Travel Make-Up Bag

WHAT'S IN MY TRAVEL MOOK-UP BAG?

Well, I had like, half an hour to pack my make-up bag [to Melbourne for 4 days] and here were the products that I chose to bring with me. Good news is that I did not regret bringing any one of these products! Yay! Some, I did not even use.

My go-to make-up bag is this red bag by The Face Shop. A friend (?) from Singapore had sent me this last year, and it has been my bag since! It's very spacious and pretty, but I need a new one. Which bag do you use as your travel make-up bag?


❶ BASE

Skin has been real good to me, so I didn't bother with the primer and powder. As long as I have my Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation ($19.95), a long-lasting foundation with a natural, dewy finish and medium/full coverage. Easy to apply, so it's perfect for on-the-go's!

Brought this along, but never used it -- Face Of Australia Eye Lights Under Eye Concealer* ($12.95).


❷ BRUSHES

Four of these brushes are by Royal & Langnickel's Silk Green Line*. The Powder Brush was once, what it was supposed to be used for, a powder brush. However, it's now my bronzing brush. I seldom powder anymore, with my new foundation!

Then there's the blusher brush, that I use to apply blushers and highlighters.

The next two are for my browns! Small slanted brush for drawing in the tail of my brows and the squared tip brush to fill in the inside of the brows. Its width fits the size of my brows purrrfectly!

Traditional synthetic foundation brush by Nude By Nature*. Nothing special.


❸ PALETTES

Three palettes, or technically 2 palettes and 1 small shade for my brows. I've only brought the Le'lan Vital palette to use the dark brown for my brows.. Eehm. So bulky. I really need a new product for my brows!!

BYS Blusher Trio 'On The Bright Side' ($6.95) was the palette I selected to suit my pink lipsticks. Blushers and lip colours always need to match-up in my beauty world, so only brought along a set of pink blushers/lippies.

I really like the bronzer of Face Of Australia's Glamazon Leopardess Contour & Highlight Kit* ($9.95). It suits my skin much more than my previous favourite, Australis' Jumbo Mineral Bronzer. My FAVOURITE HIGHLIGHTER OF ALL TIME IS STILL The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer, but I didn't want to risk breaking that again, so nah.


❹ EYES

My favourite felt-tip liner, Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner ($13.95). Long lasting and easy to use, good stuff!

Another item I've brought, but never really used is Australis' Lash & Brow Extender ($10.95). Also needed a brown eyeliner for lazy-eyeliner days, so Savvy by DB's Brilliant Bronze ($7.95) was my pick!


❺ LIPS

No lip-glosses allowed, because I'm always lazy to touch-up. I actually brought 3 products along with me, but one died on the way home, so here are the two left.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Monte Carlo ($12.95), a long-lasting red that I could always depend on! Yes! Then there's Face Of Australia Lip Quench in Peaches & Cream* ($9.45). Many dislike the scent of this, but this is one of my favourite pink shades!


❻ MISC

Other small products and items:

Random eyelash curler, Face Of Australia Sharpener ($4.95), Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm* ($6.95), Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion (sample) and The Face Shop Power Perfection BB Cream (sample).


That's all! Even though I only spent half an hour to collect these, there were no times that I gasped, "ah I should've brought..." during the trip. These were perfect!

Rewind back, I wouldn't change a single thing!

OK. I lied. Maybe more lipsticks..

polls & surveys

Disclaimer: Products marked with (*) were provided for consideration only. 

Perfect Gift Packs for Stocking Stuffer Ideas!

Have you decided what you'll be gifting out to friends and family for the upcoming holiday season?!

I know we still have more than a month to go, but I'll be [most likely] leaving for China before Christmas, so I've been pondering around for Christmas stocking stuffer ideas!

If you're on the same page as me, then here's some ideas so we can get our gifts together before then!

Models Prefer Read My Lips Moisture Lust Lip Balm Collection ($20.00 @ Priceline)
My face when I saw this at Priceline: ✿♥‿♥✿
So cheap! You get 5 GLOSSY balms and 5 MATTE balms. Could gift this in a pack OR purchase this as a set and divide them up into stockings. I want it for myself though. Hahaha.

• Savvy Eye On You Eyeliner Kit ($10.00 @ Priceline) -- This is a bit hard to split up if your friends don't like the bolder, brighter eyeliners. And the white one too. It's a nice basic kit for one though!
• Savvy Gloss It Girl ($10.00 @ Priceline)

• Savvy Cast A Shadow ($10.00 @ Priceline) -- Cream eyeshadow kit! 
• Models Prefer Special Effects ($20.00 @ Priceline) -- For all the nail freaks!

Revlon Whimsical Gift Set ($29.95 @ Priceline)

Not a fan of Models Prefer, or Savvy? Here's one for you! A pretty good deal. Five balms for $30, is $6 a balm!

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Naturally Beautiful Pack ($13.99 @ Chemist Warehouse)

Good gift for one! Or good pamper pack for myself, haha. 

Palmer's Luscious Lips Gift Pack ($4.69 @ Chemist Warehouse)

I'm not sure about the quality of these but the Dark Chocolate & Peppermint (sounds yum!) received a 4/5 stars on Beauty Heaven. 

Revlon Sorbet Kisses Gift Pack ($24.99 @ Chemist Warehouse)

Another good deal on Revlon's lip products! Their lip butters though! I have three friends and this would be perfect for them. 

Those are just some quick updates! You may have seen some of these mentioned in my previous SOS post, hehe. 

Let me know if you've spotted any other great deals around town!

I'll share with you my Christmas gifting ideas soon though! 

Handbag Declutter: August 2014

Today, I've decided to take a short post break from the continuous swatching of nail polishes (I'll get back to that tomorrow though). Instead, I'll show you what products have been partying in my bag for the past month!

I'll try my best to make this a monthly thing since I've figured that it's a great way to keep you updated with what products (although mainly lip products) I've been using, liking and trialling! Of course, to declutter too. I go to uni for one subject a day, but my bag feels as if I'm holding at least 5 textbooks. In fact, all I have is one textbook, one notebook and a bunch of beauty products that I've added every fewer days since my schedule is always "on-the-go".

By "on-the-go", I mean.... Sleep late. Wake up late. Go to class late. Repeat.

So here are the products that I've accumulated in my bag for the past month...

1. Face Of Australia Lip Quench in Peachs & Cream*
This is one of my favourite pink lippies ever. It's not bold. It's a lighter pink (not to be confused with being a "nudy-pink") that looks pretty and natural, with a slight pop.

Old photo from my review here >

2. EOS Lip Balm in Sweet Mint
I've finished my Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm recently! Finally unpacked this EOS Lip Balm. The shade is so cute, and so the application is so funky! Really enjoying it for now. May change my mind later.

3. Face Of Australia Lasting Looks in Love Berry*
I can't remember how long this has been in my handbag. Probably since last semester. Was supposed to trial it to review, but ended up using it to dab over the lips for a subtle, rosy pink tint. I jut can't see myself wearing such a bold shade to Uni. Haha..

 4. Maybelline Color Whispers in Lust for Blush
Only tried one shade from this range so far and I like it much better than Revlon's Lip Butters (if that is what people usually compare it to). Feels nice, looks nice, isn't slippery on the lips and is pigmented. Loved sporting this nudy-pink until I realised how dead it made me look!!

5. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam
I've only worn this once, when I was heading to the Dental Hospital in the city. No, I was not having any procedures done on the day, so before you squeal "WTF"... I did not. Which alien in their right mind would wear a red lipstick to the dentist anyways?!

I love these Soft Matte Lip Creams. Amsterdam is quite nice. Not much I could say about the shade. It works for me, I didn't mind it. I did think it'd work better with a lip liner though, since the doe-foot applicator that it comes with isn't made for a sharp, clean look.


6. Savvy by DB Eyeliner in Bronze
This is the older packaging for their eye pencils. I'm not one for eyeliner on the go, but I grabbed this today for my lower lash line since I didn't squeeze in enough time for mascara in the morn. Either way, this has been in my collection for yonks! Time to get down to finishing it!!!

7. Face Of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon in Apple Crumble*
I quickly got over these since I reviewed them here. I did try to back to use them up though (to declutter my stash). Used this as a gloss over NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam, since I found Amsterdam is a tad drying on its own.

SWATCH TIME!

Top: Face Of Australia's Peaches N' Cream

Bottom: Maybelline's Colour Whispers Lust for Blush

Face Of Australia's Love Berry , NYX's Amsterdam, Face Of Australia's Apple Crumble

That's all for this month! Quite a few FOA products we have...

And thou shalt not be surprised if every month is lipstick, lipstick and lipstick. I don't like doing my make-up on-the-go. I prefer to sit at home, in my own comfort [and peace] to slowly put on my face every morning. Therefore the only products that I'd apply on the go are lipsticks, though there may be a few exceptions here and there...

Anyone else like myself, who just WILL NOT do their make-up on the go?

Especially public transports.... *squeals*

Disclaimer: Products marked with (*) were provided for review consideration [only]. For anyone pondering, please click on my Disclaimer Policy at the top. 

Priceline 40% OFF Haul

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Priceline had a 40% OFF sale on all cosmetics earlier this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sorry for all who've missed out (hopefully none of you did), but for those who knew of the sale, tell me.. what did you hoard!?

The night before the sale, my sister actually told me it was going to happen tomorrow. I wasn't pumped AT ALL, to be honest. I didn't really look forward to purchasing any more products, nor did I look forward to spend any more money on unnecessities. However, the question still remains:

Did I, or did I not?!

Of course I did! T~T
Besides the title of this post giving it away, if you know me well, then this should come to you with no surprise. Hmph!

Ok... now onto what I bought!

For Priceline's kickass 40% off sales, the first brands I look at are actually essence and Savvy by DB. Mainly, because they rarely have sales, and not to mention that their products are already quite cheap, so a further 40% off will drop their price down to less than a penny............ K, maybe not that less, but still!

Hit up essence, and saw this range of lippies that I've never seen before. Picked up 5 out of the 7-8 shades! They were only $4.10 each (RRP), so they costed around $2.50 per lippy. I don't like their other regular range (packaged in red tube), so I just skipped those.

Yessssssss. Also some of these eyeliners. Pray that they actually will last. Costed around $1.50 per eyeliner only! I went back the next day to check if they have a navy blue colour, but all gone!

Huehue. Nail polishes!! That's What I Mint and The Boy Next Door by essence. Dirt cheap. I actually have a candy blue colour by essence at home already, and it's ALSO named as "The Boy Next Door". Eeeeep. what's going on here?!

Besides that fuss, my sweet mother also showed me this lilac colour (Grape Jelly by Savvy by DB) that "you should get". Sneaky mumma has always loved lilacs, so this one's for her! ^-^

....And of course, I couldn't pass up these Face Of Australia Carnivale Nail Lacquers! I felt kinda bummed when I didn't see them at the FOA stand, but I'm glad I found them on the top shelf, next to the stand! I picked up the remaining four colours that I didn't have from my previous swatch post.

I shall play and swatch them soon! Promise!!


As for now, back to dramas and being a couch potato in this gloomy, rainy Sydney weather! :P

Think Pink! -- Savvy By DB Blusher in Silky Pink

FINALLY a blushers post! And I mean... Finally a blushers post for this Think Pink! project AND for my blog. I really can't remember the last time I've reviewed a blusher.

This blusher, Savvy by DB's Blusher in Silky Pink, I've had it in my collection for a while now. I've hoarded it home from Priceline's 40% OFF sale which happened a while ago, so if I could remember correctly... this costed a mere $3.


I also really wanted their Baked Blushers, but they were a tad more expensive (I was on a budget then okay?!?!), so I've settled with this instead.

Their classic blushers are packaged in a simple plastic packaging. It feels sturdy enough to last, but also feels like one drop is enough to break. It has a see-through cover, which ultimately calls for easier navigation in your stash of ten thousand blushers. Ha!

The blusher itself, is decently pigmented. You won't find yourself needing to sit and swirl your brush forever, a slight second of a swirl is enough! You also won't find any fall outs, so don't fret!

My main concern with this blusher is its long-lasting power. It lasts for a fair amount of time.. 4-5 hours before I saw the colour fading on me. There's still that little bit of colour, but it just didn't look as vibrant as how I've applied it at first.

The colour, I don't mind it. It's a cute, medium warm-toned rose-pink with a luminous sheen. When swatched, the sheen stands to be very visible, but when applied, you can barely see it. I wished that the sheen stood to be as visible as it does when swatched, but this isn't much of a problem since I could easily top it off with my kick-ass The Balm Mary-Louminizer! Omgggaaah, I need to post about that soon, please stay tuned!

But anyways, overall, it's surely a nice blush to have in the stash. Pretty affordable, and good in quality, so I don't see what's the problem! Also great if you're just starting out with make-up. You can easily find SAvvy By DB's range at Priceline ^~^

Do YOU own any Savvy By DB products?

I just remembered that I also have a few lipsticks from the brand.. Still need to get down to photographing them, so I can go ahead and trial! Sighhhh!

Collective Haul: Markets, Ulta3, Smudged Polishes

Just cause I've taken a break from frequent blogging, it doesn't necessarily mean I'll ever stop haulin'! Hohoho...

Hitting back with a haul post to share with you some of the products that I got from the markets and when I was out and abouts! :P

As silly as this may sound, three weeks ago, I simply couldn't find anything to buy at Sunday markets, so with the $20 that I had in hand... I redeemed it for these two L'Oreal Nutri Shine Lipsticks! It was up for 2 for $15 which is.... NOT a price I'd usually look at. Not sure why I felt so desperate to have something in hand on the day. It just didn't feel right going home empty handed!

Strawberry Juice, Shiny Grapefruit

They didn't have any testers, so I stood there googling swatches! Strawberry Juice looks quite red in the tube, although swatch images from Google showed that it was pinker and more subtle.... Hopefully it doesn't swatch to be overly bright and red since I'm not looking forward to expanding my collection of red lippies! Shiny Grapefruit, on the other hand, looks quite nice for an everyday lippy to wear! Hohoho...

Then I passed this guy's store where I've picked up quiteeeeeee a "few" things... 

Models Prefer Moisture Lust Glossy Lip Tints in 4 different shades -- Black Cherry, Marsh Mallow, Raspberry Ripple and Tutti Frutti! These were $2 each! I've used Marsh Mallow only so far. The colour payoff and formula is not bad at all!

Also picked up three nail polishes for $2 per bottle also...

• essence's Little Miss Sunrise -- I don't have a mustard yellow colour in my collection at all so I had to get this! 
• Savvy by DB Nail Polishes -- My sister decided on these and then went ahead and complained how it's not densely packed with glitters... Errr. Seriously.. How could you NOT tell for its liquid-y consistency! @_@

Some more products for $2 per... why not, right?!?!?! I've also been wearing these Models Prefer Lip Liners and they're not bad also! Good pigmentation, lasts and the good thing is that it's also not too drying on the lips! I've got three shades in Ready Rose, Pouty Pink and Ravaging Red!

Also purchased a bottle of Maybelline's Super Stay Foundation in True Beige! There were also other shades, but was the most yellowed-tone from the bunch. I already have a lighter shade at home, so now I can start mixing and adjusting my own shades!

That's all for the market haul, but let me tell you about my recent dilemmas!

I've been scratching my head and pulling my hair over the disappearance of ALL the white nail polishes in my home. I had about 3-4 bottles of white nail polishes in my collection, and suddenly... BAM! They've all disappeared when I need them for nail art.......

I had to run out to my local Ulta3 stockist to pick up a white nail polish... and.. Errr. They were having 3 for $5 so I picked 3! =D Hohoho...

And last, but not least... I've also made my very first indie-purchase from an Aussie indie polish brand! I've been following Sylvia of Smudged Polish on Instagram for a while now, and seeing her repost of swatches made me a keen bean on her creations.

These were the two I picked up.. Pastel Galaxy ($9.50) and Fuchsia Field ($9). I've tried both already so a review post will be up soon.. hopefully! >_<


That's all for now.. I've been spending every single day, catching up on Japanese classes that I've missed! The class is up to lesson 9 and I'm still stuck at lesson 2... Let me show off to you some more..

ありがとうございます.
Arigatou gozaimasu.

さようなら
Sayonara.

POOF! *disappears for another week or so*

Nail Polish Hoard: Savvy, Models Prefer, Maybelline, COVERGIRL

I hate me sometimes.

I've always wondered which part of me decided to start my series of "Some Outstanding Sales" post. It'd only make sense if I was good at handling myself when great sales are around, right?

Well..... GUESS WOT? (I'm pretty sure you already know anyways...)

I am nowhere near good.. T_T It's a shame to say, but I just have to put this out there......... the goarder part of me has been taking over control these days! Since my previous sales post, I've immediately rushed out to purchase a bunch of nail polishes...

My first stop was at Priceline and these Savvy nail polishes (with a price tag of $3!) caught my eyes.. Picked up some pretty shade that isn't all that similar to what I have in my current collection.. err.. good, right?

Grey, Splash & Dash, Teal

Also snagged these two beauty packs by Models Prefer for only $5 each! BARGAIN!

I actually saw the black and white glitter polish from their larger set of 18 nail polishes first. Was very keen on it, but just wasn't keen on getting the WHOLE set for the sake of 1 nail polish, so I searched around to see if they had a smaller set or individual full size. That was when I found this pack of 2 for $5! SUCH a steal uleh.

The second pack is a better bargain, methinks. A powder blush and a creme blusher stick for just $5! It's a smaller sized powder blush, but I'm still happy with that. The smaller, the better! Mainly because I struggle SO hard to finish any full-sized blush.....................................

Na. I just want to be able to fit in more blushers. LOL..... Just kidding!

Well, second stop was at Chemist Warehouse for $1.99 Sinful Colour Nail Polishes, but I've searched two Chemist Warehouses and found NONE! The ladies said "they must haven't arrived yet", although the range is advertised in their current catalogue. What a waste of time...

Of course, that didn't stop me from making a trip to my third destination -- Target!

Initially, all I wanted to do at Target was to check whether Maybelline's $4 OFF and Covergirl's $3 OFF included their nail range......... but, um, this happened:

What can you say? Maybelline's $4 OFF deal surely does include their nail polish range -- making these drop down to only $1.95 each!

Sapphire Siren, Twilight Rays, Blue Freeze, Wine & Dined

Fierce N Tangy, Green with Envy, Pink Shock, Paint The Town

Checked these babies out, but I TOTALLY forgot to check whether Covergirl's nail polishes were included in their $3 OFF deal, so I went back......

...where this happened... =(

320 Midnight Magic, 230 Golden Opportunity, 190 Wine to Five

240 Coral Silk, 200 Always Naked, 285 Mint Mojito

The after sale price is $3 each for these. They also had a really nice bright candy blue in the range, but I thought.. How many bright candy blues do I really need?

So I picked up all these shades that are quite unfamiliar to my collection.. I'm lacking mints, nudes, foils, wine reds and light, peachy corals :P

Adding to this.. I've also got a huge market haul that I've yet to post about... SIGH. And there are more nail polishes there... >.>

If you are up for $2 Maybelline nail polishes or $3 Covergirl nail polishes,

NOW is the time!

If you're a sales lover, don't forget to check out my previous sales post! ^_^