Herbal Essence Body Envy Giveaway! (CLOSED)

This giveaway is closed.

Good afternoon everyone!

I'll be hosting a giveaway today and hopefully, this will put us both in a gifty-mood as the beginning of a new year is approaching!

This giveaway is sponsored by Herbal Essence and they are being super generous with the giveaway prize packs, allowing me to giveaway three packs of their Body Envy Shampoo & Conditioner! That means there will be three winners!

Here are the rules which will help you gain an entry:

• You must be a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect OR email.
• In the comment box below, please leave your name, GFC Name (or subscribed email) and email address.
• Please also make sure to have your parents'/guardian's consent to enter this giveaway if you are under 18 years of age! I don't want anyone thinking there's some creep sending shampoo and conditioner to your house!
• Winners will be drawn via random.org

That's it! As easy as A B C!

Unfortunately, this giveaway will only be open to Australian residents.. so sorry to my lovely international readers! I promise there will be an international giveaway coming this way soon!

This giveaway will end on 12 January 2012 at 5:00PM (Sydney, Australia) time.

Thank you for participating and I hope you all a wonderful and safe New Years!

My Celebrity Look-alike Tag

I was extremely excited for this tag after seeing this on Tina's blog. Seriously can't wait to find my celebrity look-alike!

The very first time I used it, I uploaded a silly photo which the results turn out to be my K-pop idol Lee Hyori. Argh! I'd do anything just to look 65% like her! Boo!

But I decided to upload five different photos which looks much more like the real me (minus my extremely bad skin! eek!) for much more accurate results.. and here are they are:

Out of all these celebrities, I only know/heard of:

• Ayumi Hamasaki
• Joey Yung
• BoA
• Choi Ji Woo (Stairway to Heaven ^_^~!!)
• Son Ye-jin
• Hikaru Utada

Top counts...

• Vivian Hsu has actually appeared 3 out of 5 face scans!
• Hirosue Ryoko topped 2/5 face scans though!

Maybe Vivian Hsu? ...

Maybe Choi Ji Woo?...... I'd totally be lying if I say my celebrity look-alike is Choi Ji Woo. She's such a beauty!

Who is your celebrity look-alike?

Christmas Beauty Gift Guide for Her 2011

Christmas is only twelve days away! Trust me.. It sounds like a long way to go, but it will come at a blink of an eye!

...And if you're a procrastinate-r like me, I swear I will leave almost everything till last minute.. from studies to blogging, shopping and especially when shopping for gifts for friends and family. Sometimes it's not a bad thing as bigger deals and pocket-friendly sales do come on closer to date, but saying that, it also mean that you'd be rushing around to gift, wrap and prepare!

Gifts for her is an extremely broad topic since every lady has a different interest and not to mention that we are also extremely fussy and picky! Heh.. So I'll only limit this post to everything beauty-related.

Gift Sets

Priceline is having a great bargains on gift sets such as Britney Spears Fantasy 3-Piece Gift Set ($34). You can view this month's catalogue here for other gift sets available such as ones by Mariah Carey, Kate Moss and Elizabeth Arden. Other countries shouldn't have a problem finding these gift sets at all!

Maybelline New York Nail Polish Set ($24.95)

A set of set of seven lovely nail polish colours, guarantee-ing that at least one shade will suit her taste and is season-trendy. Retails for $24.95 and exclusive to Priceline.

Australis Lip Travel Case ($14.95)

Austrais Lip Travel Case contains five mini Colour Inject Mineral lipglosses in Contemporary, Lambada, Bellydance, Jazz and Bollywood. I own these lipglosses in full-size and I definitely love em' to bits! You can read my review here. Retails for $14.95 at Priceline, Big-W, K-Mart, Target and selected pharmacies within Australia only.

Australis Lip Tricks Palette ($9.95)

This palette contains eight shades of my favourite Colour Inject Mineral lipsticks in Samba, Twist, Boogie Woogie, Jitterbug, Flamenco, Honky Tonk, Ballet and Salsa. I've also reviewed the lipsticks here. Definitely a great gift for those lipstick-lovers and make-up starters. Retails for $14.95 at Priceline, Big-W, K-Mart, Target and selected pharmacies within Australia only.

EcoTools Brush Sets

You can find four different brush sets from EcoTools which are ideal gifts for make-up newbies. Not only are they eco-friendly, but also great quality! Available at Priceline, Price Attack and selected pharmacies in Australia. International residents can check out store locations here.

Burt's Bees' Gifts & Kits ($15 ~ $30)

Burt's Bees also do some gift sets and you can check it at their page here. There are 8 sets to choose from! Whether your friend would love to own some body products, handbag essentials, lip balms sets, baby-care products or a set which covers from Head-to-Toe -- they have it! Check your local stockists here.

That's about it! Hope you found it helpful and happy shopping! ^_^

Please also share with me what you've already shopped or is going to shop for your loved ones!

How To: DIY Lipstick Palette

Compressing your lipsticks into your DIY lip palette is a great way to save more space in the make-up stash, don't ya think?

You can choose whichever lipsticks you want to melt, but for me... NYX Round Lipsticks are my picks! I generally don't like them (review here), so I know I won't ever carry them around in my handbag or whatever. Instead of leaving them around in my make-up stash.. I figured that pressing them into one palette will save much more space.

What you'll need:

• An empty palette (I bought mine on eBay for $3)
• Two metal spoons
• A toaster or a candle
• Anti-bacterial tablets (I use Milton tablets which can be purchased at Priceline)
• Your preferred lipsticks!
• Glue (I used craft glue)

Procedure:

1. Sanitise your spoons and aluminium pans by soaking them in [enough] water with half of your anti-bacterial tablet.

2. If still a full-product lipstick, cut the lipstick in half and place on the metal spoon. My NYX lipsticks fill two aluminium pans.

3. Place the metal spoon over the toaster to melt the lipstick.

4. Make sure that you place the aluminium pan on a straight and flat surface so that the lipstick will cool with a flat level. Pour the melted lipstick into the pan and leave to cool.

5. While waiting for cool, peel off the label of your lipstick and stick onto the inside cover of the palette.

6. After the pan of lip colour has cooled down, using craft glue, glue the pan to the palette and you're done!

Ta-da!

Now you more space in your stash to be filled up with newer make-up!

Hope you enjoyed the post and found it helpful!

November Favourites

Can ya believe? It's already December! Only about 24 more days till Christmas which also means us Aussies will dominatin' the beaches and rocking fabulous tans.... or unfortunate sunburnts.

No, seriously.. time flies way too fast. I'm so afraid of growing older. another 6 months till I'm 19 and it felt like only yesterday when I turned 18. Oh poo!

Ok. Well. November favourites. Can you guys even remember the last time I did a monthly favourites post? No? It's okay. Even I couldn't remember! I think it was back in April or May. Heh..

So this month, I have finally opened the Royal & Langnickel Green Line Brush set that I've received as goodies from the Australian Beauty Blogger Weekend 2011 (back in September) and the first brush I picked up was the blusher brush, which I'd like to announce... I'm in love with.

(please ignore my tripe eyelids swollen eyes)

The size of the brush just fits the size of my cheeks PERFECTLY and the brush is so so so extremely very soft as the other brushes I own are of lower-end brands. I love using this brush to apply blushers, shade my forehead and highlighting my cheekbones!

Dark eye circles! Ahhh! Back then I didn't have any at all, can ya believe? But now, I swear you can see the dark circles right around the hollow of my eyes! Thank God for the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector! I've used this ever since I started with make-up and honestly I love this stuff! It's one of the best concealer for under-eye circles as it blends really well, provides great coverage and doesn't look cakey when you layer too much. I have to say that it's not the best for blemish concealing though..

Sportgirl's Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Rose is a lovely trio of three shimmery shades which I've been using this as a blusher only.

No idea why, but I've been diggin' dewy/glowy blushers. Must be because it looks much more natural and gives a really nice sheen to my cheeks! The trio comes with a bronze shade, lighter rose and a medium rose shade. I've been particularly liking the medium rosy shade much more as it looks much more natural on my skin tone ^_^

I've also been using this Face Of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminating Pearls which I've also received from the ABBW. I've been using this to highlight my cheeks because it gives off a very nice and subtle sheen to the cheeks which isn't too obvious.

Lastly, this ORLY Nail Polish in Sweet Peacock which I've fell in love with! Seriously, this has got to be one of the most beautiful shimmery blue nail colour in the world.

I honestly don't prefer blue nail polishes on me, but this colour is way too pretty for me to not use it! Keeps me starin' at me nails all day... seriously.

Hopefully I will keep track of this and continue with December favourites next month! Woo!

What are your November Favourites?

Disclaimer: Royal Brushes, Face Of Australia Illuminating Pearls, ORLY Nail Polish was provided as goodies from ABBW (not obliged to review or mention in posts). Sportsgirl Cheek & Eye Shimmer was a gift from a friend.

Australis Nail Colour in Rub-a-dub-dub Photos, Swatches & Review

Australis nail polishes! I have tried some of their nail polishes in the past, both their normal and Paint The Town range.. I was never impressed with the formula although the shades and names are the cutest!

Rub-a-dub-dub (such a cute name!) is a true, pale yellow colour of a creme finish. Very cute and summery/springy shade which will brighten up any gloomy Autumn day! Love this colour!

Although this shade didn't apply streaky and gloopy, I can't seem to work the brush for a flawless application. The bristles of this brush is not as soft as other nail polishes I own, so as I lay the brush on my cuticles, there will always be that 'brush mark/dent' which altogether makes me look like a nail polish noob. Hopefully, you'll understand what I mean!

So since the brush doesn't really work for me, I always end up painting on three thick coats which chips off quicker after around approx 1-2 days, but on average, should be fine for up to 3-4 days. Nothing so extraordinary about drying time and lasting power, to be honest!

I like the shade though! Definitely a shade that I'm looking forward to pair with greys in manicures or other pastel shades! It's a colour which will brighten up the days of the upcoming cold and gloomy season in Aussie here!

What's a nail polish colour that will brighten up YOUR day?

Also, have you tried Australis Nail Colours?

Disclaimer: Product was provided as goodies from the Australian Beauty Blogger Weekend 2011.

Tagged: Tell Me About Yourself

Right now in Sydney, the weather is extremely nice... So nice that it makes me feel so lazy, therefore today's post will be a laid-back and relaxing post (for me... maybe for you too). Nothing about make-up, skincare or haircare!

I was tagged and awarded the 'Tell Me About Yourself Award...... Of The Year (jokes!)" by Priyanka from TwinxNTrax. She has a wonderful blog, so do check it out! ^-^

Besides that, I'm just gonna jump straight into what I gotta do, which is to list 7 random facts about me.... LOL. This is gonna be interesting... I think.

1. I have this strange fear with sharp objects. Yes. We're talking about knives or scissors here! Sometimes when my mum (or anyone) holds up a knife which is pointed towards me.. I feel like there's a possibility that *what if* she accidentally stabs me or something along the lines of that... or dropping the knife and chopping off my 10 toes.

2. I also have this fear of turning on my Asian 'stove'. It's connected with this gas bottle which you have to turn on first, before turning on the stove. I'm always scared that it might explode into my face or something... I think I just might list out all my fears!

3. I'm very picky with my food, the reason why I always stick with Vietnamese/Chinese restaurants unless it's the basic English food such as my local steak. To share with you, I don't really enjoy Korean food, because I've grew up with Vietnamese food being super flavoured that Korean dishes most of the time are a tad too plain and bland. Just my personal taste.

4. I personally don't like the look of blue nails on me.

5. I read blogs, but most of the time I don't leave comments! Poo!

6. My favourite animals are pigs! They are just SO adorable that I really can't get over it. Hahaha! My first plush toy was a pig :)

7. I have this green blanket from Qantas Airlines which I've had since I was born (yes!) and I do hug it to sleep every night! Not sure why, but the blanket feels very cool!

Ah, that's 7 quirky facts about me! Hope you've enjoyed and thank you Priyanka for tagging me!

Saturday/Sunday Steals #14

Hope you're doing well whether you beauties are at MBBE or K-Pop 2011 Festival or anywhere else in the world tonight..

As for me, tonight will be a relaxing one (like always)... Dramas, blogging, Twitter, YouTube and everything. And also sharing with you what I've gathered from the markets in the past two weekends!

Cheap brush sets!! This particular black set of *artistic brushes* which you most likely would find at your local bargain stores, I bought for $1. I figured that I could use this brush for applying a

face mask or painting (I ain't no artist).

The next set of brushes are pointed in shape, similar to those pointed eyeliner brushes which I plan to use for nail art or face-painting since they are definitely too scratchy for eyelining. I bought this for 50 cents.

Pack of three plastic spray bottles which is most likely used to contain the custom mix of my Revlon ColorStay Foundation and brush cleaner! $1! Hopefully I will get a post up about custom mixing your own foundation soon! ^-^!

Headbands! These remind me of when I was younger... Used to wear this around all the time! These were $1 each which I won't probably end up using, because my mum did pressure me into purchasing these... LOL! But that's okay. Hopefully I will bring it to use.

Finally something beauty-related! As you are aware (or maybe not), I did purchase a Cosmetica Pointed Eyeliner brush last time for $4 last week. As for this week, I did also purchase a Powder and Lip brush from the same lady for $3 each since she lowered the price because she couldn't sell them. I thought I'd give it a try anyways since 6 bucks won't hurt although I don't use lip brushes often and I have many powder brushes at home already.. *sigh

That was probably the only make-up related item, now onto my fewer last nail-art items! Rhinestonesss! I bought this for $3, but you probably could find it on eBay for cheaper!

And also these three palettes which contains cutesy fruits, flowers, stars, hearts, butterflies, Big Bird and bears! These palettes were also $3 each, but I actually grabbed all three palettes and the rhinestones above for $10 altogether! Wooooo! You can find these palettes on eBay for $1.50 with free shipping though...

So that's all that I've hauled for the past two weekends of markets!

Hope you lovelies have a wonderful weekend and enjoyed this post!

Maybelline SuperStay 24HR Foundation Review

Today's review is on the SuperStay 24HR Make-Up by Maybelline which I hope you find helpful.! ^-^

First of all, this foundation comes in a glass bottle (which I'd probably drop one day) packaging with NO pump. Yes, it's a new trend yo. Wished it came with a pump though since it'd save the messy application and also allows me to control how much product comes out.

I have this shade in Sandy Beige which is probably like ten thousand shades lighter than my skin-tone (ok.. maybe not). Adding to that, I have quite a strong yellow undertone to my skin, so this shade tends to look too neutral when applied and sometimes a little too pink. So I guess another downfall of this foundation is that there are only ten shades and it only covers light~medium skintones. There are no shades available for dark skin tones (or available here in Australia) so that's a shame...

Now that I've got all the downfalls out of the way, we shall move onto the good stuff!

The consistency is perfect. I love how it's not too watery, therefore it doesn't slide all over the back of my hand, especially when it doesn't have a pump.

This foundation offers a medium-full coverage with an 'inbetween of dewy and matte' finish. You can use a thin layer for a medium coverage if you like, but an average layer will offer a tad heavier than medium cover (in between of medium~full). As for me, I have to apply a corrector and concealer (even though the foundation can build to full coverage) because I do have red scars which still peeks through.

I actually really like this foundation! It claims to be an 'oil-free and fragrance free' foundation which 'stays comfortable and looks naturally flawless all day'. True to its word. This foundation does looks incredibly natural when applied which lasts for at least 8 hours to a maximum of approximately 10 hours, depending on the temperature.

Maybelline also claims that this foundation contains a 'Micro-flex formula which provides 24-hour wear and no transfer'. It also 'withstands heat, humidity and sweat' and is 'dermatologist tested'. Sadly, I do find that it does transfer quite easily onto my t-shirt's neck-line and when using tissue near my face. As for the 'heat and humidity', I work in KFC's heat and humidity and this foundation does bear it pretty well, though I find that it does become more easily transferable after at the end of the shift and I do notice that my t-zone becomes more oily and shiny too.

At the end of the day, would I repurchase?

Yes! It's similar foundation to the Revlon Colorstay except that it lasts up to a decent 8-10 hours only, feels more light-weight and has no unattractive chemical smell.

This baby retails for $21.95 at Target, Big W and Priceline with occasional sales.

Disclaimer: This product was bought by me.

Recent Haul (Maybelline, L'Oreal & Urban Decay)

*This post was written a two weeks ago*

I've hauled these items sometime in the last month and never actually shared on my blog! Below is pretty much a collective haul which may also be my last haul in a while as I'm extremely satisfied with my current make-up stash after items from IMATS Sydney and goodie bags from Australian Beauty Blogger Weekend!

So about a month ago, Priceline had an awesome deal on Maybelline which was 'Buy 3 face products for $30'! Woooooo! I've always had a few things I wanted from Maybelline, but never picked those items up because they are quite pricey for me (professional gambler here!), ranging around $20~$30. Pretty pricey if you think about it!

On my list.. I've always wanted to own their Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Foundation (powder form) since I'm running low on my American Beauty Mineral Powder. So far so good, I say. The powder hasn't caused my skin to react negatively or anything and provides a decent coverage too. Normally, this powder foundation is already $25~27.

The second item I knew I had to grab from Maybelline is their Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector, which is a double-end pen consisting of a concealer and a highlighter. This concealer has ALWAYS been a favourite concealer for under-eye bags! It covers my eyebags complete, lightweight (unlike cream concealers), don't sink into my fine lines and is SO handy for its 2-in-1 packaging. Definitely a steal since this concealer retails for approx $17.

The last item of the three-for-$30 deal is their 24HR SuperStay Foundation, which I bought since Pinkiecharm from YouTube has raved much about it. I'd say we share similar skin conditions though my t-zone does look shiny, but is actually flaky and dry. I blame this on Roaccutane. This foundation so far serves to be great, I'd say it's the 'younger' sister of the Revlon Colorstay foundation, but I'll do a more detailed and further review soon! This stuff retails for at least $20, I believe.

As you've calculated Asian-ly (hehe), the three face products above would cost me at least $60! Therefore, being able to purchase these 3 items for $30 is one of the most awesome deals Priceline has ever offered!

The next item I've got is from CosmoCosmetics, which is a discounted make-up store located in Liverpool Westfields, but you can also find them at Stocklands in Wetherill Park!

I just happened to stumble across their store and saw this primer for $10 ONLY!

It's the L'Oreal Studios Secret Magic Perfecting Base Primer! I believe this has been discontinued and they now have something similar in their normal L'Oreal line called the 'Base Magique Primer' which is identical in packaging and consistency.. just not entirely sure if they've changed anything about the formula or whatever... But I have no problem with this primer. Especially when it's for $10 and not $39.95!

Lastly, I've finally got NAKED!

Shoo! I'm speaking of the all-time raved Urban Decay Naked Palette! I've bought this from BeautyBay for $65 including shipping and oddly, their site states it'll take 7 days to arrive, too bad it took a whole 30 days for it to arrive, so I don't think I'll order from them anymore (unfortunately) though their customer service was awesome.

I still don't know why I've ordered this palette when I don't even use eyeshadows to start off with! And that goes to all the eyeshadows I haul! Hahaha! I just enjoy collecting them and believe one day I will eventually get to that stage to use eyeshadows....

At the moment, I enjoy being 18 and I personally think eyeshadows ages me a tad.. Yes... I'm also covering up for my crappy eyeshadow skills! Hehehe.

Well, back to the eyeshadow palette! It comes with a mini-sized UDPP and a brush now instead of the Urban Decay eyeliners! Apparently, it's because the ingredients used to make the eyeliners are quite rare and hard to find, therefore the palette is out of stock all the time. But now that they've replaced it with a brush, it's gonna always be in stock! Yay?

I still wished it came with the eyeliner though...

That concludes this haul post! You won't be seeing haul posts for a long while now! Boo!