Review: Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette

How many nude palettes do I actually need? Just one. 

How many nude palettes do I actually want? GIVE ME ALL OF THEM. 

Seriously man, ever since trailblazing Urban Decay started the nude/naked/neutral eyeshadow palette trend, every single brand in the cosmetic industry (generalization here to illustrate the booming neutral palette situation) has formulated one of their own as well. And I'm not complaining because even though palette A looks exactly like palette B, which is also highly similarly to palette C (and palette D, and palette AA and palette ZZ), I still want to possess as many as possible because as shopping is my vice and I need to fulfill my vice to be happy. Yah okay, it's a long paragraph to basically explain my total addiction to collecting neutral eyeshadow palettes. 

I bought the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette a couple of months ago from ShoppingDistrict.net for S$38.90 and I'm glad I bought the second installment instead of the first one. 

Coastal Scents Revealed Palette 

Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette

The Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette focuses more on the reds and corals of the neutral eyeshadow family, while the Coastal Scents Revealed Palette contains the more usual neutral shades of browns and taupes. To be honest, I like the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette better because it's a palette that can complement my other neutral eyeshadow palettes. I have Urban Decay Naked, Lorac Pro and NYX Nude on Nude and these 3 palettes mostly have browns and taupes (just like the Coastal Scents Revealed Palette), hence second installment is a better fit to my makeup collection. This does not mean that I didn't have the temptation to get both palettes. Oh yes, I had both in my cart... 

Ingredients list

Packaging: Very travel-friendly. It's not a bulky palette (like the Naked series) and it's very compact and thin. It actually reminds me of the Lorac Pro Palette, just that this one has no mirror, which is both good and bad (less heavy, but less convenient for application). The cardboard packaging does not bother me at all because the design on it is sleek and very appropriate for a neutral palette with all the different hues of browns and reds. The only thing that irked me a little bit is the black cardboard on the eyeshadow side - very irritating because if I'm not careful, the product will get everywhere and black being the packaging colour on this side of the palette, the mess can get pretty obvious. So I always make it a point to load the product on my eyeshadow brushes very very carefully. Mild OCD perhaps? I don't know... Everything must be clean, always!!

Colour selection: The Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette has an impressive repertoire of colours. The first row is mostly lighter shades with a great balance of mattes and shimmers, corals and reds. The second row introduces you to darker shades of the same family, complete with a matte black for that classic smokey eye or just for lining the eyes. The most disappointing colour for me has got to be the second from the bottom right side - it looks pretty with the black base and red glitters, but oh my gosh it's a fallout disaster and the chunky glitters have the tendency to make their way INTO my eyes. A nightmare to apply and a nightmare to maintain. I ended up having super irritated eyes when I used this colour on my eyes.

Pigmentation: Great pigmentation on a whole. I'm most impressed by the mattes. Usually matte eyeshadows in palettes are quite redundant because you can't get any pigmentation out, but in this one, all the matte shades have amazing payoff - not only swatches, but also on the eyelid!

Longevity: To be honest, these eyeshadows don't have the best staying power. Without a primer, give them 4-5 hours and the colour will start to fade and at the end of the day, the shade is much less intense than when you first apply it. With a primer, the situation gets a little better, but still not the most long-lasting eyeshadows. In comparison, my Lorac Pro eyeshadows maintain their intensity after a full 12-hour wear WITHOUT a primer. but then again Lorac is a high-end brand so I can't really do a 100% comparison with this palette. For a S$38.90 palette, the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette has decent longevity. 

Will I recommend this palette? For those of you who are (like me) into collecting neutral eyeshadow palettes, then this is a good addition! If you're just a beginner when it comes to eyeshadows, I will suggest that you get the first installment because browns and taupes are safer colours. Overall, it's a great palette (with one black-sheep shade) that's worth trying out!

Review: Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Color in Rose-bud and Ravin' Raisin

Lately, I've been having a lipstick kick. Usually, I hate lipsticks because of how high maintenance they are - you need to apply properly (especially for bright colours) and make sure none gets on your teeth, you need to eat and drink more carefully and you need to keep reapplying to ensure even pigmentation throughout the day. Some lipsticks are also so sticky that my hair sticks to my lips every single time the wind blows (this is also why I avoid lip glosses at all cost). But, I cannot deny that lipsticks add pizzazz to a boring everyday makeup look and they are starting to prove their importance in my makeup repertoire now. 

The strange thing about me is that I hate nude lipsticks or those with shades that are very similar to my own lip colour. Like that I spend the money for what right?? I gravitate towards brighter or deeper colours - mostly bright reds - and now I'm starting to love deep burgundy and purplish colours. So vampy and edgy. Extremely high maintenance, but I'm going for it!

I didn't want to spend a bomb on my first purplish lipstick so I browsed ShoppingDistrict.net and found the Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Color for only S$8.50 each. Very affordable indeed - getting one seems measly, so I bought two :D

I bought 904B Rose-bud (a gorgeous mid-tone rose coral shade) and 916D Ravin' Raisin (a vampy medium pink-purple with mauve undertones). 

Left: Rose-bud
Right: Ravin' Raisin

Left: Rose-bud
Right: Ravin' Raisin

Packaging: I love the transparent cap - saves so much time when you're in a hurry. Other than that, I have nothing to complain about. It's S$8.50 apiece, you can't really expect a whole lot from the packaging. I'd rather have great product than great packaging (quite difficult to get both at this price, it's US$2.29 each!!).

Left: Rose-bud
Right: Ravin' Raisin
Natural lighting

Left: Rose-bud
Right: Ravin' Raisin
With camera flash

Pigmentation: Wow, wow, wow. I wasn't expecting such incredible colour payoff, but these Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Colors are beyond amazing. I just swiped the lipsticks once at the back of my hand, and I got full pigmentation swatches immediately - just look at the above two photos, ONE SWIPE AH, ONE SWIPE. 

Application: These lipsticks apply smoothly and evenly. For Ravin' Raisin, I'll suggest applying with a lip brush to minimise mistakes, especially at the corners of the mouth. Both shades apply with a slight sheen, but eventually dry off semi-matte after a couple of minutes. If you have very dry lips, please moisturise your lips with a good lip balm before applying these Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Colors because if not, the lipstick will settle into those dry areas and you end up having patchy, flaky lips. Not glam at all. 

Rose-bud on lips

Ravin' Raisin on lips

Ravin' Raisin on lips

Longevity: Wet n Wild added a "megalast" to this product name, but I don't think it's mega lasting at all. It all depends on the shade actually. Rose-bud can last a good 3-4 hours because the colour is closer to my lip colour than Ravin' Raisin, so I don't really notice the difference. However, for Ravin' Raisin, it only looked intact for maximum 2 hours. On both days, I drank coffee without straws, so yah a lot of the colour transferred to the cup. I'm sure if I'm more cautious and use straws, the lipsticks will last longer.

Will I buy it again?: I'm currently expanding my lipstick horizon. The Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Color is an affordable buy, so if you want to be adventurous with your colour selection but don't want to spend so much, get these!

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

Innisfree Masks from Korea (thanks Chay!)

I seriously NEED to go to S.Korea. Not for apparel shopping, but for skincare and beauty shopping. Oh man, S.Korea has some of the best skincare and beauty products, and I'm talking only about those products that are available for purchase in Singapore. I'm quite sure there are plenty of other smaller brands that have yet to be franchised internationally, and I'm pretty sure they have bombdotcom products as well. 

I already have a plan - bring a damn huge "pasar" shopping bag.  You know those that can fold, fold, fold until damn thin one, but once opened can rival Hermione's tiny beaded bag enchanted with Undetectable Extension Charm? Yah, those are very awesome. IMAGINE THE NUMBER OF SHEET MASKS I CAN BUY!!! 

Ah S.Korea, wait for me~~

Chay was in S.Korea and she helped me get so many Innisfree masks. I'm a firm believer of Innisfree's anti-trouble masks. They seem to be the most effective and you really can see a difference! 

I sent her some photos of the masks that I wanted, and Chay said she just showed the salesperson the photos and they loaded her basket with everything. Talk about awesome service!! 

I have used the Tea Tree It's Real Squeeze Mask and Tea Tree Hydro Gel Mask before and I really liked them, so I got some more of those. After browsing Innisfree's website, I saw that they had other anti-trouble masks too, so I also got some to try out. So far, the Anti-Trouble Second Skin Mask has been AMAZING. I have yet to try the Anti-Trouble Intensive Ampoule Mask (BHA), but I'm looking forward! 

I'm also a HUGE HUGE HUGE fan of the Jejubija+Aloe Capsule Recipe Sleeping Pack. A 10ml pack can last me 5-6 nights. Super wu hua. Chay got 10 for me! :D

I'm so ready for a S.Korea trip. Planned one with Chay for autumn 2015 and I'm hoping the plan will come to fruition soon.

Also, an update on my (our) HDB - we got a S$40K grant! Actually Kengyang got all the grant lah haha, I cannot get grant one since I'm not a Singapore Citizen. But aiyah in the end same same. S$20K AHG and S$20K SHG. YAY! :D

That brings me to my next big change - when should I change my citizenship? Should I or should I not? I feel like a huge traitor to Indo but....I have lived in Singapore for 16 years. I know so much more about Singapore than Indo. I even know all the words to the Singapore's national anthem and pledge. If I plan on living in Singapore for the rest of my life, then I should just change my citizenship right? But then, family-wise, I will be the first one to change. Yikes. HOW LIKE THAT?

#FitrinaTravels: Bangkok 2014 Eats

I Am Thai Pasta

5th Floor, Siam Square One

Opening Hours: 10.00-22.00

Nearest BTS: Siam

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Website

From a random stall near our condo. We smelled the kwaychap-like broth from quite a distance away and decided to try. We were back for 3 more times during the entire 5-day trip. 

This was a sad day. We wanted to get some kick ass wanton mee and pork leg from Sab2X but they were closed. ZZZ. So we settled for some random fried rice and tom yum stall nearby. The tom yum was damn shiok but the rest was just alright. 

Abundance of fruits from road side stalls...

The Bookshop Bar

G/F, Ashton Condominium, Sukhumvit Soi 38 Bangkok, Thailand

Nearest BTS: Thong Lo

Opening Hours: 1100 - 0000 daily 

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Abundance of street food from Thong Lo Night Market

We got scammed in this stall just outside of Chatuchak market. The owner charged us 200baht for the above two bowls of noodles. WTF?! In the end, we just avoided argument and gave her the money. ZZZZ. 

Must-have at Chatuchak Market

Paella at Chatuchak Market. It was really good but a little bit pricey at 150baht for a small box. 

To-die-for curry noodle dish from a road side stall.  I don't even know what this is called, but it was so good I polished my bowl and also half of Dora's. 

Mo-Mo-Paradise

Terminal 21 Shopping Center, 4th floor

Sukhumvit Soi 19 (Wattana), Sukhumvit Road, North Klongtoei, Bangkok 10110

Nearest BTS: Asoke

Opening hours: 1100-2200

This was from a mini mart!

This was a rather zoom-zoom post - it has been a really busy week, but I don't want to ignore my blog so I'm trying my best to update! :D Have a good week guys, the weekend's coming!! Hooray!

#FitrinaTravels: Bangkok 2014 - Airbnb Experience

I wanted to go back to GLOW Pratunam for this trip, but after browsing Airbnb, aiyah no harm trying, so after confirming with dorabanana, we booked an apartment for our Bangkok trip! 

To be really honest, I wasn't completely sure about booking this apartment. Really a bit scared things wouldn't look like the photos provided by the host. But wow, the apartment turned out to be amazing and it looked EXACTLY like the provided photos. 

Airbnb link: https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/1275275?euid=fac53974-c539-e53e-2472-959ab732d001

The only downside is, the apartment was quite a distance away from the city centre. 12 BTS stations away from Siam. However, the journey took us less than 30 minutes and the Udom Suk BTS Station was a couple of minutes away from the condominium. So not that bad lah. But don't take taxi from Siam area though, most of the taxi drivers won't go by the meter and they will quote you high prices. We only took taxi home from Siam once and we were quoted 300baht (WHAT?!), but it was already quite late at night so we decided to just go ahead. 

A very comfortable studio - just the right size to accommodate two people. 

The check-in procedure was very smooth - the host's dad waited for us at the condo lobby and since we bought prepaid SIM cards, we were able to communicate with him through sms. According to the host, if you don't have a SIM card, you can contact him via LINE too! 

Almost everything was provided - hairdryer, plates, utensils, cups, cooking oil, travel guide, a lot of toilet paper, towels, DVD player, microwave, toiletries, etc. We only had to buy water and personal toiletries. 

The rooftop pool was INSANE. Super gorgeous. 

This was the view from our living room. 

Also, there was a night food market around our condominium and I found this stall that sold a really strangely delicious curry noodles. It's like a marriage of curry and mee siam. So sourish and shiok!

I'm missing the shiok noodles now. :( Aiyah can't wait to go back to Bangkok again. Till next time!!

#FitrinaTravels: Happy 20th, Dora!

This wanlirong has only turned 20 but she has more maturity than some of the same-age friends that I have. This loud, bubbly, garang girl is one of the best treasures that I have found and seriously interning at MTV was life-changing! Because of that 7-month stint in MTV, I was able to land this spectacular research job and I was able to meet this crazy girl. 

I still remember she was the one who spoke to me first on the first day of internship. "Halo, halo, sorry ah, can help me? How to spell 'Quantity' ah?" Not that she didn't know how to spell, she was confirming whether there's an "n" or not. LOL. So funny this girl. 

For someone who just turned 20, she has gone through a lot. And for all that she has done to make things work, I respect her immensely. 

I think other than Kengyang, she's the only that I can talk to about anything under the sun. 

Happy 20th birthday, Dora Wanlirong! Glad to have made your birthday a better one in Bangkok. Bali next! 

Hai Di Lao + Cedele = Glorious Food Baby

This past week I have been way too much and not exercising as much. Not a very good lifestyle that I want to have and advocate, but well, it happened. Moreover, I'm flying to Bangkok tomorrow and I'm quite sure I'll have way too much food (again) for 5 days. People ask, "do you eat to exercise or do you exercise to eat?". Quite obvious that this question doesn't apply to me now. :S

Self-reflection will start when I'm back from Bangkok. 

Back to what this post is supposed to be about - Hai Di Lao!! 

I had Hai Di Lao once when I visited Kengyang in Shanghai and that was an amazing experience. Go toilet wash hand also got someone press the hand soap for you. I was quite fearful of tarnishing that wonderful image I had in my mind when I agreed to go for dinner at Hai Di Lao in Singapore. But, wow, impeccable service and the food quality blew our mind. No skimping on seasoning, no watery soup, and extremely friendly staff. I never had an empty glass of plum juice. The staff-in-charge of our table always made sure that everything was taken care of. Two thumbs up! More if I can! 

The only downside is it can be quite expensive. Our meal was close to $200 for 4 people. That's almost S$50 per person. In Shanghai, we ordered so much and it was RMB600+ for 6 people. But of course, you can't compare dollar to dollar since the living standards are so different. But well, S$50 well spent! I especially loved the tomato-based soup. Great recommendation from dorabanana. 

We then went to Cedele and ordered 2 tea set. We seriously didn't expect to get full-sized dishes, but yes none of the dishes were downsized just because they were in a set. Hen hao Cedele! 

Yah, we ate like kings. I was so full that I barely had anything the day after. Such a terrible habit haha. I'm sure my internal organs hate me if they have emotions. 

Bangkok in less than 24 hours! :D

November 2014 Online Haul: ZALORA and ASOS

So I said I will not shop online because I'm going to Bangkok. Obviously, that determination got lost halfway. I ended up spending less than S$100 on these products from Zalora and ASOS, thanks to many many discount codes. I had the ASOS items in my cart and I didn't check out because I was preparing to check them out if I couldn't find similar things in Bangkok, BUTTTT ASOS tweeted a code for an additional 10% off items on Sunday morning, and I immediately checked the 3 things out. And then I went back to sleep. :D 

Zalora has Mastercard Thursdays - 10% off your total if you use a Mastercard to purchase your items on a Thursday. Also, I had a 15% discount code on top of the 10% off, so...just whack right? 

ZALORA Criss Cross Mix Material Sandals
EZRA by ZALORA Lace Kimono Sleeved Blouse
ZALORA Cross Ankle Strap Pointed Ballerina Flats

Girls on Film Floral V Neck Boxy Crop Top
ASOS Denim Extreme Knicker Short in Black Acid Wash
ASOS Cami with Layered Pleat Hem

The extreme knicker short is quite intimidating, hence I bought a size bigger. I don't want to expose my behind, but I don't want to pay a lot for a pair of black acid wash shorts. Hopefully, this fits alright, if not, into the Carousell box it goes!

2 more days to Bangkok! Excited for shopping and eating and shopping and eating! :D

Life in general

No matter how much I try to tune them out, I cannot get their voices out of my head.
I feel the incredulity at how much of a bully they are and I feel the fury slowly manifesting, but I cannot do anything because I'm not a part of this family. I want to save my mom but in their minds, I'm a 25-year-old freeloader that occupies on entire room in the house forcing all 4 of them to be brewing negativity in one room. I can't help think that this all wouldn't happen If I didn't exist. It's a stupid thought, I know, but my sanity has been forced out of my system.

I cannot think straight, I cannot think rationally.

All I can do is to construct a fake front whenever I'm out with my friends/boyfriend so I don't look like a loser with no hopes and dreams for the future. All I want is just peace internally when I'm out of the house.

I have used the frozen-spoon method so many times before going out to meet friends. I cannot meet them with eyes so swollen from crying the night before... or worse, hours before meeting them.

Yes, I will have my own house by 2019, but I don't know if I can survive 5 more years of this. Every single day, I feel robbed. Please give me my life back? Actually no, just give me a little bit of tenacity back.

I'm not well, I really am not.

The daily veil I wear before I step out of the house is slowly tearing apart.

So dear friends, if I decide to not come for a gathering, it's not because I hate you or have something against you, I'm just not well and I'd rather not spoil your day by showing up with a half-done facade.

Update on 3 November 2014 - Panic attack over and I'm back to normal (hopefully). I need to get better earphones. Time to invest in a good one that can block out all external noise.