Monday, 30 May 2011

Lip Balm Collection and Review


This is just going to be a show of my lip product collection [the ones that I can find in my room, I know that there are quite a few missing] and a short review on the items. I am going to start with lip balms.



1. The apple: it is a Japanese brand [not sure which one it is], it smells like apple real bad and it is decent as a lip balm
2. Paul Frank x Lip Smackers Strawberry: it is as big as a glue stick, pricey but IT IS Paul Frank and Lip Smackers so worth it.
3. Body Shop x MTV Guavan Lip Butter: limited edition for this thingy.. I don't even know what that was but I really love the scent of this, never used it though cos I am not a big fan of lip butters
4. MAC Lip Conditioner: talked about it before and one word - AMAZING
5. Jill Stuart Lip Balm [normal scent]: the product is good but honestly I bought this just cos of the package
6. Figs & Rouge Balm Rambling Rose: this one I got from Sasa and it is pretty moisturizing and one thing about this is it is 100% organic
7. Murad Green Tea & Energizing Pomergrante Lip Protector: got them on the plane, good for the plane. I would actually buy them if I ever finish these sample sizes [kind of impossible]
8. Happy Tree Friends Happy Lips Strawberry Scream: well long story short, bought it cos it is a Happy Tree Friends side product, it smells good but not very good
9. Body Shop Cranberry ones: they are good but not gonna talk much about it cos it is winter limited editions
10. Mac Pink Tinted Lip conditioner: really nice tinted lip balm, it gives color but it won't actually tint your lips like some other ones
11. Baby Pink and Baby Pink Glossy Lips: these are really popular ones in Japan and they are really nice, and the good thing about the Glossy Lips one is that you don't even need to put an extra layer of gloss to make your lips glossy
12. Oslee Lip Balm: I don't know how I am going to put this but I have a love and hate relationship with this one,
13. Mentholatum Water Colour in Bubbly Wine: brings a really nice tint to your lips and it won't strip the moisture off from it as well
14. Color Cosmo Honey Lip Balm
15. Origins Lip Remedy: talked about this one before as well, really like this product and it is a must have during Winter
16. HISA Lip balm in Peach and Honey: I bought this just because it looked really beautiful, not only does it have a rhinestone on the top of the packaging, the blam itself has a shape of a gem when you first uses it. Product wise... it is just fine
17. labello Velvet Rose: it is really nice one, and gives a really vague pink tint to your lips, very famous brand I have to say

Hope the review helped some of you getting a new lip balm and remember to stay tune for a lip gloss collection and review!

Saturday, 28 May 2011

My favourite face mask for the summer

Personally, my skin breaks out easier during summer and this happens to most of the people I assume due to the hot weather and the increase of oil secretion. Therefore, I would use oil controlling face masks during summer.


The face mask above is the best oil controlling mask I have ever used. I actually got attracted by this because this is limited addition (DUH!~ =]) along with other ones that I picked up from mannings. I started using the other ones until my monthly came and hormones were doing their 'magic', I tried to use one of these to control my skin from breaking out. The other day when I woke up, my skin was nice and smooth with no break out and it felt so good and oil free I was amazed. I am not sure how this works but this is really good.

I know there isn't much point to recommend this because it is limited and I believe most of them are gone, but I have to say if you are lucky enough to see one, GET IT! Cos it is really good. Before I can find any replacement, this one will have to be the best oil controlling mask I have ever used.

Ps. This is very affordable as well, I believe you can get this ranging from $6-$10 per piece and there are 5 pieces in one box.

Monday, 23 May 2011

LGB Marshmallow Review

I can't believe this :P I am actually reviewing marshmallows, but they are honestly awesome.

$24/pack

The pink one is strawberry flavoured and the yellow one is lemon flavoured. I don't know how to perfectly explain this but I have to say that this is very different from normal marshmallows that you can find in general, so if you are curious, you should go to IFC and crab a pack to try!!

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

butter London

butter London is quite a high end nail polish brand, not a lot of salons carry it and it is mainly in the States. I didn't really want to do a review on this product due to it scarcity but since a shop actually carry it in Hong Kong, I shall give a little opinion on it.

$185 (From the Hong Kong retail store)

Well first thing, it is very pricey for a nail polish in general, it is pricier than the Chanel one. I guess it is worth it because the bottle is just so irresistible. I got the color Cheeky Chops, and as you can see, it is a very nice yellow, not sheer like other yellow nail polish but not pastel, so a very nice balance of yellow and white. Also the colours looks a bit whiter in bottles and more like the actual yellow on your finger. This is one thing I like about their nail polish, it promises you the color you want and you don't have to put a base color under it or what so ever. The only thing about the brand is that they have a very limited color choice and I personally think that it is the only negative thing about it.

Moving on to the polish itself. I have to say that if you are used to the OPI brushes, it would take you a while to get back use to the normal rounded brushes instead of the wide, flat ones. But it is good to use after you get back used to it. The polish itself is really opaque, even when I was using this white based yellow polish, I only needed two layers to make it perfect, a very nice quality I have to say. Also it dries pretty quickly, a bit faster than OPI colors in general so that is one good thing about it. One problem about this nail polish other than the brush is the holder part, you can either choose to use the square part or the cylinder part, but even with both, it just doesn't feel right, it might be because I have gotten so used to the OPI ones that I find the square shape too odd and the cylinder part too small.


So yeah, in general I would recommend this nail polish to people who can afford it or to people who are finding particular colors that are hard to find outside which has a good color pigmentation as well as application. But if you just simply want something better than drugstore polishes and you don't really have a lot to spend, I would say go for OPI and not the butter London ones.

Saturday, 14 May 2011

Best Nail Polish Remover Ever!!

$29

When I was at Sasa last time, after paying for the stuff that I bought I came across this product and its very cute packaging caught my eye and I bought it. I actually wasn't giving much of hope in this product itself when it claims that by using this product you can take your nail polish off in 3 seconds. This fascinated me.

First thing, it actually makes polish removing so much less pain in the ass, call you have to do is to put your finger in, wait for a bit, twirl your finger while rubbing it against the sponge, pull it out and your finger will be as clean as new. Secondly, I thought that it would leave an awful thinner scent to your finger, but once the alcohol was gone, your finger s would smell like rose. Thirdly, by having the extra almond extract oil, it keeps your fingers smooth and moisturized after using the product instead of drying them out like other nail polish removers do.

So for anyone who doesn't like to waste too much time on taking nail polish off, you HAVE HAVE HAVE to go and get this!! If you are in Hong Kong, you can get it in Sasa, if you are from elsewhere, you won't be able to get it through the Sasa website unfortunately.

Thursday, 12 May 2011

Essie Matte about you

A few of you might know that I have just recently done a reorganization of my nail polish collection, so at the end of this post, I would be posting on a photo of my nail polish collection.

Around $90

The Essie Matte About You, the name speaks for itself, and yes it is a matte top coat. I personally needed this top coat desperately because first I own a bottle of OPI suede nail polish and second, for most of the people how own a bottle of shatter would know that shatter dries with a matte finish as well. And for me to successfully preserve the nails at that stage, a matte top coat is unquestionably needed.


Well since I have never tried any other matte top coat so I cannot to a comparison, therefore I would just be offering a review on how well I think it was.

I have to say that at the very beginning I really liked it. The nails really came out matte and at the same time they were really smooth, the top coat dried really quickly as well, I actually had a moment wondering if the top coat and matte nail polishes were one the reasons for shatter nail polish to happen. Anyway, one concern or question that I always had before I debated about buying the matte nail polish was that if it was going to create friction when one was rubbed against the other, like a chalk rubbing against a chalk board. I really don't like that feeling and it gives me shivers. But surprisingly the matte coat doesn't really create too much friction and that was one thing I loved, AT FIRST. But then after two days wearing the nail polish, I have realized the matte top coat was starting to get a glossy finish due to all the grease your nails are exposed to, like lotion, cream and all that. It wasn't as glossy as normal nail polish but it was still glossy enough to not tell from afar that it is matte, and I believe that the smoothness was part of the reason. It is not like I don't like the product, it is just that I'd expect it to not to gloss up after, or was I expecting too much? But then I have to say that I don't regret buying it because I would only be top coating my shatter and my suede or matte nail polish and nothing else and as long as it doesn't give me a permanent gloss to it, I am happy =]

Here is a photo of my collection, I know it seems small but it actually have a lot in it. As you can see that Butter London is being very lonely in the middle, CAN'T WAIT TO GET MORE!! :)

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

My all time favourtie essie nail polish

I have to say that if essie claims that they are the second best company that creates pink or nude colours, I doubt that anyone would say that they are better. My favourite colour is the Ballet Slippers 162, it is the palest shade of pink that you can ever find and it is very opaque, you only need 2 layers to get a perfect nail. Another thing that I like about essie nail polish is that other than giving you an amazing coverage and finish, the pale polishes manages to have a sort of sheer finish to it, very hard to explain. Like it is not a blunt and strong pastel colour but in fact the shade is pastel, you get what I mean?? But yeah I really like essie nail polish and I am ordering more from the internet so fingers-crossed.

Btw if you guys like pale pinks, Ballet Slippers is definitely the best colour for you, I love outstanding colours and Ballet Slippers is the only pale colour that I manage to actually finish and needing to buy another one. It is also one of the first salon type nail polishes I own, so if you think that OPI is a bit too expensive for you or you just want to start with something of a better quality, then I really do recommend essie nail polishes. They are coming out with really nice sharp colours and pastel colours for this summer collection so do go check them out online on their website or if you are in Hong Kong and you are finding problems with getting essie nail polish, you can either go to Mong Kok or Causeway Bay for beauty product retailers or go onto yahoo.com.hk for the auction site. On the auction site, there are chances that they might be fake so do make sure you check out the comments and the rating of the seller. As for people who are in the States, you can just buy through their website www.essie.com =]

Sunday, 8 May 2011

LUSH Shower Jelly Review

OMG ! I can't explain how happy I am about the LUSH Shower Jelly. I have to say that this is the most amazing shower item I have ever tried. Well basically it is like a piece of jelly which is mostly made out of seaweed gel and it comes in 3 different scent and I got the Sweetie Pie just cos it looked the best. At first I thought that it was only for your skin and it took me quite a bit of courage to buy it because I already have a lot of soap that I have been buying and stocking up at home. But then knowing that I can also use it for the hair, my eyes glowed =]

It is the one on the left, and the soap on the right is the Porridge Soap, haven't tried it out yet but I think I will very soon.

Look at it! Isn't it beautiful?

I have to say that this product surprised me SO SO SO much. I actually gave it a try last night on both my hair and skin; after using it on my skin, the scent didn't stay on your skin but it keeps it very moisturized. For the hair part, after you get out of the shower, your scalp would have a tingly feeling to it and it was very refreshed. And honestly my hair do get greasy after a day in Hong Kong cos it is very humid in the Spring and Summer but after using the Shower Jelly it was not greasy at all, I think that it was because it strips your hair really dry so I would recommend people to use this only during hot weather or if you know you get greasy hair easily. Another thing is that if you smell the Sweetie Pie straight out of the container, it has a very strong artificial blueberry scent to it, but because of it being in a jelly form, you are recommended to put it in a little pull pockets and hang them up to dry when you aren't using it. So this morning when I walked into my bathroom I was like Oh My God... My bathroom smells like blueberry, but it was not artificial AT ALL, the scent was washed out by the air and the space of the bathroom and it was so so sweet. At the same time adding to my Honey I Washed The Kids soap that I also have hanging in my soap saver, my bathroom now smells a bit like blueberry pound cake if that is even possible.

So yeah, I love love love this product, and I would be getting it again maybe another scent of it for the summer cos it is super refreshing. But do beware if you have dry skin because this wouldn't' be a very good product or you would need a lot of moisturizing cream afterward.

Ps. I have only used it once and I really wanted to blog my feeling after the first time I have used it, so in later posts I might change the way on how I view this product, but as for now IT IS AMAZING!!

OH! And one more thing, they are more affordable than the soap you can get because there is a minimum limit to the soap you are buying from LUSH and the add up would usually be more expensive than the Shower Jelly which I do believe was around $60-$70 Hong Kong, maybe $10 +/-

So yeah, hope you liked the review and give this product a try!

Saturday, 7 May 2011

OPI Suede and Shatter

This is the suede colour that I own, and I do believe that this is the OPI Ink suede. If you guys have heard of the Matte OPI nail polish, it is like matte but with glitter in it, not bad but it might wear off so you would need to get a matte top coat to keep it matte. For me instead of using a matte top coat, I wanted to try it with the OPI shatter.

It looked amazing with the matte finish but since I don't have a matte top coat yet, I had to top it with a quick dry top coat :(

Friday, 6 May 2011

Nail Polish of the Week

With this nail, I used OPI's NL L03 Kyoto Pearl as a base, around two coats of it.
And then I added one thin layer of OPI Katy Perry Collection: NL K07 Teenage Dream

One thing I love about this nail do other than the fact that it is in my favourite color pink, but I really like how the shimmer of Kyoto Pearl came out more subtle due to the glitter and the pink shade of the Teenage Dream. I personally am so not a fan of shimmer nail polish but some of them I just love the glow and the colour of it, with this one, the pearl essence of Kyoto Pearl was peeking out through the glitters of Teenage Dream yet the shimmer wasn't over flowing. Amazing!

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

An alternative for OPI Katy Perry Collection: Teenage dream

OPI: $132
REVLON: Around $35-$45

For people who are financially bounded and love the OPI Katy Perry Collection: Teenage Dream, a very close alternative is the REVLON: 65 Blizzard Berry.


The only difference is that for the REVLON one, only the nail polish itself is slightly pink shaded and the OPI one has fine pink glitters as well. In the swatch it seems like there is a lot of difference, but you can achieve the same effect if you have a translucent layer of pink underneath the REVLON one, the glitter particles are pretty much similar. More layers of the nail polish would do too.

Monday, 2 May 2011

May Nail Polish Review #1

Around $64-$132

New purchase!! Names, swatches and reviews below! :)
From left to right:
Katy Perry Collection: Teenage Dream NL K07
Texas Collection: I Vant To Be A-lone Star NL T16
Burlesque Collection: Bring On The Bling HL B03



Texas Collection: I Vant To Be A-lone Star NL T16
This one is from the new collection Texas for the Spring/ Summer 2011. It is like a baby blue base with very fine silver powder which gives it a grey shimmer to it. Very opaque, good coverage with 2 layers and best with 3 I recon.

Katy Perry Collection: Teenage Dream NL K07
I personally wanted this one for quite a while, and yes of course cos it is pink as well as it is glittery. But I actually wanted it cos I saw the swatches and they were AMAZING, so sad that they were sold out then. I am having 2 layers there on my finger and though it doesn't show as well on the photo, it is very nice in real life even on nails compared to the bottle.

Burlesque Collection: Bring On The Bling HL B03
This is out for a while as well, I have two other ones and I love them. So since I had the chance, I had to get this one <3 I mean honestly if you are someone who loves glitter, the Burlesque Collection would be perfect for you. I friggin have only one layer on my finger there! You see what I mean?