Sweet Xmas pressies from my family

Hi everyone! I've almost run out of things to post about, so decided to write a post on some of the really sweet Christmas presents I've received from my family. I know it's so late to be putting up Xmas presents but I've been waiting awhile for some sunlight over here so I can take some pics!

Xmas in KL was wonderful. Eventhough I had a terrible cold on the day itself, it was just so great to see my family again. We all chipped in to cook together a traditional Christmas dinner, and invited some relatives and close family friends to join us.

One of the things my lovely husband got me was a necklace from Tiffany's.

Since my engagement and wedding rings are from Tiffany's, my husband thought he'll get me a necklace from there too. I also like the name Tiffany as I had a beloved cat with the same name! You can almost see a heart in the pic below!

The pic below is the one that represents the true colour of the necklace the best. It's a really pale sea-green crystal.

My mum got me quite a few things things year, but my absolute favourite has to be this Ruby and Diamond ring. She chose the stones and designed it herself and got her jeweller friend to make it. My mum also designed a Sapphire and Diamond ring for my sis, which my sis loves the sentiment but thinks it's too 'bling'. Sigh.

I've never owned any rubies before. This is a pinkish-red one. My mum also took me to her jewellery making friend to design my own ring. It was the most fun hour and a half I've had. As it's the first ring I've ever designed, I decided not to go overboard and go for something simple instead. The ring is currently being made, and will be ready around March. Will show you a pic of it once it's made!

I also got this fun looking retro fan from my parents. It's a Malaysian brand, and I'll have to wait until it the temp here warms up slightly before I can use it!

Seeing as I really like rings, my mum also gave me this Citrine ring she got from China that she never wore. I really like the slightly Gothic look about it!

I got beauty related gifts from my sis in law. She gave me these great products from Nars. A nail polish in Adelta and Lip laquer in Chelsea girls.

My sis in law has a great eye. I LOVE this nail polish. It's such a beautiful pale peachy-gold. Really subtle for everyday wear.

The lip lacquer is a flattering nude shade:

My father got me this book entitled 'Kebaya Tales'. I know for a fact that he bought all his Christmas presents last minute in a mad rush on Christmas Eve, but I'm really pleased with his choice!

It's a collection of short stories on the Peranakans. Or Baba Nyonyas (an ethnic group originating 700 years ago when Chinese travelled to Malacca, Malaysia, Dutch-controlled Java and other locations). This book is special to me as I am a Nyonya/Part Nyonya and love to learn more about my Peranakan heritage. The concept of Peranakans is difficult to explain, so I may do so in a separate post, and add some nice pics to make it more interesting!

My Non-Beauty Holiday Haul

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share with you some of the things I bought on my recent trip to Malaysia. Surprisingly I mainly stayed away from beauty products and bought clothes instead. KL is great for shopping, I especially love their small independent brands where I tend to find cute dresses. Everything there is so much cheaper than KL, so in retrospect these were complete bargains!

First up are my shoes. I got this pair from Vincci. I love the light sea-green colour of the shoes. My sis also bought a pair!

I found these cute little shoes in an independent boutique. The boutique is in Kuching, Sarawak where my mum was born. I went there to visit my grandma and other relatives.

The heel of these wedges are quite sweet - white with a red strawberry and berries pattern.

Yes, stores in Malaysia do sell boots. The weather is definitely too hot for them in KL, but luckily the weather here in the UK is freezing. These boots are from Vincci+.

The warm furry lining of the boots also came in handy for keeping warm.

I got the next two items from another independent boutique, this time in KL. I really love the colour of this dress, I really like deep serene colours.

The dress comes with a detachable belt, which is good as I can interchange different belts for a different look.

I also got this skirt from the boutique. It's like a relaxed, flowy version of a tulip shaped skirt! This skirt was a really good bargain at ~£5.

I got the dress below from one of my fave dress stores, Eclipse. The dress has kind of an African vibe to it which I like as I don't own anything like it.

I also about this cream and gold bag from Charles and Keith.

And this top from Mango, which I would wear with a short-ish skirt and belt. Maybe I'll do an outfit post as I'm terrible at explaining!

So that's my non-beauty haul for the holiday. Beauty items that I bought include Vichy's BB cream and a couple of Chanel lip glosses from duty-free. will do a separate post on them. Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Simple FOTD using Nars Tzarine and Sex Appeal

Hi everyone, here is a FOTD using a couple of products from one of my favourite brands, Nars. The Sex Appeal blush is one of my HG blushers. It gives me a natural looking pale peachy pink flush. The colour is so pale that heavy handed application is needed, and as it's so light it may not show up on darker skintones.

Products used for this FOTD:

Face

Lancome Teint Miracle Concealer, 05 (for highlighting cheeks)

Nars Blush, Sex Appeal

Eyes

Collection 2000 Extreme Liner

Nars Eyeshadow Duo, Tzarine

MAC Opulash Mascara, Bad Bad Black

Lips

Guerlain Rouge G, Gigi (stained on using fingers)

As my skin was feeling extra sensitive, I ditched the use of foundation and instead used a highlighter on my cheeks to give my skin an extra glow.

I find Nars Tzarine such a beautiful colour combination. I used the pale gold shade all over my upper eyelid, then lined my lash line with the blue-grey shade.

I've started using RapidLash enhancing serum on my lashes, and have noticed them growing longer. I'll do a review on the serum after I've used it for a couple of months. So far I've used it for less than 2 weeks.

The Guerlain Rouge G in Gigi is quite a strong fuchsia, so I applied it spareingly using my fingers. Dabbing it on as a lipstain.

Stylish Blogger Award And Tag

Hi everyone! Hope you are all having a wonderful start to the new year! I received a Stylish Blogger Award, from the super stylish Lydia at The Girl Behind The Fashion Mask. She has a great blog, and I LOVE her outfits and sense of style.

The rules of this award is that you have to write 7 things about yourself, and pass this award on. Lets start with the easy rule; I pass this award on to the following undeniably Stylish Bloggers:

Yellowjellybaby

Aimei

Travel in Style

Tummycake

13 December

Amy Antoinette

Cassiopeia

Dance as if no one's watching

Pinkstrawberrielove

Faith in Fashion

I've recently written 7 things about myself, and contemplated weather I should write 7 more and risk boring my precious readers. But rules are rules, so here are 7 (more) things about myself:

1. I'm left-handed and wear contacts. (My eyesight is pretty poor!). For some reason I've always wanted to date someone who was left handed and wore glasses, but everyone I've ever dated (including my husband) are right-handed and have perfect eyesight.

2. I got married to my husband last year in a small wedding at a beautiful Catholic church. It was the perfect day; I married my soul mate and closefriends and family came from around the world to be there.

3. I've undergone general anaesthetic twice. Both for surgeries on my right hand (poor hand!). Now whenever I get 3 gutter balls in a row in bowling, I blame my hand for being so weak after having 2 surgeries!

4. A band I really like now are the British band, The xx. A band I've loved ever since high school is Muse (coincidently also a British band). I've been to twoof their gigs, both were amazing.



5. I used to be really into swimming, and would train once a day for 3 hours on a weekday, and sometimes twice a day on the weekend. I swam for my state, b
ut gave up training at 17. Mainly because I moved to boarding school in the UK, but also because it too up soooo much of my time!

6. I'm very blessed to have a loving family whom I'm very close to. I got to see them over Christmas (as they live on the other side of the world). It was great spending time with them, as well as shopping with my mum and sis! I don't have a huge amount in common with my dad mainly because he's very businessy and into finance. Also, outside of work, his favourite passion is golf. So to bond with my dad, we mostly go jogging, go t

o the driving range or play basketball.

7. I have a phobia of clowns, fish, wasps and butterflies. I love aquariums and looking at pics of butterflies, but can't stand the thought of them fluttering too near me. I'm weird and unreasonable, I know...

I also received a tag from the lovely Gingersnaps to answer the following questions:

1. Why did you create this blog?
I created this blog partly as an outlet for stress during the last couple of months of my PhD. I was all scienced out and wanted to blog about something removed from my field of work, but also something I was passionate about. I enjoy reading Beauty blogs from around the world and have a lot of beauty products. Rather than have my products just sitting there looking pretty, I decided to write review on them and share my views on them with those with similar passions/interests.

2. What kind of blogs do you follow?
I mainly follow Beauty blogs, but I also like to follow Fashion blogs too as they usually contain such beautiful arty photos.


3. Favorite makeup brand?
I would have to choose Guerlain. I love everything about their products; the colours, the quality and the beautiful packaging. Their Limited Edition collections are the ones I get most excited about.

4. Favorite clothing brand?
I can't decide between Topshop, American Apparel and small independent brands

5. Your indispensable makeup product:
Eyeliner. If I have to wear one product, it would be somethingto line my eyes to make them stand out.


6. Your favorite color:
A deep greenish-blue. I do love serene colours.

7. Your Perfume:
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pampelune. Such a delicious grapefruit based scent. Have been using it for years.




8. Your favorite film:
Hayao Miyasaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. I know, it's an animation, but I really love it!

9. What country would you like to visit and why?
New Zealand. I've heard the scenery is so amazingly beautiful there. I would also love to go glacier walking there. Also my parents met each other and married there.



10. Make the last question yourself and answer:
If you were an actress and were to wear a dress to the Oscars, which designer would you choose?

Marchesa.

Though I really love this cute YSL dress Camilla Belle wore:

And for this tag, I tag all of you.

Burberry Beauty Mini Haul and FOTD

Luxury British fashion house Burberry launched their cosmetics line in June 2010. Available exclusively in Harrods (and Nordstrom in the U.S), the products look too beautiful and sleek to resist.

The colours of their line are natural, light, timeless and iconic. The outer packaging looks very Burberry trench-esque, and the packaging itself is pretty heavy with a very luxurious quality to it. Every item has the graphite coloured metal with the Burberry check on it, and would look great on any dressing table.

From this line I bought the Light Glow Blush in Peony No.04, and Lip cover in Blush No.09.

Burberry Beauty Light Glow Natural Blush in Peony No. 04

The blush is packaged in a heavy shiny granite metal case which comes inside a velvet black pouch. The case looks very sleek and has hidden magnets to help close it. The mirror pretty much takes up the whole size of the case, making it a good sized mirror.



The blush itself is imprinted with the Burberry check. I would describe the colour as a soft, pale peachy pink. It's an absolutely gorgeous colour that I fell in love with straight-away, and would amazing on light coloured skintones.

I really love this blush, and it's now one of my favourite blushes. It comes with a small, good quality brush that feels so soft and silky. The product itself is everything I look for in a blush; amazing buildable colour, sheer texture which is soft and smooth on the skin, and gives my skin a great glow.


Burberry Beauty Lip Cover Soft Satin Lipstick in Blush No. 09

This lipstick is packaged in the super sleek granite coloured cuboid metal case, and closes with a magnetic click. The lipstick itself is also imprinted with the Burberry check.

The colour of this lipstick is a very flattering shade of pinky rose. It has tiny glod shimmer particles in it and has quite a pleasant rose scent.

Here is a simple FOTD using the Burberry blush and lipstick:

I've heard great things about their Sheer Foundation, about how sheer and dewy it is. Their eyeshadows look gorgeous too from what I've seen on beauty blogs, so I will definitely be checking them out next time I'm in London!

My HG Products of 2010

Hi everyone, hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! I would like to share with you my favourite products of this year, as I haven't really posted a list of my HG products before. As there's too many products on this list, I won't write about each one independently. Though I have written review about quite a few of them and have added links to these reviews.


SKINCARE

Cleanser Fresh Soy Face Cleanser (click here for review)
Toner La Roche Posay Physiological Soothing Toner
Moisturiser Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream
Anti-age serum Rodial Glamtox Serum

Lipbalm Eve Lom Kiss Mix

Also worth mentioning is my skin saver: La Roche Posay's Effaclar K Daily Revewal Fluid. It's behaves like a 'miracle product'. I use it whenever my I have clogged pores or whenever my pores are looking large. It works so beautifully to improve the skin's texture and appearance. My pores are unclogged, little bumps on my skin dissapears, my pores shrink, and my skin looks and feels A LOT smoother and radiant. Continued, everyday use of this, however, results in my skin feeling dry and slightly irritated, so I only use this product sparingly and only when I need it.

Below: A pic of La Roche Posay Toner, Rodial Glamtox Serum and Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream

MAKEUP

Tinted Moisturiser La Mer Fluid Tint SPF18 (click here for review)
BB Cream Lancome BB Cream (click here for review) / Skin79 The Oriental BB cream
Primer Guerlain L'Or Radiance Concentrate with Pure Gold (click here for review)
Liquid Foundation Guerlain Lingerie De Peau (click here for review)
Powder Foundation Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Fresh Powder Makeup (click here for review)

Eye shadow palette Guerlain Bal De Minuit
Eyeliner Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black/ Collection 2000 Extreme Felt Liner
Mascara Max Factor False Lash Effect

Blush Suqqu Blend Cheeks 03 in Shanarimomo
Highlighter RMS Beauty Living Luminizer (click here for post) / Illamasqua Cream Blush in Lies
Lipstick Clinique All Heart
Lipgloss Nars Lipgloss in Strawberry Fields (click here for swatch)

Guerlain L'Or Radiance, Lingerie De Peau, La Mer Fluid Tint

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara, Collection 2000 Extreme Felt Liner, Guerlain Bal De Minuit

Illamasqua Lies and Suqqu Blend Cheeks 03

And I think the below product deserves a special mention for 'My Fave Inexpensive Product'. It's Sleek's Pout Polish SPF 15. The shade below is 'Powder Pink', a sweet bright pink. This tinted lipbalm is great. Shiny, smells of chocolate, and non sticky.. Best of all it's sold for £3.99 on their website!