.:: TBS vit c skin boost ::.

TBS describes this product as :

A light, refreshing gel that boosts the skin’s smoothness, radiance, and vitality, leaving if supple and conditioned. Now with even more concentrated vitamins and super conditioners.

Key Ingredients :

Vitamin C – Is a naturally powerful antioxidant that helps protect the skin against damaging environmental elements, such as the sun, pollution and cigarette smoke.   Helps neutralise free radicals, which are destructive molecules that attack cells and harm the skin.

Orange oil – Has a sweet citrus scent.

Grapefruit essential oil – Is known to balance, relax and revive the senses. Has a sharp and refreshing citrus scent.

i’ve finished my second bottle, and i still have a mixed feelings toward this product.

having a combo-oily, acne-prone skin, i’m always on the lookout for something that doesn’t break me out and, if possible, makes my face oil/shine free.

at first, i was really impressed by the silky smooth finish this product gives upon application. i was guessing the product contains silicone, but i never really checked, until a couple of weeks ago. and yes, quite a lot of silicone derivatives are listed on the ingredient list. since i’m using this as my sole moisturizer, i kinda expect it to provide more skin nutrients than just those long ‘-icone’ list.

texture is transparent gel, easily spreadable onto skin and doesn’t feel oily. the product is contained in a small opaque bottle with a pump. both hygienic and convenient.

it doesn’t break me out, it doesn’t make my face any more oilier than it should be, and it makes makeup glides on easily. it also has a citrus scent which is just lovely. however, i don’t feel any major improvement on my skin condition. so i think i’m going to try out other vitamin c products from other brands. up next is revlon absolute c total radiance essence.

.:: more body shop haul ::.

baru pake raspberry dua kali, dah diracun lagi sama diana… ada koleksi baru di SG : wild cherry. duh.. pengen!

.:: girls day out ::.

the long awaited reunion finally took place. it was a gloomy wet saturday morning as i drove to TA. the girls had decided to gather at eleven, but i decided to come early so i could have some me-time browsing through the stores.

i was tempted to buy a green sparkly nail polish by skin food, but decided to consider other options. i found a soft turquoise one at vov, but they didn’t have any testers, and even if they did, i wouldn’t be able to try it on my nails, since all my nails were already polished. so i decided to wait for my friends and ask for a second opinion, and move on to etude house. do you know that they – in unison – greet every girl entering the stores with such a lame sentence, “welcome princess!!” yes they did actually say princess! they had this buy one get one promo, but the BA said it was only for members, though no visible sign stating such words. so, even though those super cute vintage-looking packaging was screaming my name, i could do nothing but leave empty-handedly. of course, all the BAs quickly sang “thank you princess” in unison, you would feel like burying your head on the ground. enough with the freakin’ greetings already!

anyway, it was eleven, so i walked to our meeting point, eaton. santi was already there, and soon, the crowds joined us, cinde, cherlee, ika, and oleen. nini showed up late, when we were already munching on our delicious lunch – i had kwetiau goreng penang, as usual.

after lunch, we swapped christmas gifts, and i received a 4 gigs kingston flash disk – in pink! i’m totally lovin’ it, as now i could finally return my bf’s fd, which i had kidnapped since long time ago the others received an equally creative gifts, including camera case, party clutch, cosmetic case, soaps, and some of us even received a set of tupperware jars and a set of spoons! well, the instructions were to give something useful, and i believe all the gifts would somehow be useful for the recipients

then came the shopping-tour-’round-the-mall. one of us was looking for a dress, and some of us ( miss o and i ) was extremely interested in every single beauty shops, skin food, etude house, vov, yves rocher, body shop, while the others were more on the neutral side. or maybe, they thought we were both crazy!

but, all those beauty craze did have its usefulness. my friend, cinde informed me that she was using kanebo freya clay wash. and hearing the extremely affordable price – for a kanebo – i was just shell-shocked. looking at cinde’s flawless skin, plus i was browsing through sevreal japanese skincare websites just a couple of days earlier – and drooled over several stuff, i could no longer resist the temptation. when the others went home and i was left alone, i finally went to a kanebo counter at metro. the BA suggested that i use the one from raphaie range, instead of freya, which were intended for teenagers, so i blindly agreed and bought raphaie moist up cream soap. the BA didn’t give a lot of information, and a part of me suspected her of trying to sell the more expensive stuff, but i was really satisfied with the product from the first try, so.. there’s no need to complain. i’ll update you with reviews later on, after i use it more religiously over some period of time, and also if i’m not to lazy to do it. haha..

another finding was skin food grey nail polish ( GR 901 ). i’m so into dark polishes right now, although some people gasp at the sight of my nails! i was torn between grey and navy blue. but all my friends agreed that gray was so much better, so i finally bought the grey one. the BA kindly gave us free samples, although each of us only bought a bottle of nail polish.

ow, and i also bought garnier light eye roll on. i saw this kind of eye roll back when i was in uk, but it was quite pricey for a drugstore brand, and i’m so excited it’s finally here with a much cheaper price!

.:: aloe sun bb cream spf 20 pa+ ::.

*pic courtesy of http://www.skinfood.sg

i finally had the chance to purchase bb cream through a virtual friend who was leaving for a holiday in korea. i’ve never got the chance to see any bb cream in real life before, i could only drool over the reviews in forums or beauty blogs. bb cream has been out for quite a while now, and it has been raved everywhere. so it’s only human that i was eager to get my hands on it. so what is bb cream anyway. bb cream a.k.a blemish balm cream is said to be half skin care half make up. supposedly it provides good coverage just like a foundation, and helps improve skin complexion. it has healing properties like skin regeneration, pore tightening, skin toning, and other interesting features like oil control, anti wrinkle, and so on. to be honest, i don’t buy any of the skin enhancing features. although it may do all the magic, the reason why i chose to jump into the bb cream craze was because i currently have no liquid foundation and this bb cream may be very useful for any beauty-on-the-go routine, a.k.a i don’t have to deal with those powder foundie and brushes in case i have to do my makeup routine anywhere else beside home, e.g in the car!

anyway, i chose skin food’s aloe sun bb cream, because it is said to have an oil controling properties. since i’ve never seen the real thing so i randomly chose shade #1. thankfully, i spoke to Lala about this matter before i made a final decision she’s using shade #2 and it fits her better than shade #1 which is very pale. and i do think that she has a very fair skin, so i went with her selection. and it was the right thing to do! yaay…

when a package arrived on my desk last week, i couldn’t wait any longer, i finally gave up to the temptation and tried the product in the middle of the night (3 am to be exact). and i have to say, i’m hooked. i’ve experimented with this product for a couple of weeks now, although not regularly, and i’m quite content with it. it provides a medium coverage, which, IMO, is enough for everyday life. the texture is quite thicker compared to regular liquid foundation, thus i only need a teeny meeny bit to cover my whole face. the best part is, it gives a very nice dewy look with a healthy glow (the use of sunscreen may also contribute to this fact.. *i think*). in terms of oil control, i think this product has an acceptable oil controlling feature. my nose may appear a bit shiny in the middle of the day, but the other areas of my face are just okay. sometimes it doesn’t really annoy me, but i do wish it covers up my pores a bit more *lol* again, i can’t blame it all on this product, as i prep my skin with sunscreen. ooh, and this product also offers spf 20 pa+. not much, i know, but it’s better than nothing, right?

.:: latest haul(s) ::.

hasil nunggak beberapa bulan

last minute shopping before going back to my hometown :

- rimmel lipstick in super sexy
- rimmel vinyl gloss in snog
- bourjois metallic eye pencils in radiant copper and noir
- wnw kohl pencils in electric blue, turquoise, and charcoal

nyx shopping spree(s), thanks to ftl and smiley!

- nyx tinted lip spa in sake
- nyx round lip gloss in strawberry
- nyx mega shine lip gloss in cady shop
- nyx rouge cream blush in hot pink
- nyx mosaic powder blush in plummy
- nyx concealer in a jar in green
mineral makeup haul :

- pure luxe cream eraser
- EM foundie in fair & fairly light, matte
- EM blush in apple
- EM concealer in sunlight
- EM concealer in mint
- EM STF in sunlight
- EM flat top brush
- EM eye shadow in silver
- Lumiere foundie in Fairly Light Beige, luminesse
- Lumiere foundie in Fairly Light Beige, cashmere
- Lumiere foundie in Light Neutral, cashmere
- Lumiere all over color in soft radiance
stila!

- stila lip glaze in watermelon
- stila pot rouge in lotus
- stila lipstick in juliette
last but not least, “kado” cantik hasil titipan dari angelia.. thank u so much dear! *big kiss*

setelah di”bongkar” :

- cathy cat colorist pop blusher
- SF aloe sun bb cream #2
- SF peach sake pore serum
- SF tea tree essence
- SF peach sake sun lotion spf 32 pa++
- a bunch of SF samples
- SF bath sponge

a more detailed look at the samples :

- SF newsletter
- SF rice mask wash off
- SF hop beer hair pack
- SF brocolli sun cream
- SF mushroom double care essence
- SF gold caviar serum
- SF fresh juice c cream
- coogi emulsion
- coogi toner

and i’m so in love with each and every item!

.:: shopping bag ::.

last week’s haul…

huh? eye pencils? blame it on aina now i think i’m addicted!

i finally get the chance to try this cutie mini bourjois! yaay..

depotted

these were on sale.. otherwise i wouldn’t get my hands on these.. i swear! :D

last but not least :

fiuh.. need to calm those acnes down

this week’s haul…
(this is what happens when i’m feeling blue)

benefit silky finish lipstick in my treat. one item off my wish list

colour institute pink beauty book. iseng-iseng berhadiah abis lucu sih.. and it was on sale too

bought this book impulsively. and i’m loving every page of this book!

ouw.. and i also got this book last week :

it was only £2!!

my shopping bag needs to go on a diet, don’t you think?
*sigh*

.:: st. ives, and what i think about it ::.

sometimes, price matters. some products from high-end brands may be better than those sold in drugstores. but i say, it’s not entirely true. i’m sure that there are plenty of effective products that won’t break the bank. these newfound love of mine are another cheap products that shows significant result! i bought these about a month ago, and kept using it regularly, not only because these are the only ones i had in my bathroom just now, but because i really like these products. both are st ives. the first one i’m going to review is radiance cleanser apricot cream wash *what a looooong name..

this product contains micro beads that would exfoliate and remove the dead skin cells on the skin. it isn’t likely that i scrub my face everyday, but the beads are not that much, and they’re tiny. so i suppose it’s safe for everyday use, as suggested in the tube this cleanser is said to be suitable for combination skin -which is exactly why i purchased it! – and i must say it does live up to what it claims. when used regularly, it reduces the breakouts caused by products that didn’t suit me, which was exactly the problem i’ve encountered before i used this cleanser. so far, i’m quite happy with the result.

although it says apricot scrub, i don’t really feel it smells like apricot  not that it doesn’t smell good, it’s just that it doesn’t smell right, like some other apricot scrubs i’ve tried previously *maksa.com*  however, i didn’t find it annoying so let’s continue with the review. i bought the “blemish fighting” one, and the tube says it gently removes the surface oil, dirts and dull skin cells. i quite like the mini beads. it does a good job, and it’s not too harsh on my skin so i can use it more frequently than Skin Food Black Sugar Mask, which has lately been a little forgotten :p and just this morning, i tried to prove the effectiveness of this product when used as a body scrub. well, since it only contains teeny meeny beads, i think it’s not so great as a body scrub as it is as a facial scrub. good, but not great. but i like it nonetheless

wish i know where to buy them in indo. i’ve never seen these for such a long time ( i think they did sell these in indo once upon a time! ). anyone knows?

pics courtesy of Superdrug

.:: skinfood must have included caffeine in their products ingredients.. ::.

becoz i’m an addict!

i went to eX with my sis, with the intention to check out some cute dresses in debenhams. and of course we also checked out skinfood. i honestly didn’t mean to buy anything, i didn’t have anything i need in mind. nevertheless, i ended up buying a jar of sea vegetable cream ^_^’

i have meant to buy something to replace my almost-empty bottle of etude house green grape lotion *i really hate the really long name , but not now, since i still have 1/4 of the bottle left intact. but the sea vegetable was there, its nice smell was tempting me to grab one. the packaging didn’t help at all. you know, i’m a sucker for cute packaging. in fact, almost every packaging looks cute to me, cute girly packaging, simple elegant packaging, i love them all!! ^_^’

and we were rewarded a huge transparent makeup bag, of course with a skinfood logo at the front and bag.. cutie!

UPDATE!!
i love the texture of the sea vegetable cream, it’s a water-based cream, which looks more like gel than cream. i’ve tried it once tonight. and of course you can’t expect a result overnight. one of the things that my sis bought was avocado rich essence II. i’ve tried hers the next day, just for the sake of curiosity, but i know what and where to search whenever i feel my skin is thirsty.

.:: drugstore diva::.

here comes the drugstore diva. as i went to mangdu and gading yesterday, i found some interesting products :

- rosary nail polish remover *yaay.. i can now go try my red nail lacquer ^_^

- dove fresh touch body lotion *i’m almost running out of my jergens ultra healing. so i grab this one since it has a fresh scent of cucumber and green tea. love this..

- vaseline advanced formula *in the hope that it does have an advanced formula and may give better result than my ordinary petroleum jelly*

- la tulipe eyeshadow base *i think there’s nothing to lose since it’s so inexpensive. update!! i love this! its balm-like texture gives a creamy base to my e/s and make it more pigmented and long-lasting.. and it’s only 20k!!

- la pensee cheek mousse *just because it was cute. despite the seemingly pigmented cream, it blends easily with my skin tone and looks natural and almost invisible ^_^’

- garnier self-heated mask *because i haven’t got the chance to try out skin food’s hot mask ^_^’ totally hate the it! it has a funky smell. eew… i couldn’t stand it so much that i washed it off soon after i put in on my face. a total nightmare…

not bad. all of these didn’t cost me too much damage, which is good, coz my wallet needs to rest sometimes ^_^

.:: 1% beta hidroxy acid ::.

BHA is known to be a cure to blackheads. and quite a lot of people had proven its effectiveness. so i thought why don’t give it a try. i ordered a sample of 1% bha gel and a sample 1 % bha lotion from paula’s choice. excellent service! they answered my email in such a short time, even during the weekend. and i received a package 2 days after that. and they didn’t charge me a single penny. not even the shipping fee. the package consist of two samples, a brochure and price list. the only turn off was the samples wasn’t packed in a small bottle. but that wouldn’t stop me from trying on the product! so far, i have only tried putting the bha gel on my nose twice a day, at nights. and so far, i haven’t seen any impressive result. there are still some blackheads here and there. but hopefully i will see the result in the long run – a.k.a before the samples dries out, else i wouldn’t purchase the full size ^_^ *crossing fingers* however, it does dries up my skin, not pretty at all when i put on makeup the next day. but it heals pretty quickly…

.:: the much-needed retail therapy ::.

nothing beats retail therapy. so after having quite a bad morning yesterday, i decided to go shopping. and since it was friday, and i had a free time after work, i took off to eX with my best friend, miss o, although i have made plans to go there this sunday with my guy. 

the main objective was to visit the new TFS ( the face shop ) store, which was supposed to be opened today. but then again.. you really should not expect anything when something is about to happen. you really should not make any plans. when TFS announced the new store would be opened today, you shouldn’t expect it to really happen. but of course, i did have expectations. i was planning to buy home aesthetic milk pack from the new store of TFS, but of course the store is not opened yet *despite their own announcement*  i wasn’t too surprised actually. dissapointed, yes, definitely, coz i’ve been planning to buy the mask *i’m so addicted to masks right now* and use it soon after i got home.

but, dissapointed as i might coz i didn’t get my hydrating mask, i still had another plan in mind. the skin food! yaay.. as you may have already know, i have quite a wish list of TSF products. well, no.. i didn’t buy all of it, as some are not on top of my priorities, and i have jotted down another wish list in mind yesterday, which includes a jar of black sugar wash off mask from my previous lists, and some bottles of nail lacquers. got them all. yippie.. they have nail vita in natural peachy, and also in cherry red *inspired by blair who almost always wears a red lipstick and a sophisticated lady i saw one day at the mall wearing this superbly bright by pretty colour. well hers was actually a tad darker. but this will do, for now*  exactly like the ones i’ve been picturing since yesterday *the pic below is so different from the real ones* so i grabbed them, along with the black sugar mask. tempted to buy the choco melt lip tube, but successfully resisted. i still want to browse other things in mangdu tomorrow, you know ^_^

upon my arrival home, i went to the bathroom to try out my new products. the black sugar wash off mask is terrific! no wonder it has generated such a lot of raves on beauty forums across lots of asian countries, including indonesia, singapore, malaysia, and phillipines *yeah. i did read all of them! pretty crazy, huh?* anyway, back to the black sugar mask. it’s thick and contains what appears to be medium-sized sugar *at least it looks like sugar to me* that serves as exfoliant. i only need a small spoonful of this mask to cover all of my face. i really enjoyed scrubbing off all the impurities and dirts on my face using this product. weirdly enough, although it is a black sugar mask, it smelled like citrus or something, not that i don’t like the smell. i like it. i mean, i don’t know how black sugar is supposed to look like, or smell like. but citrus? hmm.. i think it’s not a close relative to sugar.. hehe.. although the direction on the tube only tells to scrub and rinse, i did leave the mask on for a few minutes. i mean, what good is a mask if it’s not to be left on my face for a while? the result was *in my opinion* impeccable. i keep touching my face as it is now super smooth and feels hydrated! i put on toner and etude house green grape lotion on my face after that. the lotion glide on smoothly *is this the right term? not sure.. but you know what i mean* on my face.. oh and since my nose seemed to be hydrated enough, i also put 1% bha gel on it. i love this product very much!!

and i have also tried putting the nail lacquer on all my finger nails. i chose the peachy one, rather than the red one, simply because i didn’t have any nail polish remover left on my counter. hix.. but the peach is really nice. it gives a natural healthy polished looked to my nails. really great for everyday use, although i usually don’t mind to wear brighter colours, too ^_^ i can’t wait to try on the red one.. *note in mind : should grab a nail polish remover tomorrow* anyway, the nail lacquer was quite glossy, but i still prefer putting on a layer of top coat to give my nails more shine. too bad they don’t have too many colours, and mostly are vibrant colours, which is too bright for my liking.

i’m officially hooked with TSF!! will certainly go back and haul some more!!

oow.. a woman who queued in front of us, HAD A CLEO CARD! i was very very very tempted to borrow her card *s.k.s.d* so i could get a 30% off. seriously!! the idea had crossed my mind, and i totally eyed her greedily as she walked by. but i thought she would think i was totally insane! hahaha..

.:: peaches ::.

told you i wouldn’t be able to wait.. hahaha.. i went straight to ex yesterday to grab some skin food products. i bought a bottle of peach sake pore serum and honey glossy rouge lipstick, no 663. i’ve been looking for a peachy-orange lipstick, but haven’t found the right one. so when i found tsf lipstick in this sweet peach color, quite suitable to what i had in mind, and in an affordable price, i quickly grabbed them. xixi… and i also received a skin food membership card! yaay…

so far, i have only tried these products for only several times, last night, this morning, and just now. i think the serum is actually doing what it claims on the label *they have quite a lovely packaging* dries in an instant, it left my skin in a shine-free, soft powdery feel. and it smells nice too. the downside is, unlike other essence/serum/moisturizer, this serum didn’t give any hydrated and elastic feel that i’m concerned it will dry my skin if i use it continuously. i wonder if it’s okay if i use another hydrating serum or moisturizer at nights, and use this pore serum in the mornings. i’m afraid if i do, the serum will be useless and the pore-minimizing effect will be cancelled of by this other moisturizers *confused*

the honey glossy rouge lipstick has a pretty color both on the tube and on my lips. the end result is quite glossy since it carries some glitters. love the color. very pretty… but i’d love it more if it has a more hydrating formula. but my lips is not in its best condition as it is… i ought to try applying some lip balms before i put on this lipstick. the packaging is simple, yet pretty, especially with the cupid embellishments on top of the tube..

a banner in front of the store says i’ll get a 30% discount if i have a cleo card. hmm… should i apply for a year of subscription, just for the sake of discounts? i’m considering the pros and cons right now.. problem is, the banner also says the promo will end on may 31. and i’ve called cleo to find out when i shall receive my card if i apply for a subscription. and they say it will take a month *omg*

after i walked out of the store, i noticed several stores across skin food is being renovated, a huge space for the new face of the face shop and a smaller space for nyx cosmetics.. hmm, things get really interesting here at ex. i love nyx lip glosses.. i had one once *lip gloss with mega shine* and it has great color, nice taste, and it’s not pricey!! according to the signboards, nyx will be opened on mid-may, while tfs is supposed to be opened on early april.. err.. hello? it’s already mid-april.. but i’m most excited about nyx store. i hope they don’t mark the price up too high… it’ll be so unfair if they do.. let’s just hope they don’t *crossing my fingers*

i’ve checked nyx cosmetics and cherry culture websites, and i’m blown away by the rich variety of colors!! 96 colors for a single collection of lipstick! wow.. *jotting down a new wish list*

.:: skin care wish list ::.

here’s what i did when i had nothing to do at home yesterday morning. xixi.. i listed some of my beauty wish list, and make a collage of them in photoshop… this is only part 1, the skin care wish list.. it’s all about skin food today, since i received so many reviews stating they’re really great. i think i’ll give one or two products a try to see if they suit my skin. just hope that i don’t fall so deeply in love with them *a good thing on one hand, but a really bad thing for my wallet*

i remember when i was in my 6th and 7th year of college. my best friend, miss o, and myself was a true addict of the face shop products. we were so in love with their products and *of course* cute packaging, we would go there every week, and purchase at least one product! we were in such a crazed state, that not only the sales assistants but even the store manager knew us quite well! hahaha..

and word said, skin food’s opening a new branch at TA this month. hmm… i really want to wait, in case they have special promo there or something.. plus, it’s one mall that i visit in quite a regular basis. but can i resist the urge to grab some of them first at their other stores?

1. snow tea eye serum

although i managed to put this on no 1, it’s not exactly my no 1 priority. in fact, it’s at the bottom of my list, or second bottom or something. but people say it does a great job in camouflaging the puffy eyes and dark circles, so i guess it’s worth to try when i have saved quite some extra money…

2. peach sake pore serum

this is my currently no 1 priority. after i read lots of great reviews about them *and the fact that this is also skin food’s best seller product*, i looked at myself at the mirror the other night.. and if this product can do what it claims, or somehow camouflage my pores, then i really need this, and i need it fast! what’s more, it also contains vitamin c, which is well-known antioxidant to lighten skin tones.

3. green tea pre makeup gel

i’m dying for a makeup base right now, and although this one is not exactly a makeup base, i think it’s an interesting product to try out. the website claims to give makeup an ultra-matte finish…

4. peach sake pore minimizing base

as i said i want to buy a makeup base.. but i haven’t seen this on person, so i don’t know whether its colour suits my skin tone.

5. black sesame hot mask

this is to detoxify and cleanse the dirts or makeup leftovers off the skin. quite some people have tried many kind of TSF masks, and most say they’re doing a great job. another interesting product..

6. black sugar wash off mask

thick as it is, they say it’s effective to remove blackheads… hmmm..

honestly, i don’t know when i’ll have extra money to be able to buy all of these… but a girl can dream, right? and i really wish i could go to korea, as everything is at half price!!! *all dreamy-eyed*

as i have said earlier, this is the part 1 of my beauty wish list. part 2 is, of course, makeup wish list. i’ve made them alright yesterday, but things have changed this morning, as i went lipstick-hunting with martha last evening. so i guess i’ll make some new wish list later! xixi..