Ramble:Won a give away.

Kathi from lotuspalace hosted a give-away few months ago. And to my surprise I actually won! ( It was my first time ever to win something from a blog give-away) . I love everything she gave me. It has a bunch of face masks, cleansing creams/oils , eyeshadow from Fasio, lipbalm and my favorite Kose's " precious kiss lipgloss ". I just want to express my happiness when I received the package. Thank you Kathi! <-- Go visit her blog as she has the BEST asian makeup blog out there!

Random Cute Thing: Red candle lamp

I got this adorable candle holder from Ikea. I believe it's a new color from the Rottera - Lantern for tealight series and I was really smitten by it while I was walking out to checkout. It has a metal frame and a glass windows. There's a locked door which you open to place the candles inside and the roof has a few star shaped holes. I was debating with myself whether to buy this as a X'mas present or for myself. I decided the latter as I simply could not resist.

It resides near my dinning table. It just look so homey isn't it?

Review: Kanebo Media lipgloss

I recently purchased Kanebo media lipgloss in RS2 from adamsbeauty.com. I initially thought that the color was a bit scary as it looks so red in the tube but decided to give it a try.

Here's a swatch.
The product is 8.5 grams.The consistency of the lipgloss is a bit watery. The color is light pinkish red and has tiny shimmers in it. I was really disappointed that the lipgloss is scented. I 'm basically very sensitive to some smells or odor and I'm very selective of what odors I could tolerate( I don't know why but that's how it is. This is why I prefer odorless product). I can't really describe the smell as it smells like lemon mixed with something. Good thing that the product is tasteless and once it's applied to the lips, the odor basically vanishes.

This lipgloss is sheer but the colors is buildable. The lasting power is good and it didn't dry out my lips. The lipgloss is small so I put it into the pocket of my jacket and reapply as I see fit.

Overall: An average product that I don't think I would repurchase.

Review: H&M eyepen taupe, white, lavander

H&M has 6 shimmery eye-pen namely lilac, taupe, black, champagne, white and lavander. I initially bought the taupe eye-pen and was very impressed with its color and performance. Thus my decision to try on 2 other colors.

I was not impress with the white and lavander as both contain glitters. I swatched these at the back of my hand while I was in the shop and the glitters didn't seem to bother me at that time. However, once I tried these on my eyelids, I was greatly disappointed with it. Apart from the massive fallout from the glitters , my eyes got itchy when some of it got in. The plastic package did warn that these eye pencil are not for sensitive eyes but I didn't expect it to have this huge fallout. It does have some good qualities. That is, these pencils are quite affordable and the colors are quite nice .

Picture above shows how the glitter scatters after rubbing /blending.

Here's a swatch of the colors :white, purple and taupe. (no flash)

Taupe still remains the best color in the collection as it is the only one that does not contain any glitters. I highly recommend this color if you like shimmery bright colors like I do.


These pencil could be bought from their online shop or inside their shop.

Relationship between Cosmetic and Happiness

Some time ago, my younger sister asked me to list down the things that made me happy. It's an interesting question because nobody ever asked me that question before. I began to list down some things that I think that would make me happy. The list includes, from playing with my dogs to buying new makeup.

After that encounter, I began to wonder the relationship women have between cosmetics and happiness. Does the makeup itself is what makes women happy or the idea that they'd looked better after applying it that makes them happy? I think most women would agree to the latter.For me, makeup gives physical and psychological effects that makes women happy . If enough makeup is applied correctly ,chances are it could enhance ones physical appearance and maybe becoming more attractive. Psychologically, the idea of being presentable makes women feel much better with themselves thus gaining more confident . Being happy I think, entails being loved and appreciated by others or one's self. For example, one time somebody complemented that my eyes were nice. It made me happy because I never realize that people could actually see or notice my eyeshadow behind my thick black rimmed eyeglasses. Yes, positive reinforcements always makes me happy. If I follow that logic above then the reason why many feel happiness when they purchase a new makeup is because they like that version of themselves better when they are wearing cosmetics and could be that they got something new too.

What about those makeup addict? Isn't it too much of something is bad for you? There's always limitations in life but as long as a person can afford it and it makes them happy then why not? If you can't afford them , don't dismay and try singing " My Favorite Things" from the sound of music then try to revised the lyrics and list down all the things that makes you happy.

Etude cookie blush in 03

During my first visit to the etude house store, my first impression was what the **** everything is in pink! What I meant was the whole store was painted in pink. Even sales assistant was dressed in pink. Don't get me wrong, I had nothing against pink but the moment I set my eyes inside the store , I was swirling in pink- too much pink maybe which is not necessarily bad. I managed to get inside and started swatching some products and I ended up choosing this blush.

Etude is a Korean cosmetic brand. In it's native land Korea, their target market are mostly girls in their teens or adolescences. The same reason why their shops are usually cute pink houses or pink doll/princess/"loli" theme designs. Their price are reasonable which when paired with the quality of their product makes this cosmetic brand sell or appealing to international consumers.


Etude cookie range blush had 5 colors available:
01 in Pink
02 in Rose
03 in Orange
04 in Sugar Pink
05 in Lovely Pink

The blush that I bought was 03 in Orange. I must say that I like this blush. This blush is my current favorite. Below is a a swatch .


Here's why I like this blush:

• The staying power - This blush really stayed on my face. It lasted even when I was perspiring and my face was oily.
• Color - The color of this blush is gorgeous. It has an golden orange red colors with tiny glitters in it.
• Afford ability - Like most etude products, this one is affordable.
  
• Packaging - The packaging is really cute. It has a small orange round plastic case. The size of the blush is small and it is portable which is perfect for traveling. There's even a nice puff included.

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Review: Egyptian Magic

After hearing about this product, I finally gave in and bought this one in hopes that it would reduce my keloid scar. I did however bought it also to try it on my face. The product claims to heal scars, improve complexion and relieve skin ailments. It contains natural ingredients like olive oil, bee wax , honey, bee polen , royal jelly , bee propolis.

Estimate time of use: Approximately 2 months. I use this product during night time before I go to bed. I try to use this as often as possible but I do forget to apply it on some nights.

Packaging: I have to say I was not impressed with it. If I haven't herd about this product before hand I would say the packaging would not have been sold. If not I would have thought it was hoax since I don't see any connection of a skin product with love and peace with moon on it.

The product: It is a yellowish color. It's hard solid gel type. Scooping the product is a challenge. When I first bought this product, I initially tried to use the product by rubbing my finger tips in the jar then applying it to my face. I learned later, that it is better to use a scooping spoon or use the back of your finger to scoop the product off the jar.

Smell :It has some kind of smell in it which reminds me of a coconut oil. It's not really a bother to me since the smell is really faint once it's applied on to my face.

Not a scar removing product: After 2 months of applying this product to my keloid scar, the scar was not reduced nor did I see any significant difference to it so I can only say that It has not worked wonders on my scar. I had also a few acne scar on my chin and after using the product, the redness nor the scaring didn't disappear like I expected it to be.

Moisturizing: I have to agree that this product works really well in terms of it's moisturizing after effect. My skin feels smoother and softer when I wake-up in the morning. Sometimes I think that my skin looks radiant.

Thick consistency: the product is a bit thick and I always think that it makes my skin feel warmer after the application. When I first use the product, it made my skin uncomfortable. It felt like those oils are clogging my pores and it made my face itchy. I guess it takes a bit of time getting use to it. It is very greasy so if you have an oily skin, I'm not sure if this product would work on you.

Will I repurchase? : Probably not. Although the product did make my skin smoother, with its price tag I don't think the product is worth it. This product is too expensive and the benefits just didn't justify it.

Testing the product with another : I tried this product with two different products on my face to see which product works better, a commercial face product or the egyptian magic. On the one side of my face I used Laneige's water bank essence and the other side Egyptian magic. I applied this product one night before I slept. When I woke up in the morning I called my sister to touch and see both sides of my face. She was not priorly told which products I've applied on which side so she would have not known what I've applied on my face. In the end she pick the side where I applied Laneige's water bank essence to be smoother and look nicer on my skin. Evidently, If you are only after the moisturizing effects of this product I suggest you spend your money on face serums or essences. Otherwise I suggest you buy a trial size from ebay to see how the product works on your skin. I've seen other people say that this product works well on them however this product just didn't workout for me as a scar removing product that I expected it to.