Tutorial: Popping Gold

Let's celebrate the NYE with this gold look which is not OTT but more like "peekaboo" when you blink :P

More please :D

Been grabbing stuffs from here and there in Melbourne. All of these things are definitely not available back in Malaysia which is why I had to get them. Another reason is of course, they were reasonably priced. Most of these were either on -not much but better than nothing- sale, or inexpensive to begin with.

Except for the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme, nothing here costs more than AUD 10 :D Everything bought at Priceline. I think out of everything, the best deal is the Pantene Clarifying Shampoo selling at only AUD 4.99. I think it was originally AUD 9 something. That bottle contains 400ml of product, which is a lot for only AUD 4.99 so better grab it quickly while it's cheap. I really like the Essence nail polishes too! Want a cheap alternative to taupe or grey nail polishes? These are only AUD 3 each and the quality's actually pretty good. Rimmel's having some discounts for all of their products... I can't remember how much. It's still cheaper to buy from Malaysia but a lot of things are not available back in Malaysia like the 2 eyeliners I got here.

Another cute ring spotted! This one's only AUD5 :D From Diva

One of my bestfriends was at Korea for holiday and she kindly helped me pick up these things which I asked her to look for! Thank you Maggie! By the way you see that 3 polishes at the far right there? THEY SUCK. Yes I am angry because I thought they would be good and so I went ahead and got 3 so that I can give them away but now I can't. Good news is well, they're quite cheap so no biggie with the money spent. I just dunno what to do with them now. Actually, all of the products aren't too expensive and the best part is some of them perform surprisingly well for the price. Even the packaging is impressive to begin with.

I went into Lush one day with absolutely no intention of getting anything but obviously... that's not what happened. 2 shower gels, 2 solid shampoos and 1 soap. The whole store's so packed with people it's overwhelming especially today.

I was at Centro Box Hill waiting to meet up with my former employer when I spotted a Missha store from far! I literally marched towards it as quick as I could lol! Some things are surprisingly inexpensive but the famous BB Creams aren't :(

Surprised to see American Apparel at Chapel Street! Couldn't resist these gorgeous shades especially that grey and taupe, which look like purple and brown here. That dusty pastel green (which looks like mint green ughh lighting) is just something to add into the buy 3 for less deal.

Aaah. Shopping is so therapeutic.

Tomorrow we'll be heading to Gold Coast for 4 days before heading back to Malaysia. It's Christmas tomorrow so most shops will not be opened and the streets will be really quiet there. Doesn't really bother me since I don't celebrate it, but I hope to see some great deals on Boxing Day.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Look: Soft Blue and Purple using Sleek Original Palette

As I have mentioned in my previous post, I'm currently away from home for a month-long holiday. To save on baggage cost, I had to pack light. For powder eyeshadows, I only brought with me my Sleek Original Palette and a MAC quad of neutral shades.

Also, I'm with my boyfriend's family and let's just say they are people who think rather conventionally so anything ever so slightly bright on my eyelids will be deemed too much. Through out my stay here with them I haven't been wearing lots of colours - mainly neutrals. People who know me will know how I abslutely adore colours. Another reason being the lighting is extremely terrible. There isn't natural lighting at all in his room.  It's all yellow light right at the top and harsh shadow is casted everywhere on my face.

One fine day I was left alone in the house as everyone was out - I had plans with my friends so I took my own sweet time to get prepared. Since nobody was around, I took the liberty to bring a mirror out into the balcony and I really MUST thank myself for doing so.

Doing my makeup has never been that enjoyable. Colours looked so much more true and crisp. Even pictures turned out great! Bizarre but it's true - natural lighting is so important because under artificial lighting, you won't even be able to tell if a foundation is matching your skin properly. 

Case in point is the picture you can see below - for 2 days I have been wearing this new foundation without knowing it's too pink for me! I was totally horrified when I stood in the balcony looking at myself in the mirror. The shade's not completely off but if not blended well into the neck, the difference is pretty obvious. And I didn't want to believe my boyfriend when he told me that my face was looking a little 'reddish' heh. Come on, how am I supposed to believe a guy's opinion about makeup right?

If well blended and set with a yellow-toned powder + a little bit of bronzer, it can be disguised.

For eyes, I didn't know what to do so I picked a blue, added a bit of purple, sheered them out so the colours won't look too intense as I was still going to meet the family later in that afternoon. 

Face

Banila Co Prime Primer Matte

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Creamy Natural

Shiseido Concealer Stick in No. 2

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Medium

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze

Cheeks

Clio Art Blusher in No. 2

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in By Candlelight

Lips

MAC l/s in Blankety

Eyes

Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil in Ash Blond

Urban Decay Primer Potion

MAC Next to Nothing e/s (highlight)

Sleek Original Palette bright blue, purple & medium gold e/s (blue on entire lid, purple on inner lid, gold lightly swept on crease and lower lashline)

MAC Charcoal Brown e/s (crease)

MAC Print e/s (outer corners)

MAC Superslick Liquid e/l in Marked for Glamour

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in 0L (tightline)

Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in No. 10 Almost Famous (waterline)

Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara

Hello from Melbourne!

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus. Before coming here I was too busy with many many things - gotta get everything settled and arranged before I can go on a month-long getaway, meeting the boyfriend/attending his convocation/exploring Melbourne! Now that I'm here with the boyfriend and his family, everyday's packed with activities! Gotta do all the touristy stuffs cos his family hasn't been here many times before... only 2nd time in fact. 

I promise I'll try to update this space as often as I can! A couple of things I've purchased upon arriving:

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation - This was originally around AUD17+ but certain shades were selling at only AUD8+! I'm not quite sure if Cream/Natural's really my shade cos I couldn't exactly see under the store's lighting but I convinced myself it is, probably only because it's AUD8+!

Pantene Pro-V Deep Fortifying Shampoo - Before coming I've already told the boyfriend to get one Pantene shampoo ready. The silly guy unknowingly picked up a conditioner =.= I thought I could just put up with it and use his Head&Shoulders. Nah, it's still too drying on my hair. Oh btw, Pantene lines over here is named differently than the ones in Malaysia. Deep Fortifying is supposed to be the same as Hair Fall Control.

Lucas' Papaw Ointment - I forgot to bring my HG lipbalm (Burts Bees) and again, I thought I can just get away with it since it's not winter. My lips were cracking till it was bleeding one day =.= I've always been curious but unattracted by the Lucas' Papaw Ointment (something to do with the red and black packaging...) so I decided to give it a try this time.

Essence Lash & Brow Lash Mascara - I was browsing around in Priceline (local drugstore here) one day and spotted a small rack in a corner filled with makeup products by this brand, Essence. Everything is so inexpensive! Can't remember exactly how much this was but definitely not over AUD5.

Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in No. 10 Almost Famous - This was only AUD3.50! Seriously, everything in Australia is crazy overpriced I can't help but feeling surprised at how cheap this brand is. It's a German brand but it's cheaper than some of the cheap Australian cosmetic lines here (Australis, Face of Australia, Savvy etc).

Ok expect reviews... hopefully soon!

Before saying goodbye, I wanna share with you this super cute connector ring I managed to grab.

It's AUD14.95 from Sportsgirls. Pretty expensive but I've been looking high and low for something which looks like this to no avail so this time, I couldn't be bothered with price anymore!

I really like it! What do you think? :)