What Do Girls Do Before They Sleep?

What's your nightly beauty ritual? I have such a long list that my boyfriend is aghasted when I tell him about it. But he's a nice guy, so he'll amicably say, "Well, if that means you smell really nice when you go to bed, then so be it" or "No wonder your skin is so soft!" To hear compliments like that really make my day, so I try to keep my nightly routine up.

As always, I start off with a picture of myself sans make-up, and with my hairup, and fringe up thanks to the Korean hairband...

Start off with moisturising my face after cleansing (so happy, going to finish my Garnier facewash soon, which means I can start reviewing another product! Tee hee!) :

Two drops is all you need... :) Maybe 3 if you have a large face. :P Check out the look of concentration on my face. Must have exactly TWO drops come out only, as I am running out of the moisturiser and I don't want to waste... ~ Oh, and I know it seems like I'm using Hada Labo with every entry, but as much as I don't want to waste, I still want to finish this quickly so I can try another product. Tsk tsk!

My favorite step --- extra whitening inner cell repair body milk from Nivea! Makes my skin smell milky and nice, soft to the touch afer this as well. Hopefully the hype is not unfounded --- apparently it makes skin HEALTHIER as well!

Rub rub rub... slathering it all over my arms and legs and other unmentionables... :P

Can't resist the call to ... FLEX

Erm... next step! Mirror Mirror neck cream "for a snuggly nook" from Lush. One of my favorite products... really helps to moisturise your neck. Why need a special moisturiser for your neck? Because the skin there is more sensitive! Iron out your wattles right now! =p

Look of horror when I find out this product is also diminishing... sigh, really need to restock on Lush stuff!
But on it goes anyway....

Still medicating my pimples with Oxy.. le sigh!

Okay, I had to take out my contacts for this next step. Ugh, what a typical nerd look. :P

Guess what this is?

It's my Boots Ultimate Lift Eye gel from their Botanics range. It leaves a nice cooling sensation on your eyes, but I don't think it really helps "lift my eyes". However, I do enjoy the soothing sensation, and this eye gel was NOT responsible for the milia that I got.... so :


This is the part where I let my hair down... because I'm going to use my Phyto Phytodefrisante anti-frizz balm. Can use when hair is wet or dry... don't matter :
I *really* don't like the texture of this thing... it just looks so gross... hahhaa. I'm REALLY not buying this again!
And to help me sleep better... Johnson & Johnson's Bedtime Powder. I really do think it helps me sleep better. It has such a comforting scent, and makes "baby" feel so nice and comfortable. Hahahaha...

And lastly ... hand cream. I bought a whole bunch of this from Bath & Body Works when I was in America last time. Craziness! Out of a bunch of 8 tubes of hand cream, I only used finish 1. This one is a lavender vanilla "sleep blend". It does smell rather sweet, but nothing that is particularly "soothing" and "promotes tranquility" about it...
Alright, I hope I'll get some good rest after this. I'm actually supposed to be on standby for a night implementation... so I pray that all goes well and I don't end up wide awake at 3am or something...

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Clarins UV PLUS HP Sunscreen

Has anyone gotten to try the Clarins UV Plus High Protection day sun screen? I got a free sample after I signed up as a fan on Clarins's Facebook page. The promotion is over, so no point for me to link the fanpage up here now. :p Basically, they would send you an sms that says you get a free sample, and you collect it from the Clarins counter. One sample lasts for 3 applications, but I was really afraid that it would dry out super fast, so I used it within 3 days. =) The liquid sunscreen is pinkish in color, but it dries out to be very sheer, makes you look a little bit fairer.

I quite like this sunscreen - it has a very light floral smell, it doesn't leave a greasy feeling on my skin, and it's quite a good base for your foundation, or if you have super good skin, you can just use this and head on out. The tinted sun screen would be suitable for you if you can't be bothered with layering on the foundation.

By the way, I didn't find out how much this costs, and the SA that gave me the free sample didn't really "sell" it to me aside from telling me how to use it. I might consider buying this since I really need to start using something with UV protection... sun is so hot nowadays!

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Reviving Your Gel Eyeliner

So, in the last entry, I talked about my gel eyeliner going dry. I really cannot accept throwing away 80% of my gel eyeliner, and as I've just bought a new product (will share it with you tomorrow), I didn't feel like buying another MAC eyeliner. I believed that there *has* to be a way to revive my gel eyeliner!

I found the answer through a Youtube channel (you can just Google on how to revive gel eyeliners and find the answer, but since you came here, Imma tell you. ^^). This is the solution that I used and feel that it works 100% :

This is the "before" picture of my eyeliner. It's the Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner from Maybelline in Black.

1) Heat up a pot of water (just about 2 ricebowls worth). You don't have to wait for it to boil, as long as steam is coming up, it's good to go!

2) Transfer the water into a separate bowl or microwavable container. Then, making sure that your gel eyeliner has been screwed on VERY TIGHTLY... put the whole thing in!! After that, cover the bowl and leave it for 5 minutes. I covered the bowl with the pot cover! :P

After these 2 simple steps, open your gel eyeliner and check the condition now :

Note :
1. Even the crusty bits along the side of the container is gone! Must've melted and gone back down where it belongs... *snicker*

2. The brush strokes on the surface which were so apparent in the 'before' picture are not so apparent in the 'after' picture, because it is no longer hardened into the gel!

3. Pigmentation did NOT change... it only looks lighter in the 'after' photo because of the extremely bright flash. Everything else is ok, in terms of smell or color. =)

According to websites, this method only lasts for 2 weeks, after that you have to keep repeating it. However, I'll stick to this method because the other method involves you mixing water into the eyeliner and then stirring it around. I feel odd about directly manipulating the content of the gel eyeliner, and this method only takes 10 minutes, and it doesn't even need your constant and direct attention. Yes, it is annoying and I wish there's a way that gel eyeliners would last longer without the need to do this. No more gel eyeliner for me after this!

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Face Of The Day : Morning Make-Up

Decided to do a make-up post because MOST of my make-up can be considered as drug store make-up. I'm not an expert, so please excuse if my style is not professional. I'm just someone who likes experimenting with different brands and sharing my finds with you. ^^

Anyway, today I had a bit of time, so I managed to catch some snaps for this post. Usually I'm in a rush / my boyfriend is already waiting for me outside my house, so I have to dash. This make-up was suitable for a daytime look, as we were going to meet up with his best friend's wife who just came back from America. Was wearing my 3/4 "londeh" pants from Kitschen and a t-shirt. I wanted a fuss-free look which was not TOO simple...

I need to put my fringe up to do my make-up. My RM3 hairband from Aeon pharmacy is a blessing at times like this. ^^ And after I put my hair up, you can clearly see my pimples and such. Sigh...!


1) MOISTURISE!
After cleansing the face and putting the hair up, my first step is to moisturise. Here, I'm using my gradually depleting bottle of Hada Labo face moisturiser. Just need 2-3 drops. Rub it between your hands to spread it out, and then pat on to your face. Wait a while for the product to get absorbed before proceeding to the next step.

I look like I'm in great pain here. Whoever said that watching a woman do her make-up is sexy is severely mistaken. This is SERIOUSBUSINESS!

And then we're done! Good? Good.

2) MEDICATE
As mentioned, I have a few pimples at the moment. It's not that serious (making my face look like crater of the moon), but it's quite apparent (cannot hide it with fringe). I want to continue to treat the pimples even though I'll be wearing foundation, so I always wear the pimple medication FIRST, then layer the foundation on top. I still use my Oxy Cover because it's flesh tone, it hides under the foundation better.

Target and destroy!!

3) BUILDING UP A BASE...
Time for mineral foundation! I love mineral foundation, especially Everyday Minerals, but I've run out of mineral powder from that brand. Instead, I'm now using my very last bits of Boots No. 7 mineral powder that I bought when I was in Thailand in "Buff" shade. Actually it's a little bit TOO dark for me, so I mix it with some samples I got from Everyday Minerals last time. My true EM shade is "Light Olive", but just for samples, I got some which were too fair for my skintone. So when I mix it with the Boots "Buff" shade, I got something pretty good! This is why I like mineral foundation... you can mix and match if you don't get the perfect shade. Can't say the same about normal foundation, right?

Just sprinkle it out onto the cover, and then put on your face with a kabuki brush. Don't forget your neck!

4) MAKE YOUR EYES POP
Well, technically, my small eyes will never be able to "pop", but instead of letting them stay dull and unattractive, a spot of eyeliner and eyeshadow never hurt anyone. I only break out my Nyx palette during the weekends. The strong pigments are just too colorful for the office!

Today I'm using my 10 Eye Color palette from Nyx - The Runway Collection...

I'll be using the yellow for the base, and the plum to mix with it. That might sound very weird (yellow + purple?!), but actually it's not glaring if you blend it all in. The plum is not a deep purple, but a light shimmery one, so most people might even think it's a beige shade after blending it out, hahaha. Anyway, you can see from the mirrored reflection on my eyeshadow palette that I have a lot of bottles in the foreground! Hahaha, I'm a skincare freak! :P

One eye is done! See? Very light base...

4) MAKE YOUR EYES POP II
It's not enough to just put on some color... for small eyed freaks like me, we need some eyeliner too. I'm forced to use my Maybelline Gel Eyeliner... and I say "forced" because at the moment the gel seems to be.... hardened. It's harder to draw when previously it used to just slide on. But it's pretty pricey and I don't want to buy a new eyeliner when there's still 80% left of this one. I did stop using the gel eyeliner at one point because I bought 2 In2It liquid eyeliners. In2It liquid eyeliners were good AT FIRST, but then I realised they are not very long lasting, and have a tendency to FLAKE OFF when it dries. The flakes will get into my eyes and irritate them to no end.

Maybelline Gel Eyeliner is really good - long lasting and lasts through tears (from yawning too much wtf), but the main gripe I have about this (which led to me buying the liquid eyeliners from In2It) is that you HAVE to clean the brush out after every application, which is just so bothersome. If you don't clean it out, it WILL harden and make every application after that PAINFUL as it's SCRAPING a brush on your eyelid. Anyway, I'm wondering how I can revive my gel eyeliner, as I remember it being silky smooth the first time I bought it. I read somewhere I can heat it up and it'll be all better. Will update how that goes!

How I look like when only one eye is done... can see the difference? I admit it's not a HUGEEEE difference because I didn't put fake eyelashes or put more dramatic eye makeup, with highlights and stuff:

5) COLOR IN YOUR LIPS
Meeting boyfriend = no lipgloss day. Used to be a lipgloss collector, I promise you, I have more than 10 tubes of lipgloss. They have not seen the day whenever I meet up with Tron because he hates the feeling of stickiness on his face when I kiss him. Hahahaha! :X So since it's lipstick day, I use my go-to color. I like this shade from Maybelline - Cosy Tangerine from their Color Senstational Moisture Extreme range. It's good for the office or on days when you don't want your lips to be the main attention. Coral shades are also more suitable for my skintone...

After! Woo... nearly there now:
You can see that my lips don't look so pinkish right now. Heck, if you compare with the first pic on this page, it's like I was dead and then I became alive! -__-

6) MAKE YOURSELF BLUSH
Usually, I don't use this step unless I'm wearing foundation (yes, there are times I go out without foundation, days when I know I'm only stepping out for a while, or when I know that I'll be out a LONG LONG TIME and wasting my precious remainding mineral foundation ain't worth it. ;P). If I don't wear blusher when I'm wearing foundation, the face looks a little "flat". To add dimension, highlight the cheekbones!

Today I'm using Dandelion from Benefit. It's a very light pink blusher shade that I got for free from some contest that I won. *shrugs* It's good for light day make-up, nothing very dramatic. Just gives you a healthy pink glow. By the way, I don't subscribe to the whole "smile really big and put blush on the apples of your cheeks" method anymore. I do the "brush upwards and highlight your cheekbones" method as a make-up artist once said that when you grow older, the more you smile when applying blusher, when you DON'T smile, it looks like everything is sagging! This is so true, you have to try it for yourself.

If you are still using the "apples of the cheeks" method, try the cheekbone highlighting method and see what a difference it makes! It made a difference for me!

Er... though you are NOT smiling, you don't have to be frowning like I am, hahahaha. I'm just being very SERIOUSBUSINESS about everything. :)

7) ADD A TAD MORE DRAMA
Okay, to be honest, I usually skip this step too, because I don't usually need it. Whether I use this or not, it doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm talking about MASCARA. Those who use fake lashes will be blasphemed at what I say, but although it looks a TAD better with mascara, I generally don't see the difference. Or should I say, the difference is not even worth the 30 seconds it takes me to put this on. =p I'm currently using Boot's No.7 Dream Lash mascara that came as a free gift.

It does its job, I suppose... actually, I can't see a difference. Hahahaha!

8) HEAD ON OUT

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Body Butter Shower Cream & Eye Masks

Review of 2 new products I've been using!

1) Olay Total Effects Ultra Nourishing Body Butter Shower Cream

The one that I'm using is the one on the far right

I bought this because I really like Olay products - I've also had good experience using their revitalizing eye cream. The eye cream, though pricey, lasted for nearly a year, and it really helped to make my eyes feel more refreshed at the end of the day. Also, the only eye cream so far that has NOT given me milia. The sales assistant at Carrefour also told me that with every purchase of their body butter wash, I would get a pair of bath scrubbing mitts... in pink! I was sold. :)

This body butter wash is NOT one of those shower gels which make you feel squeaky clean when you're done. So best not to use it post-workout. It's great before a date, because your body will feel so soft and smooth after the shower. It's like you won't need any more body moisturisers. =) The effects last quite long too... for example, after a bath at 9am this morning, I still felt soft and moisturised up til 3pm in the afternoon.

The bad part is that, IMHO, the one that I got (Ultra Nourishing) is one of the nicer smelling ones. Though I was attracted to the "ribbon body butter" body washes, I found those too sickly sweet. Some people on other blog reviews complain that this body wash leaves a horrible smell on the skin that lasts for hours. I didn't experience that, but maybe because I always layer with body moisturiser (I know I said it feels like you don't need it after the shower, but I always do so out of habit) and perfume. =P

I also don't quite like the texture for this shower cream, as it is ... er.. creamy. I prefer the clear, gel-type. Also, I notice that this shower cream is prone to packaging failure in the pharmacies and supermarkets that I've gone to. The creamy texture always seems to spill out of the container and leaves a nasty crust around the bottle. Some pharmacies even resort to using cellophane to tape the top up! There's just something very wrong if they need to do that.

In conclusion, though I quite like the moisturising and nourishing effects from this shower cream, I won't be purchasing again, as I have mentioned, this was the best of the range. No intentions to try the others. =)

2) Montagne Jeuness Anti-Poches (Anti-Puffiness) Eye Mask

I bought this because I have been doing late night support at work for a while, and I thought that if I didn't start taking care of my eyes now, when they become panda-like, it would be even more difficult. This is pretty pricey, if I remember correctly, it's about RM10 per packet of 2 eye masks (that means you can use it twice only).

For further effectiveness, the packet recommends that you put the eye masks in the refridgerator before using. I find this a bit "cheating", because a much cheaper alternative is to put metal spoons into the fridge and lay them on your eye bags. Every girl magazine teaches this secret! I was hoping for some ultra-nutrition / vitamin filled masks that would absorb into my eyebags and expel out goodness-knows-what that makes it puffy. If it was just the COLD that would cause it to go away, then I would go back to the spoon trick.

Honestly, I don't find that it is that effective, but the coldness of the eye mask on my eye bags does feel good. Remember not to put the eye masks toooo near to the bottom of your eye, otherwise it WILL be painful, trust me. ;)

In conclusion : use the spoon trick. ;P

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Stuff I Rarely Use (But Still Use!) Pt Quatre

1. Soap & Glory : Scrub of Your Life
Similar to Soap & Glory's Peaches & Clean shower gel, actually. This one is also buffing-bead-filled-goodness. You will definitely be able to scrub your body into a high shine and skin feels smoother after the massive exfoliation you get with this scrub. My only complain is that Peaches & Clean is *definitely* better smelling. This one doesn't smell like anything fruity or floral... I really can't explain it. It just smells like a cleanser... all formulaic and stuff. This, despite it being supposed to smell like peaches, jasmine and all kinds of goodness.

The buffing beads are also much bigger than the peach scrub (normal I suppose, since the other is supposed to be a shower gel!), and harder to melt under water. So I think you can say that it is more value for money, because with just a small amount of product, you can go on scrubbing and buffing for a long time. When I say that it's hard to melt, it really is! I was buffing away WHILE I was under the shower, and the buffing beads just won't go away, lol. =)

2. Simple Kind To Skin Deep Cleansing Face Mask
I use this deep cleansing mask on my face whenever I feel like my face needs a treat, but I don't have the time. The Deep Cleansing mask goes on liquid, and washes off liquid-y. It's not one of those masks that dries off and you peel it off. It also doesn't need to be on your face for very long - you can wash off after 5 minutes.

Remember to shake the tube a little before you start using because of the composition inside... sometimes liquid just comes out, and then your "mask" will end up too watery. Otherwise, I smear it over my face, and upon washing off, the skin feels softer and smells like a baby! I personally feel that it calms down spots or pimples that were already on my face.

The cons? I don't like the slightly greasy feeling I get after washing this off, and I don't really feel that this is "deep cleansing" because of the aforementioned greasy feeling. I would expect a deep cleansing mask to really make your skin feel oil-free and squeaky clean. Also, a bit pricey for a mask that I only use occasionally. I think it was almost RM20, but the curious cat in me was drawn in. Plus, my boyfriend swears by Simple... he has sensitive skin, and unlike me, is not drawn to fruity smells. *laughs*

Some yummy descriptions about this product :
VITAL VITAMINs :
PRO-VITAMIN B5 - actively restores, softens and smoothes (agree on this!)
VITAMIN E - moisturises to improve skin condition (it is quite moisturising, maybe a little bit too much!)

SKIN LOVING NUTRIENTS
NATURAL CLAY - detoxifies and purifies (yup! but I wish it was stronger in a way)
SEAWEED EXTRACT - cleanses, soothes and softens (ugh, I don't like seaweed, and this does soothe and soften, but the cleansing property ... hmmm... this is just the wrong product for me to get the squeaky cleanness I like)
BISABOL - soothes and calms (yup!)

Item is 3rd from the left

3. Boots Oriental Floral Yuzu Bath Essence
I got this free with the Boots "Oriental Bloom" gift set, otherwise I definitely will not buy it. For one, I am not sure what a bath essence is. I thought it would be like essential oils, but this one looks like a shower gel. It *can't* be used as a shower gel though, because there's no cleaning properties. I suppose if you use a body scrub and you want to add a little fragrance into your scrub, you could mix it with this. And it *does* smell very nice.

The bath essence has a mild fruity smell that is not too zesty. Perfect for relaxing in a bath, I suppose. Hmm.. if only I had a bath tub, then perhaps I could give this a more thorough review...

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