A slightly hefty round compact that scores high marks in terms of product hygiene. There's a plastic separator between the puff and the cushion. The cushion is also sealed and you have to remove the safety seal before usage.

How to use: The application process is quite different, but it's not rocket science. You take the given puff and press the blue side on the cushion till you get the desired amount of product. Then you apply the puff on your face by either patting it on or spreading it all over the face. The application will have to depend on your skin condition and what you want out of the product. Relatively clear and smooth skin? Then spreading it all over is enough. If you have redness or acne to cover up, the pat the puff on the area - more coverage this way!

Usefulness of provided puff: It's marketed as the Collagen Air Puff and I understand why there's no "sponge" anywhere in the name. This puff doesn't absorb the product like a sponge! It picks up the cream and the cream will stay at the surface without getting absorbed. When you apply it on your face, you are applying what you dispensed out of the cushion. No wastage due to absorption! Also, the puff makes application a breeze. It also makes the cream look more even and smooth as compared to when you apply using your fingers.

Product consistency/texture: The Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion has a runnier consistency than the usual BB creams. I guess this slightly liquid consistency helps the puff pick up the cream better.

Application: As mentioned briefly above, application with the aid of the puff is a breeze. I don't know how they created the puff; it's amazing! Now I use it with my other liquid foundations too. First of all, the cream applies beautifully and evenly. The puff also ensures that the product is not just sitting on top of large pores and making them more obvious. With the puff, the Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion makes any large pores miraculously disappear. It's not an exaggeration - I have huge pores around my nose area and after using the puff with any of my liquid foundations, they are no longer as pronounced. I can't even see them anymore unless I go really close to the mirror.

Starting from the left:
1. Bare skin
2. One layer of Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion
3. Two layers of Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion

Coverage: The Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion has a medium coverage that's definitely buildable to a full coverage. As you can see from the photo above, one layer of Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion can cover most redness. Two layers can conceal the redness and acne better. Even after two layers, my skin doesn't look cakey or thick. It still looks like ... my skin... but better! For those with dry skin, you don't need the loose powder at all. This dries to a semi-matte finish. However, if you're like me and you have overworked sebaceous glands, then yes, loose powder is a must to finish things off.

Longevity: This lasted a good 3-4 hours before my skin looked like an oil spill occurred. I'm not complaining though because the product won't move when you blot. You don't get that irritating uneven patches on your face after the tissue/blotter picked up some product in the process. This will work VERY well for users with normal to combination skin. You will have dewy skin by the end of the day!

Will I buy it again? Wah I definitely will. It has high SPF and it has coverage that can rival liquid foundations. Moreover, the given puff is AMAZING. Of course will buy again lah. I hope Etude House provides more shades. So many people will love your product you know? Expand your target market!!

Hope this has been helpful! Have a great day guys! :)

The Body Shop Atrium Sale Haul (Chinatown Point)

The Body Shop had an atrium sale last week at Chinatown Point and the prices were too good to miss! It's not like the usual in-store sales; this is like the annual warehouse sale where you can get up to 70% discount! 

I always wanted to try the Tea Tree Cleansing Wipes, and they were going for Buy-1-Get-1-Free, so I grabbed a couple... 

The Body Shop's Body Butters are luxurious and costly. They are usually S$30.90-S$32.90, and I got these two for S$10 each! Score!!

This is my new favourite body scrub - Cocoa Butter Cream Body Scrub. Smells just like chocolate!!! I think I bought this for S$19.90.

4 mini shower gels for S$10. Not bad for travelling.

I needed a more potent eye serum for whitening my dark circles, so I was glad that the Moisture White Shiso Eye Serum was on sale for S$15!

I spent more than S$60, so I was gifted the Spa Fit Toning Concentrate.

It was quite a good sale! I was tempted to go back on another day, but I resisted. Good job to me for resisting! Till next time, TBS! 

Note: The atrium sale has ended. 

iPrice Coupons Singapore - Get your online shopping coupons & codes here!

I'm no stranger to online shopping; I'm actually quite the online shopping addict. I have days (I'm sure many of you can relate!) whereby I feel really tired and stressed out at work, and I decide to explore the various dangerous online shopping sites. Most of the time, I will end up carting and checking out something. It's a terrible habit to advocate, but this post is dedicated in telling all you online shopaholics how to save some money! 

I was approached by iPrice Coupons Singapore for a blog collaboration and after I browsed the website, I knew I would need to share this with my readers! A quick disclaimer - I was approached by iPrice Coupons Singapore by email to share the website in my blog, but nope, I was not paid to intentionally rave about the website. All opinions are of my own and I genuinely like the website! Can save money le, of course must share right! 

iPrice Coupons is already available in other Asian markets like Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong, and I'm so glad that it has finally landed on the red tiny dot! 

With this site, you can also browse through their shop that carries a lot of famous labels internationally and locally. You can search for River Island, Mango and more. Not only that, you will be notified if there are any deals or promotions going on which relate to the brands that you like!

Because I online shop so much, I always try to find discount coupons and codes to at least save some money. I find my codes/coupons either by googling them before I check out, or I subscribe to an online shop's mailing list and I will get notified in my inbox. 

The problem is blindly searching for a working and authentic code on Google is quite a challenging task. There was one time I tried 10+ codes on ASOS and in the end I bought my stuff without any codes, AND THEN THE NEXT DAY ASOS GAVE ME A MAILING LIST EXCLUSIVE CODE. =_= 

Also, I subscribed to A LOT of online shopping website and sometimes my inbox is flooded with various emails from these sites. I usually delete them on a daily basis and in the process of deleting, I may have missed a code or two. 

That's why iPrice Coupons Singapore is a great website - it compiles all the coupon codes for various web-stores like Zalora, Luxola and Zuji. You have the access to all these codes in one site and it's really saving a lot of time; no more googling and trying out various codes for these web stores! 

iPrice Coupons Singapore

For example, you have the various available (and authentic) coupons for Zalora. Each code comes with an expiration date, which is a nifty touch.

And some codes for Luxola. Luxola is my guilty pleasure haha, so yay can save money on my next purchase!

There are two types of codes/coupons that you can get. First is the codes that you have to enter when checking out. In iPrice Coupons Singapore, these are indicated by the blue "Get The Code" buttons. When you click one, you will be prompted with the code that you can copy paste on the check-out page. 

Second is orange "Go To Offer" button. This one will bring you straight to the web store. For example, Zalora had a specific sale for Mango. So when you click the orange button...

... Zalora's page will pop up on a new tab, specifically for the Mango items that are on sale! Hence, even if you are not on Zalora's mailing list, you're still informed on the various sales that they have! 

iPrice Coupons Singapore proves to be quite useful for my many impulse online shopping adventures. They are currently adding more and more stores to their list and I'm excited for the future discounts that I can get! HEH. #onlineshopaholicforever 

iPrice Coupons Singapore

Do check out the website and hopefully you can get additional discounts on your purchases! :) Have a great weekend guys!!

ASOS Haul (they gave me discount codes!!) + a really important tip!

I bought these 5 items in 2 occasions - both with different discount codes that worked on top of already discounted items. Hooray! 

I thought the leggings were quite crazy, but I guess it will not look so risqué if I match it with a long black tunic top and a black pair of slip-ons?  

ASOS Leggings in Tribal Print with Side Elastic Criss Cross Detail
ASOS Silky Shorts in Floral Print
Blue Vanilla Printed Midi Skirt

Bourjois 1 Second Mascara
Bourjois Dark Khol Mascara

Anyway, I realised that there is a way of further reducing the total amount that you pay when you check out from ASOS. You know how they always change the currency to Singapore Dollars? HECK NO! Change it back to British Pound and after you do the exchange rate checking and the mathematics, you will realise that it's actually slightly cheaper if you check out in British Pounds than if you check out in Singapore Dollars.

For example, the silky shorts in floral prints? It was 12.50 pounds, but when I converted to Singapore Dollars, it's S$30.74. Of course, there are hidden credit card charges when you check out in a different currency, but I checked that too and I paid less than S$30.74. OH YEAH!!

Have a great shopping time guys! :) 

Additional 15% off sale items ("FETCH15"). 

Ends Sunday, 8th June 2014, 7pm SGT. Only valid on one transaction per customer. 

New in: Rings from H&M

Yesterday was post-surgery day 1 and I was too jumpy to stay at home. So I decided to reward myself and I went out on a quick shopping session. It was a 2-hour session at JEM and I didn't really get many things. I bought the above rings for less than S$12 in total. Quite a bargain and H&M is really scoring high marks in the ring department.

Today's post-surgery day 2 and I still can't consume solids and hot liquids. So, I'm stuck with coffee, milo and various juices. I wanted to buy ice cream but the fridge in my house is officially broken down?! The washing machine broke down, the air con broke down, the printed broke down and now the fridge is a goner as well?!

Not consuming so much food has its positive as well. I have lost around 1.5kg and I know, I know, I'm losing my muscle weight + water weight, but very shiok to have flat tummy for damn long and to see the numbers keep going down? :D Of course, when I'm fully healed, I'll have to train my muscles and continue my running again - I have a 10km marathon to run in August with Eve!

Have a good day guys! :)