Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia

I am not a perfume person, to be honest. Furthermore, I am always using the same few perfumes, namely Kenzo Flower, Lancome Miracle, Bvlgari Pour Femme. I have been using these 3 perfumes mainly because they are not too sweet and strong. Strong perfumes tend to give me a headache. However, I do notice that perfumes do not last very well on me for 1 reason or another (perhaps some human chemistry involved) thus I tend to prefer getting EDP instead of EDT.

Jo Malone is not one of the few commercial brands which are easily available over the counters but I have read about this brand in a few of the beauty blogs which I am following. What caught my attention is that we can create our own unique scent by mixing the different Jo Malone scents. The drawback is seriously the price tag though. A cologne of 30ml cost $95 and 100ml cost $190, and to me is really pricey. But after reading these beauty blogs (which to me is PURE EVIL, lol), I cannot help but step into Jo Malone boutique at Ngee Ann City to take a look.

I really like the bright and crisp atmosphere in the boutique when I stepped in and the friendly SA also helped in scoring some points there. I told her I am keen in their fragrance and would like to know what she can recommend if I am someone who doesn't like my perfume to be too sweet and strong. She immediately recommended me English Pear & Freesia which I took a liking immediately. She also let me try Orange Blossom (which is also not bad and smell of lily) and another scent which I did not catch the name but I did not quite like it as well.

I asked the SA further regarding the combination of scent and she demonstrated to me by spritzing English Pear & Freesia on my left wrist and English Pear & Freesia layered with Orange Blossom on my right wrist. I am quite an idiot when it comes to describing the scents but both smells heavenly (in fact another lady who was in the store at the same time, turned around and ask what was the scent on me as she really liked it). With the combination of scent, it smell really different when it was just English Pear & Freesia. Honestly, I am sold and I knew I am getting something that moment and thus I decided to get English Pear & Freesia as a start. The price tag definitely helped in curbing the impulse to buy 2 fragrances on the spot. :)

Eden and my first Jo Malone!

I really like the way the SA wrapped up the fragrance with ribbons and all and I actually told her to save these efforts since it is for myself. She smiled and told me I should take this as a gift for myself! Damn, I really like her service!

 

The simple and crisp Jo Malone box and elegant wrapping

My English Pear & Freesia cologne!

After stepping out of the store 4 hours later and a nice warm shower, the scents were still lingering on my wrists and I could not help but kept smelling them as well. I think I definitely made a right decision getting their fragrance!

I am definitely going back for more of Jo Malone's fragrances. Have you tried any of their fragrances and what are your favourites?

Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer

I have had the Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer for quite a while and had never really got to see the wonder of this baby but due to an incidental use of this product when I was in a hurry, I am totally amazed by what I seen.

I'm sure how many of you would agree with me that powder foundation and 2-way foundation tend to leave a cakey and powdery look on your face. What makes it worse for me is that it also made my pores loom more obvious and ugly, which is total turn off!

So to my rescue came Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer. Not only does my face not look cakey and powdery after applying Chanel Mat Lumiere Extreme 2-way foundation, my pores looks much smaller and well concealed.

This is a concealer that is meant to 'cover' your pores. If you are worried about pore blockages because this baby claims to cover pores, you need not worry. It actually camouflage your pores by having a powder formula which helps to prevent shadows by dispersing light thus making your pores less obvious. For ladies with oily or combination skin, this concealer also helps to control sebum which makes it a wonderful make up base.


Ettusias AC Pore Concealer comes in a small pot with a spatula to scoop out what you need. Remember, a little bit of this product is all you need to conceal your pores thus go easy on the amount. The texture is creamy and thick thus you do require a bit effort to blend and you should start blend upon application. It also comes in 1 shade only.

In the picture below, I am making a comparison with RMK Creamy Polished Base (on the right) as RMK Creamy Polished Base has a matte finish and is the thickest texture makeup base that I had. Note: I only had 3 makeup bases: Paul & Joe Moisturising Foundation Primer, BareMinerals Prime Time and RMK Creamy Polished Base

As you can see below, Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer has a thicker and creamy texture than RMK Creamy Polished Base.

After blending, RMK Creamy Polished Base leaves a slight sheen (right) whereas Ettusias AC Pore Smooth Concealer (left) has a matte finish and look slightly fairer.

For ladies who need some help in concealing your pores during makeup, I strongly encourage you to try this concealer out! :)

Kitty kitty kitty

This morning, while me and BC were on the way to breakfast, I saw a lump of fur like in the middle of the carpark. Honestly, it looks weird and when I moved closer, it was actually a kitten!! A very very young kitten to be specific!

We knew if we left the kitty there, it will be dead since any cars that drive through the carpark will easily run it down so we had to bring it back first. After breakfast, I brought the little one to the vet clinic where our 3 kitties go to as I thought it would be a better idea for me to get it checked and put up for adoption. Before going to the clinic, I actually gave SPCA a call asking what should I do with this kitten since I knew it is really young and I had no experience with a young kitten. The lady from SPCA advised me to put it up on adoption. If SPCA were to come and collect the kitten, and eventually not get adopted, the poor thing would be put down!

The vet examined the kitten and found it to be really young, few weeks old. She told me that I had to keep the kitten warm (poor little one was shivering alot), feed it with milk once every 2-4 hours, massage its butt to make it pee and poo. Gosh, it is really a lot of work and I know me and BC do not have the time at all since we are at least out for 12 hours a day for work!

Look how puny the kitten is in my small tote bag!

Damn cute! So small!

The kind vet referred me to a staff there who is willing to do boarding for the little one, for a fee of course. For the amount of time that she need to feed and clean the kitten, she is charging approximately $30 per day and according to the vet, the kitten will probably need this kind of attention for about 2 - 4 weeks! *Gasp*. I told them that I will only need their help until the kitten can at least eat solids and I can start to toilet train since Eden and Simba also came to us approximately 1 month old.

BC was actually keen to keep this kitten as our 4th cat but I am really unsure and thus I had the intention to put it up for adoption. I posted the above pic on Facebook and my sister who is also an animal lover was aw-ing over it. I thought it would be a good idea to strike up an arrangement with her. I will take care of the kitten at my place but all expenses (food, medical etc etc) will be born by her. She can come over and play with the cat as and when she likes. Boarding charges will be shared among the 2 of us. She got really excited with this arrangement as she can finally have her own pet!

I'm so glad that I helped someone today although it wasn't easy........... but it felt really good to do a good deed and for a animal lover like me, it felt good to help a helpless animal.

PS: This kitten is 80% to be a boy. Have to wait for the genitals to be more obvious to be sure. :)

Harry Potter

BC was asking me a few days ago whether I wanted to watch the finale of Harry Potter. He mentioned that he found it strange that I have yet to bug him to watch the movie after 2 weeks and he has been wondering why. Perhaps because I already knew the ending after reading the book or perhaps the wait has been too long, the excitement is just not there anymore.

Weird huh? I think humans are so strange. Strange that after waiting for too long or getting too comfortable for a while that things starts to be monotonous or cold? No more excitement........ But again, back to Harry Potter, I am definitely going to watch it. In fact, I told BC let's watch it this weekend after a nice breakfast at Hatched (Yes! AGAIN!). Lol. I think I am looking forward more to the breakfast at Hatched than the movie! I think I am getting weird!

LUSH Fresh Farmacy Cleanser

In my recent LUSH haul, I also purchased Fresh Pharmacy cleanser to give it a try on my combination, sensitive skin with the monthly breakouts. Saw pretty good reviews about how some ladies got saved by this cleanser when nothing seems to help their skins with breakouts. Although as I aged, breakouts became more of a hormonal monthly affair, it still continues to bothers me as the whole popping to diminishing process can easily be 2 weeks, so I thought why not give this a try? Not too ex anyway.......

This cleanser comes in a bar form and honestly, I am not quite a fan of bar cleanser. Travelling with a bar cleanser can be a pain and the bar cleanser tend to turn mushy and disgusting looking after much use. So what I learnt from my experience with Ettusias bar cleanser was to cut up the soap in smaller pieces and use them bit by bit. This way, I can continue to keep the unused cleanser in my fridge and just use the small bit of the cut soap.

Fresh Farmacy contains calamine and camomile to sooth sensitive skin and coupled with rose water, tea tree and lavender oil, it helps to combat spots with their natural properties. Contrasting to Angel on Bare Skin cleanser, Fresh Farmcy lather up!!! I love FOAMS. The smell might not be enticing to some as there is a strong calamine scent but it is still acceptable to me. I also notice a slight minty cooling feel on my skin after wash, and this could be due to calamine as well.

I love how my skin feels after the wash; clean and not squeaky clean to cause tightness and discomfort. Makes me feel clean in the certain horrible hot and humid weather here. As it might be a bit stronger than Clarins Gentle Foaming cleanser, I am currently rotating these 2 cleansers: Clarins for day use (since my skin is not so oily and tired) and LUSH Fresh Farmacy for night use (after coming back home after a day of sweat and dirt) and so far it works pretty well. :)

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill (#4 Pulp Fiction)

For the longest time, I have read 1001 raves about Giorgio Armani (GA) Eyes to Kill eyeshadows. They are creamy, long lasting and the colour pigmentation is super impressive. Unfortunately for us in Singapore, we do not have a GA counter here. But thanks to SPREES, I managed to join in a spree to get GA from USA while they were having 20% discount promotion!!! Yuppiessss.......

There has been a lot of beauty blogs which shows swatches of these lovely eyeshadows and I am truly spoilt for choices. Much as I would love to get more of them, I had to be rational and I told myself I should only get 1. I am torn between #3 Purpura (purple with a mix of gold) and #4 Pulp Fiction (grey with mix of pink shimmers) and I actually placed order for #3 Purpura and indicated in the event it is not available to get #4 Pulp Fiction. And lucky me, I was one of the 5 or 6 ladies who placed order and got #4 Pulp Fiction (as the rest of the shades were unavailable!).

I am not sure how to describe the texture of this eyeshadow as it is just like loose pigments (in fact some of the pigments came out of the jar in the midst of delivery from USA to me) but when swatch, it felt smooth like gel / cream. I will not be posting pictures of the swatch since I do not have a decent camera to properly capture the colour but you can definitely google and get directed to many beauty bloggers who had posted wonderful review of this eyeshadow.

I am quite sure I am not stopping at 1 for this range of eyeshadows but I guess the nearest to get from will be HK or Taiwan? Hmm....... anyone going there soon? :)

Changed review of LUSH sea vegetable soap

If you guys remembered, I reviewed LUSH Sea vegetable soap sometime back and was ranting on how much I disliked it. But after using it for about 3 weeks, I want to change my comments about this soap.

1 of the peeves I had about this soap was that it does not lather well. Well, I noticed it does not lather well in the first few uses, but after that it does foams up pretty normally. So I guess patience is virtue. Lol.

Although the scent does not lingers long on my skin after shower, it has a 'freshen me' effect on me especially in the recent hot and humid weather. Not beats having a nice cool shower which makes you feel that you just had a swim. I am starting to appreciate this scent....

It is definitely a nice change from some sweet, strong smelling shower gel and soap and I am definitely buying this again.