Practical Charm

The Dior fan in me wants to burst into song at the thought of SPRING!

I couldn't stop oogling and nearly left a pool of drool at the Dior Counters just admiring the intricacy of design and colors.

As I dusted some all over my face, It left the most beautiful pinkish iridescence that was just glowing! I'm chucking all my bronzers aside for summer and saying hello to sweet pastel colors!

Just a few more days until I can purchase one. It's a shame I will have to ruin the lovely prints on it just to make myself beautiful.

I got my hands on this while I was in Bangkok! THANK YOU BOOTS Pharmacy.

It was sitting quietly looking pretty in a 'kitsch' Pink and with a name as cheeky as" Sexy Motherpucker", i ask you, which chick that easily gets intoxicated by makeup can resist?

It's a slim tube of lip enhancing wonder. Working well as a lip gloss and a lip plumper.

The greatest thing about this that it smells like chocolate! The lip plumper leaves a minty tingly sensation that feels like a very shy first kiss. Does it really work? Yes it does, I have incredibly full lips and just when I thought my lips couldn't get any sexier, this baby does the job. I've also run some testing on some friends and it works!

Though leaving a glossy finish, it can be rather sticky. Somewhat like Lancome Juicy Tube sticky that you'll have to keep your hair away from your face. So if you want to pose for that 'come get me boys' look with pouty lips and a couple of strands of hair in your face, this is not the gloss for you. It also may be a little too much to handle for sensitive lips (like all lip plumpers) so if there is a tester available, do test it out first

The verdict? Asides from the fact that it is only available at Boots Pharmacies (which I am praying will open in Malaysia very soon), It's surpasses the standard for a Pharmacy OTC product! I've bought two tubes to keep for myself already!

Product : Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker lip plumper and gloss
Price : 2890 Baht (~MYR30.00)
Application : For surreal sexy lips
Shelf Life : 12 months
One Tube : I've been using mine everyday since November and it's still great. Word has it that it can last up to a year in everyday use.

I first of all would like to thank the first people who came up the with the ingenious idea of inventing facial wipes. You are life savers I don't have to bring a bottle of heavy liquid makeup remover all the time.

However, you have got to love this product! I have a pack at home, one in my car and one in my bag ALL THE TIME! Now you know why there are over 6,000 packs sold a day alone in the U.K.!

I've used a couple of brands along the way (including alcohol baby wipes) before landing this God Sent package. It's Alcohol free, oil free, pH balanced, neither colored nor perfumed! I mostly use this as a daily refresher to wipe all the sweat and grime off me face.

It's proclaimed use as a makeup remover is however debate-able. Some ladies are able to completely remove makeup with just one sheet. Others find it a little more difficult to get a complete cleanse from this. My personal take is that, it depends how much make up you slab on your pretty face, of course its difficult to take out all of that makeup with a single wipe. I would still strongly advise on still using a cleanser at the end of the day to completely remove the makeup.

It's proclaimed use as a makeup remover is however debate-able. It depends how much make up you slab on your face. However I would still strongly advise on still using a cleanser at the end of the day to completely remove the makeup.

What sets this apart from other brands available in the local market is it's fresh after feeling. Some brands leave a real sticky feeling after a good wipe but this doesn't. Simple has also been really generous with the surface area of each strong bound towel like sheet. You can practically stretch the entire sheet to cloak your face!

As of recent there has been a slight change in the packaging but personally, if there was something more that could be done to the re sealant, I'd gladly appreciate it!

Product : Simple Facial Cleansing Wipes, Available in most pharmacies
Price : Ranging from RM13.00 to RM16.00 depending of available discounts
Application : For basic makeup removal, refreshing and cleansing face on the go.
Shelf Life : Not available
One Pack: Of 25 sheets usually lasts me a fortnight
Tips: Cleanse even after use to completely remove makeup.

Lancome Pommette. The creme de la creme of all cream blushers (at least, that's what I believe-lah). For the packaging, and the awesome colour, and the au naturale look it leaves the user with.

As advertised on the Lancome site:

IRL (In-Real-Life), this is what it looks like:

Coral Paresse, or the colour available from the counters, is just right for Chinese Asian skin tones, like mine. I got my Pommette for RM35 at a warehouse sale over a year ago, and even with everyday use, there's still plenty left. Just a swipe over its creamy texture is enough for one cheek, and it leaves with a soft, healthy pink glow. You won't look like you're wearing make-up, it leaves you more with a look that tells people that you've been stocking up on nutritious soups for the past 15 years!

The look:

When I'm done with this pan, I'm not going to wait for the next warehouse sale. That's how great the pommette is!

I've been meaning to get a good concealer forever (can't you tell?). Been searching high and low,
and ran through several brands, from those off the counter ones, from one of those warehouse sales (where I got myself my Bobbi Brown Corrector/Concealer mini-pan) and even from the net (where I got the Realness of Concealness from Benefit).

I was cleaning up after my workout the other day when I saw this woman with lots of freckles on her face using this shiny wand to dot away her freckles. And they literally disappeared before my eyes, so amazing was the magic wand. A quick look at the brand and I saw it, 'DIOR'.

So I've been thinking about getting the Dior concealer wand, and remembering that the brand equates luxury and luxury equates price… but I finally gave in last week. I got this pen at the local Now Everyone Can Buy duty-free outlet at the domestic boarding area in KLIA.

The product's name: DIOR SKINFLASH

Calling itself, a 'Radiance Booster Pen', the concealer wand promises to bring light to all areas that require brightening, including your undereye areas, line-areas (around the lips, above the forehead, around the brows and eye-shadow make-up area).

The effects. Check out how Skinflash brightens up my eye-area:

Before:

After:

Honest to God, I didn't use Photoshop at all, hence the milia seeds (kill me already). Can you tell that I love Skinflash?

Product : Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen (i.e. concealer/corrector two-in-one)
Price : RM115 duty-free
Application : Twist pen-tip and dab on necessary places to cover up, and brighten up
Shelf Life : 1 1/2 years
One bottle : Not sure yet, depending on frequency I guess, this will probably last me 6 months?
Tips: If you have someone traveling through KLIA, get him/her to do some shopping for you, with-duty prices can go up to 15%-25% higher than this price!

I've been looking for the ideal concealer pack for sometime, and when Benefit came to our shores, I was most interested in Boi-ing… but I wasn't sure if it would work for my skin. After sneaking a peek at their site, I found out about the Realness of Concealness compact set which contains a sampling of all their favourite concealing products.

It doesn't take a makeover, just this crafty little kit containing our famous concealers and enhancers. Kit contains: lemon-aid to correct discoloration on eyelids; boi-ing to hide even the darkest under eye circles; ooh la lift to brighten, lighten and tighten the eye area; lip plump to prime, smooth, and plump lips; and high beam to give your skin an ethereal glow.

Sounds like a fantastic way to check out five different products, eh? Unfortunately, the package wasn't available in Malaysia, but since S-kay was making her orders from the site, I decided to split the shipping costs with her and got myself this package. The moisture you see on the Boi-ing pan came due to the shipping, but it dried up after a night in my air-conditioned room.

And the verdict? It turned out that Boi-ing isn't nearly as fantastic as they say it is, but I do love Ooh La Life, dubbed as Benefit's 'Magic-Eye Balm', simply for the refreshing and cooling feel it leaves just after application. I don't use Lip Plump at all, but I heard that it works wonders for thinner lips. Lemon-aid works quite well to highlight the browbones, but Bobbi Brown's concealer pans do a far superior job at this.

Anyway, Benefit's made an ingenious marketing move to pack all five concealing products into a nifty little cardbox package, and I liked being able to test the items without spending a bomb. When my Ooh La Lift runs out, I'm getting a full-sized version!

Product : Benefit's Realness of Concealness, compact kit including Ooh La Lift, High Beam, Lip Plump and small pans of Boi-ing and Lemon-aid.
Price : USD 28.00
Application : Use sparingly where needed, either get innovative or follow the instructions given in the mini-booklet included in the packaging.
Shelf Life : 6-12 months
Tips : I've found out that it's a lot cheaper to order Benefit direct from their US-based website, even though you've got to pay for the shipping. Plus you can't get Realness of Concealness anywhere in Malaysia, so if you want to find out which item will best work for you, going online is the best way.

Bring back cute adorable face powder puffs! Although it doesn't come with that compact flat pop open casing, Skin Food's 'Cheek Color Pan' is an adorable thing to have in your makeup collection.

Aside form the fluffy soft ribbon held puff applicator, I love the fact that I don't have to literally 'sweep' and lose precious blushing color away or having it leaving sprinkles on my white attire left and right. I just dunk the powder puff in and all of it stays in one place.

One application can last me almost a whole day. Like all Fashionable Korean make up products, it comes in a cute silver lined plastic pan with Skin Food's trademark cherub on a screw metal cover fashioned in a Rennaisance manner.

My Favourite Colour? Has got to be "Vanilla Cappuccino" cause i personally feel that it looks the most natural on asian skin tone.

Product : Skin Food's Cheek Color Pan, available in 4 colors.
Price : RM35.90 (or some sort around that price)
Application : One application may last the whole day! Dab on a little for touch up
Shelf Life : 6-12 months
One unit : Lasts me for 6-12 months depending on frequency of usage
Tips : Skin Food has a tier system for Purchasing items. Each tier will consist of a different fixed product where a series of stamps will represent each tier. The more stamps, the higher the tier. Each stamp is given for RM20 of purchases.

Though there are still no signs to tell that I'm againg, I'm dreadfully terrified of the thought of one day looking into the mirror to find that I have interstate lines making their way round the edges.

This helps me prevent all that, or at least to a certain point delay the aging of my skin arond my eyes. Since I'm constantly exposed to a myraid of fluctuating environments, this moisturising eye reviver protects my skin with just the right amount of moisture. It's very light citrusy scent is guaranteed to wake up tired eyes.

I love it cause as a base around my eyes, it's makes it easier to remove make up too!

Gotta love it's small compact size (about the size of an average bottle of nail polish) makes it easy to carry around. One pump about the size of a teardrop is good enough to keep you going for half the day.

Product : Body Shop's Vitamin C range Eye Reviver
Price : RM65.00
Application : Best results, twice daily
Shelf Life : 6-12 months
One bottle : Lasts me for 3 - 6 months depending on frequency of usage
Tips : Purchasing above RM90 in a single receipt entitles you to a Love Your Body membership card. RM1 = 1 point. In a period of 6 months where an accumulated points total up to 350 points. Members can redeem RM35 worth of Body Shop products.