Burberry Compact Foundation Trench No.7

After the pan out of my HG compact foundation of Chanel Mat Lumiere Extreme previously posted here, I'm on a lookout to try other compact foundation. I was seriously tempted to just stick with Chanel but am itching to try out new ones as well.

I love Burberry eyeshadows and thus wanted to try out their compact foundation to see if it works as well. I was matched to Trench No.7.

Similar to the eyeshadows, the compact foundation is housed in a metal case with magnetic close. The magnet is pretty strong so you need not worry that the case will open up on its own. The case as well as the compact foundation has Burberry's signature checks and everything about it just look so chic. The makeup sponge is in a separate compartment below the compact foundation but given the strong magnet, I find it quite difficult to open the clasp and reach the sponge. I ended up inverting the whole case to find any small gap that will give me a chance to open the catch.

Coverage of the compact foundation is build able from sheer to medium. Any further coverage will look cakey (similar to other compact foundations). Lasting power is moderate of around 6 hours or so and comparison to Chanel Mat Lumiere Extreme, it fair poorer. The oil control properties of Burberry Compact Foundation is not as great as Chanel, but it certainly works better for me as recently my skin seems to be going through some changes and my combination skin seems to hunger for moisture. I would recommend this foundation to busy ladies with normal to combination skin who wants speed in the application of foundation. However, I would not yet call this my HG foundation yet because I have not felt that it is irreplaceable in the vast selection of compact foundation.

Bintan holiday

Friends who know me will know that I hardly go for holidays. Other than the fact that I have 4 fur kids at home (1 of which has special needs), the idea of forking out a sum of money to travel also gives me heartache, lol.

But when BC told me that he badly needs a break away from Singapore and his work, we found some deals on Groupon which works out quite ok for us. The resort is not high end like Angsana or Nirwana but it's fine with us since we have never been to Bintan before.

The deal we bought from Groupon was 2D1N stay at Bintan Cabana Beach Resort and the ride from the ferry terminal is long at approximately an hour. In fact the child of this family in the same van as us heading towards the resort asked 'Mummy, uncle driving us back to Singapore??' I almost laughed out when I heard it so yes, the trip was that long.

The resort is not fantastic but decent and the staffs there are all very friendly. Unfortunately, there are no recreational activities available in the resort BUT we can take the shuttle bus to their sister resort, Bintan Agro Beach Resort (15mins ride away) for water sports and all. Me and BC are not water sports people so we ended up enjoying the sea breeze, watching movie on our iPad and having massages. It's definitely a good chance to get away from the crowd and especially work.

Unfortunately for us, the food sucks. I would have no complaints if they can serve nice traditional Indonesian food there but they had to attempt to serve Chinese or English cuisine cooked using Indonesian way which makes the food taste weird. Let me quote you an example. When we order oatmeal prawns in Singapore, the prawns and oatmeal are fried until nice and crispy right? Well..... When we ordered oatmeal squid at the resort, the dish came out wet! Yes, the oatmeal is wet and just like u soaking pork floss in porridge! Nonetheless, the best meal we had during our trip was the MacDonald's we had when we arrive back home, haha.

Even the food was bad, the whole experience I had at Bintan was still an enjoyable one. It's definitely a good break and we already are planning for another trip for year end! Yeah!! Before I end this post, here are some pics I took :)

Liebster Blog award

Thanks to the encouragement and nomination of one of my good pal, Tracy, she has nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award.

Liebster Blog Award is meant to be a form of encouragement for blogs with less than 200 readers and it really meant a lot to me to receive this nomination from Tracy. There were times when I asked myself why am I blogging for because I know there are not many vivid readers of mine but this space still continues to be an avenue for me to get away from the hussle and buzzle of my everyday busy life. For readers out there who have been reading my blog, I sincerely thank you for this. :)

The interesting rule about Liebster Blog award is to:-
-Link back to the person who gave you the award
-Put the award on your post
-Choose 5 blogs with under 200 followers to receive the award
-Let them know you awarded them

I love the way the torch is being passed on, don't you find it meaningful??

The blogs that immediately came to my mind to receive the nominations are as follows:-

My Beauty Hoard is one the blogs that I check out everyday. Jacq is an extremely bubbly and friendly lady who loves loves beauty. I'm glad to find her blog on this vast blogosphere and even made friends with her.

Lady Jan's Neverland is a place you need to check out if your interest is in Korean drama, food and anything under the sun.

memoiselle is another blog that I have to mention. I love her taste in beauty and the wonderful stuffs that gets featured on her space.

The Little Butterfly Diary is the place if you are looking for reviews of beauty products and food places. This lady's review criteria is stringent so you can be sure the quality of stuffs that she recommends. :)

Beautiful Days is the space of one of my good pals and I especially love the pics of the places she has been and the things that she randomly writes about. I have always felt that she will make a good writer and till now I still think so.

I hope you guys will head to these nominated blogs and like them like how I did. The vastness of the WWW is we will never know what are the hidden treasures available. :)

Review: Love More White Crystal & Platinum Peptide Whitening Duo Lifting Mask

One of the two masks that Secretive.sg has generously sponsored me for my review is Love More White Crystal & Platinum Peptide Whitening Duo Lifting Mask. Similar to SexyLook Extreme Whitening Duo Lifting Mask which I review previously, it is also a 3D mask which contains wonderful whitening agent.

The selling point of Love More White Crystal & Platinum Peptide Whitening Duo Lifting Mask is that it has colloidal platinum which not only revitalise, moisturise and protect the skin but it also helps the skin to absorb nutrients, recharge and re-hydrate. If I interpret this as a lay-man, it is almost similar to feeding your skin with vitamins and make it healthier.

In contrast to SexyLook Extreme Whitening Duo Lifting Mask, the sheet mask of Love More White Crystal & Platinum Peptide Whitening Duo Lifting Mask feels softer with thicker essence. Would certainly hope that the eye space was cut a bit bigger as the eye space ended right at the side of my eye. I wasn't able to hoop the side of the mask onto my ears as well and I could only use it like a normal sheet mask. Even though I feel that Love More White Crystal & Platinum Peptide Whitening Duo Lifting Mask has more essence, it is not messy without essence dripping all over the floor and life as usual for me when I am enjoying my 'masking' time.

Usually I do not rinse off the essence from the sheet mask after removing it and instead pat the reminder essence into my face. However, as the essence from Love More White Crystal & Platinum Peptide Whitening Duo Lifting Mask was thicker, I tried patting in the reminder essence and on another occasion rinse it off after having the mask on for 20 minutes. The feel I have from the 2 options were:

1) Skin feels slightly sticky with just patting in the essence initially. However, after applying my usual night moisturiser, the stickiness seems to go away. I believe this is to do with the motion of massaging in  my night moisturiser into my skin that helps the essence to penetrate better.

2) Skin feels refreshed immediately after rinsing and I actually applied my night moisturiser 30 minutes after rinsing off to test if my face feels tight on the surface since the 'goodness' of the essence has been washed off. The answer is NO. Usually my skin will feels tight within 5 minutes if I do not slap on my moisturiser after wash and tone but not after using and rinsing away Love More White Crystal & Platinum Peptide Whitening Duo Lifting Mask.

In both 'after mask' methods, my skin still stays hydrated, moist and plump. It also helps in brightening up my skin slightly especially recently my skin has been looking dull from the long hours and late nights.

This is another mask that I foresee myself using in future as well, especially when I feels my skin is in need of hydration and brightening. Love More White Crystal & Platinum Peptide Whitening Duo Lifting Mask  is currently available on Secretive.sg for a discounted price of $8.90 for a box of 5 masks. So grab this offer if you are keen to try. To find out more about Secretive.sg and the masks available, do join their Facebook page!

Secretive FB: http://www.facebook.com/secretive.sg
SexyLook FB: http://www.facebook.com/SexyLook.sg
LoveMore FB: http://www.facebook.com/LoveMore.sg

Disclosure: The product in this review is sent by the company for my review and consideration. All opinions stated are my own honest views and no compensation is received for this review.

YSL Glossy Stain Corail Aquatique

Sorry Harry but you have to wait for a few more days before I start posting about you because I have something more exciting here that I have to blog about and it's the much raved YSL Glossy Stain!

Barneys New York is having free international shipping until 23 June 2012 and I used this chance to grab my first YSL Glossy Stain that is highly raved on the beauty blogsphere. Given the huge stash of lip stuffs I still have at home, I have to restrain myself and just get 1. Man, choosing the shade I want is truly not easy and I spent quite some time going back and forth my favourite beauty blogs to decide. Eventually, Jacqueline's look here told me that shade 7 Corail Aquatique is it!

I love the see through 'window' of the tube that shows how much gloss is left, but honestly who am I kidding, I have not finished any lip product in my entire life! In any case, this is a useful feature :). In comparison to Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick, it is slight taller and bigger in size. Love this size as it feels more compact.

When choosing the shade, I had in my mind something different from my current stash of lip products. my preference has always been towards dusty rose shade which is extremely extremely safe because it always blend in very well with my natural lip colour. I have to admit that I was first drawn to 15 Rose Vinyl because it looks like a dusty rose shade but I stopped myself, haha. So I went for a coral shade which is brighter but at the same time not too bright, 7 Corail Aquatique is it.

I like how the coral shade stands out on its own without looking too bright (I know, I need to get used to wearing bright colours at times, give me some more time, haha). Love it!

Here is how it looks on my lips. My natural lip colour is on the darker side so most light nude shades look just horrible on me.

The picture on the top shows my 'naked' lips and below it shows how it looks with Corail Aquatique. Honestly, it doesn't look too different, only brighter. Perhaps I did not apply enough or maybe my lips are just too dark. Nonetheless, I still like this shade :) I am pretty sure I am not stopping at 1 for this glossy stains and I totally can't wait for YSL to re open their counter at Tangs!!

Finally, here is me at the end of the day with just minimal makeup left and Corail Aquatique on my lips.

I hope I have not scared you with this lousy pic here and hope you guys have a wonderful week ahead!

Review: SexyLook Extreme Whitening Duo Lifting Mask

I have been a fan of sheet masks for years as they are convenient to use and easy to bring along wherever I go. As such, I am extremely delighted to be contacted by Secretive.sg to review 2 of the masks available on their website: SexyLook Extreme Whitening Duo Lifting Mask and Love More White Crystal & Platinium Petide Moisturizing Mask. For the posting today, the review will be on SexyLook Extreme Whitening Duo Lifting Mask.

SexyLook Extreme Whitening Duo Lifting Mask contains multiple whitening extracts such as white truffles, black pearl, barley extract and tranexamic acid. With these multiple extracts, the mask is able to fight against yellowish and uneven skin tone. In additon, it is also able to diminish dark spots, moisturise and sooth skin. For me who has been plagued with uneven skin tone and freckles, this sure sound like a good mask to try.

Unlike a normal sheet mask which covers your face, this is a 3D mask which is able to firm the chin and neck area with the additional 'extension'.

The initial feel I have about the mask is that the thickness of the sheet is just nice. I have tried sheet masks which is just too thin (which makes it extremely filmsy) or too thick (which make it difficult to adhere to my face). However, this sheet mask is too small for my big face that I am unable to pull the 2 hooks at the side to my ears as well as the hooks to cover the chin area without overstretching the mask and running the risk of tearing it apart. As such, I just put it on like how I would use a normal mask and slap it on (see pic below). Good thing the 'extension' at the chin area was still able to stick on and not drop off thus enabling me to mask my chin as well. 

The second feel about Sexylook Extreme Whitening Duo Lifting Mask is the amount of essence on the mask is just right as well. It's enough to cover my face and last through the 15 - 20 minutes wait so that the essence can be properly absorbed into the skin and yet not be dripping wet.

After 20 minutes whereby the mask can be removed, I gently pat the remaining essence into my skin and it does not feel sticky and wet as all the goodness from the essence are absorb. Before the application of my usual night moisturiser, I noticed my skin is well moisturised and plump and my pores are not as obvious due to sufficient moisturisation from the mask. In fact, my skin still look as plump with not obvious pores despite sleeping in an air-conditioned room in the night. Although I do not see any significant lightening of my dark spots, my face does look brighter. 

Would I recommend this mask? I would even though the mask is not big enough to be a 3D mask for me but for ladies with smaller face, this should not be a problem. I specially love the moisturising and brightening effect from the mask. :)

Sexy Look Extreme Whitening Duo Lifting Mask is currently available on Secretive.sg for a discounted price of $1.65 per mask or $7.90 for a box of 5 masks. So grab this offer if you are keen to try. To find out more about Secretive.sg and the masks available, do join their Facebook page!

Secretive FB: http://www.facebook.com/secretive.sg

SexyLook FB: http://www.facebook.com/SexyLook.sg

LoveMore FB: http://www.facebook.com/LoveMore.sg

Disclosure: The product in this review is sent by the company for my review and consideration. All opinions stated are my own honest views and no compensation is received for this review.

Friday Photo Meme - What's In Your Bag Edition

I was reading Haru's latest blog posting and it is a very interesting post of 'What's In Your Bag Edition'. I have decided to join Haru and Yumeko and post what's in my bag as well (even though it is already Sunday today) :)

1. Cellphone / mobile phone

My white iPhone 4S with Mercury case which was bought from Gmarket. I love the thick, rubbery Mercury case that helps to cushion any shock. Best part is the case is able to cover all edges of my phone. In fact, I like this case so much that I have the case in 3 shade: hot pink, mint green and purple.

2. Wallet / Purse / Whatever you keep your money in

This a new wallet that I only started using today, haha. I purchased it via a spree months, months ago from Banana Republic since my wallet was running a risk of splitting on me. Needless to say, the wallet managed to survive after so many months before I decided to finally change to this lovely mustard yellow Banana Republic wallet. It's good that I managed to dump all my rubbish in it but is slightly on the bulky side. But the colour won me over anytime.

3. Something in your wallet [cards / coins / money / whatever]

The 2 cards that I bring along wherever I go: Starbucks and Watsons card. Starbucks and Watsons are 2 places that I go to very often. In fact, me and BC go to Starbucks at least twice a week!

4. Makeup you carry on the go

In my Daiso pouch, I always have MAC blot powder, Palmer's Lip butter and Dior Addict High Shine lipstick. I am seriously desperately trying to finish this lipstick but the fact that I hardly touch up does not really helps. Haha.

5. Whatever else you wish to share from your bag

I always have mints in my bag and eclipse is my favourite brand so far. Ricola Lemon mint is another favourite of mine.

Join in the fun by leaving a your version of 'What's in your bag' via your blog link as a comment here or at Haru's or Yumeko's. :)

A date to Harry Potter Exhibition at ArtScience Musuem

Hey peeps!! I'm back from Bintan and is excited to be visiting the Harry Potter Exhibition at ArtScience Musuem. Not only am I excited to visit this exhibition, can you believe it is also my first time heading to Marina Bay Sands? Lol, call me a mountain tortoise Singaporean but I have never stepped into MBS since the opening. It has been a while since I has gone out with BC for a place nicer than our neighbourhood so it's a great chance to put on some makeup!!

I have to rave once again that DiorSnow BB cream exceeded my expectation for a BB cream. Simply love the high SPF protection and decent coverage. Most importantly, I can skip the steps of applying sunblock, makeup base and foundation and only apply 1 BB cream.

ETK in Champagne and Gold Blitz need no introduction and I am impressed with the lasting power of them despite me not using a primer today. Given the hot humid weather in Singapore this time of the year, they have lasted through the sweat and oil field coming from my face :)

MAC blushers have always been my love. Their colour selection is extensive and I would be surprised if someone can't find a blusher from MAC that they like. MAC mineralized blush in Warm Soul has been my go to blush recently and today is no exception.

How have your weekend been so far? Hope it has been great for you as it is for me and I'll be sharing with you the Harry Potter exhibition tomorrow. You guys have to go visit it, it's AWESOME!!

Skincare brought for holiday!!

Yeah!! I'm finally going on a holiday! I'll be going to Bintan (today given now it's past midnight :) ) and I just want to share the skincare I'm bringing along.

As you can see above, they are mainly samples I received as GWP or samples. Nonetheless, they are items I used so all the more useful.

I have also brought along 2 new masks from SexyLook which I will be trying out during this trip and till next week before I give a review.

We'll talk when I'm back! Oh... I'm so going to the Harry Potter exhibition on Sat after i'm back!!

Seoul Yummy at Square 2

This is by far the best korean dinner I ever had. It's filling, satisfying and totally worth every penny for the amount of food we are having. I'm talking about Korean Arm Stew at Seoup Yummy at Square 2. :)

Situated at Square 2, just behind Novena Square, you can expect the crowd to be substantially lesser. I love lesser crowds because Singapore is noisy and crowded enough, I need some space sometimes. When I saw the Korean Army Stew combo 2, I told BC 'I want to eat this!!!!', haha.

This combo is totally worth it because it comes with all the korean appetizers, 2 brown rice, 2 barley drink, 1 side dish (we chose potato pancake and other choices are spicy ricecakes, fried dumplings and others that I can't remember) and 1 dessert.

Korean appetizers

Potato pancake

Now to the main course...... Korean Army Stew!!! There are 2 choices: assorted meat or seafood and we went with assorted meat. The number of ingredients is impressive! From what I can see when they brought the pot over to cook, I am seeing ramen, chicken, pork, beef, golden mushrooms, sausages, ham, vegetable, carrot, toufu and baked beans.

Uncooked version of korean army stew

Cooked version of korean army stew, yums!

With the amount of food in this pot, we seriously do not eat the rice at all. It fills us up totally! The soup is not too spicy and is just nice. Wonderful wonderful broth there. Most importantly, the ingredients are fresh.

Dessert is cold red bean soup with green tea rice balls, along side with marshmallow.



I am seriously impressed with Seoul Yummy's Korean Army Stew and me and BC will definitely for more. :)

L'oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Flashback Silver & Permanent Kaki

Watson's is having 20% discount for selected brands thus it is a good chance for me to check out the highly raved L'oreal Infallible eyeshadows.

Priced at $14.90 originally, after 20% discount (approximately $3 savings), it sounds like a pretty good deal. With testers available (the last I saw from West Coast Plaza Watsons, the testers were all gone), I zoomed down to swatch the 3 shades which caught my eye: Flashback Silver, Permanent Kaki and Forever Pink.

Honestly, the swatch of Flashback Silver came out much better than expectation and I knew I am getting this. It's a taupish-silver (taupe!!!), so how can I miss it?? I was quite torn between Permanent Kaki and Forever Pink and decided to ask BC for opinion and he immediately pick out Permanent Kaki.

In terms of texture, I would say Giorgio Armani ETK is smoother. Finishing wise, ETK is also more shimmery. However, I am still happy with L'oreal Infallible eyeshadows given that the price is extremely pocket friendly and texture is not too grainy to make it difficult to blend. Overall, this is still a good purchase. :) The only rant is the limited colour variety!!