The good, the bad, and the ugly

T-shirt: Gap (Similar here) | Skirt: Nichii (Similar here) | Shoes: Converse

Bag: Mango (Similar here) | Necklace: Gift from Mousie (Similar here) | Bracelet: Old (Similar here) 

The Good

After loving the Glam Glow Thirstymud hydrating treatment that Leo bought for me, and hearing Mims rave about the Glam Glow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate treatment, I knew I had to try it. It is after all, one of Glam Glow’s bestsellers. Mims had warned that it would sting a little so I was expecting my face to be on fire or something (I feel like my skin’s pretty sensitive), but it really wasn’t so bad. It did sting, but when I moved from applying it in the bathroom, to sitting in front of the fan (blasting cool air directly at my face), the stinging feeling went away. I left the black gritty mud mask on my face for about 10 minutes and then washed it off in a slow circular scrubbing motion for that exfoliating effect. After just one use, my face felt tighter (I imagine a mild facelift might feel like this) and it felt so clean and soft. I love it but now I’m surfing the Glam Glow website and I’m pretty convinced I need the Supermud clearingtreatment for stubborn blackheads on my nose. Help! 

Not the ambassador for Super Mud unfortunately

Magic in a pot

The bad

So I saw this Makeup Eraser cloth on a Buzzfeed article and I thought, “Ooh a cloth that I can use and reuse and will magically remove all my makeup with just water”. Sounds too good to be true right? And yup, it is too good to be true. So disclaimer: I was in a rush to remove my makeup so I’m not sure if I was doing it right and I didn’t read the instructions. I ran some water over it and the cloth appeared to be magically not absorbing* much water, then, I rubbed it on my face.  The cloth is soft to the touch and feels gentle being smooshed around my face, and the powder and blush I was wearing seemed to come off (but I don’t think my face powder and blush are really that resilient) but my mascara and eyeliner took much more rubbing. And even then I had panda eyes! I’m not one to call it quits though – I’m going to dedicate a bit more time to letting it soak up water (maybe have to try warm water because that’s what other people seem to be using) and then try it again. But so far, I’m MEH about it. 

*Update: So I used it again (this is an edit from my initial post a few days after) and it seemed to absorb more water, and my makeup came off clean enough (some eyeshadow sparkles appeared to remain though) but I really wasn't wearing heavy duty makeup so still on the fence. Double MEH.

The ugly

Me with Youthmud on.  Sweet dreams tonight. 

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Thanks for reading!

It's your choice

Top: French Connection (Similar here) | Skirt: ASOS (Similar here) | Shoes: New Look (Similar here)

Bag: Gracious Aires (Similar here) | Ring: V&A (Similar here) 

I think I mention it over and over - I really am big on sunscreen. I finally used up all of my Biotherm sunscreen but I've been fortunate to have friends who know just how mad I am about the stuff so I routinely get sunscreen as gifts. Angie had given me this awesome RMK UV Face Protector (SPF50+++) sometime back and I finally got to crack it open. Angie is a total beauty junkie so I knew it would be good, but DUDE. It is even better than Biotherm (sorry B). It has a smooth and light texture, not super creamy, so it spreads really easily. It also has no discernible smell which is great because the sunblock smell can be kind of gross. But it's super wow factor has definitely got to be its absorption and non-stickiness. It's so quickly absorbed into the skin that it doesn't leave any trace of that normal oily sticky sunblock feeling. I think it may not be waterproof though which is ok since I just wear it to work.

Protect yo face

I love how the product description tells me that I can "use it daily in the city as well as during leisure or sport activities". It makes it seem like the leisure and sports are all happening out of the city. But what if I want to go to the country? Can I not wear it then??? Better go buy some of that non-city sunscreen for those village days.

I'm now in a wormhole reading all the copy from the whole website. Take these examples:

"Open the compact and prepare to meet the circus’s star attraction." 

I guess it's misleading without the image it references because normally when you think of makeup, you don't automatically jump to "circus' star attraction" unless you think clown makeup is so on trend. But seriously, what is it???

Star attraction in the house.

 How about these lines...

"Cute or sexy, it‘s your choice!" 

and

"Explore your many expressions - sexy, feminine, or just relaxed/casual – by layering on their color and radiance."

But I want to be ALL!!! It is so hard to be a woman. And RMK didn't even consider those days when I want my "expression" to be "accomplished but on edge because of caffeine" or "Hangry but in a model way rather than the greedy person way".   

Alright I need to go and by a star attraction so I can be cute/sexy.

Thanks for reading!

Testing my patience

Dress: Shein | Shoes: Pedder Red (Similar here) | Bag: OG (Similar here)

Sunglasses: Vans | Earrings: Vintage (Similar here) | Ring: Vintage (Similar here) 

I like this dress because it reminds me of this: 

 

Pic from wikipedia

Did you know that this is called a 'Test Card'??? I didn't. I wonder if this still pops up when there's no TV service. I feel like I should print these out and hold them up when I'm in the office and people are badgering me for things. I'll be all, 'sorry, no service, please try again later' and then try to hypnotise them with the pattern. 'You will bring me a coffee and a bagel and then leave me alone... and you are also getting sleeeeeeeepy.'

It's been a looooong two weeks. Not only have I not been actually watching any TV, I've also been working like a maniac. Anyway, what I really wanted to say is.... Look into the test card... You are getting sleepy... Give me all your money....Meh. It was worth a shot.

Thanks for reading! 

Lash out

Top: Romwe | Skirt: Sheinside | Shoes: New Look (Similar here) | Bag: FCUK (Similar here)

Ring and earrings: V&A (Similar here and here) | Sunglasses: Far East Plaza (Similar here)

 

My beautiful cousin Nom has the most enviable lashes. They're long, thick and curl up making his already decently larger eyes look even larger. I am SO JEALOUS.

He'd probably fly back to Singapore to kick my butt if I posted the full photo so I cropped it but you can clearly see those glorious lashes (sans mascara but helped by eyeliner).

In order to make my slitty eyes look larger, sometimes I'll bust out the falsies. The results are inconsistent at best, because I am really crap at applying them on myself. But after several attempts, many failed, I think I've learned a thing or two so I might as well share it to help the rest of the eyelash-challenged individuals.

The tools

Because I such at it, I have to use tools to apply falsies. I got this plastic lash... errrr... Let's call it a 'kiaper' from Starlash. It's quite easy to use but one of my gripes is that it is a bit too curved. My lash line isn't so oval shaped when I close my eyes so I kind of have to apply my lashes in sections rather than just place it on in one swift move.

I use the metal thing, actually also a kiaper, but I use the bit with the pink silicon to press down on the lash. You can also do this with your fingers but I just don't because I'm used to using extra tools. I suppose I just like to make my life more difficult and spend more money than necessary. 

The falsies

I first got the Diamond lash one and I thought I wanted something natural so I got a brown shade. This was a disaster because it actually looks really unnatural against my black lashes. I like that it's not too long so I don't need to go through the extra step of cutting it but that's about it.

I haven't tried any other brands because I got a recommendation from Nic who basically knows everything about makeup and beauty products. She recommended these hand made ones from Taiwan and so far so good, they have SO many types (different lengths, different fullness, criss-cross, straight, lined, unlined, etc). I buy mine from People's Park, I think it's about $6 a box. Because I'm not very terribly adventurous, I got the really basic not too long or fluffy kind so they look really natural but I don't know, if I want drama for evening I probably have to double them up which means 4 times of potential disaster.

The glue
I've been on the hunt for the perfect glue because I'm already such a mess. Glue near the eye is... Not fun.

Duo
I started my falsies journey with Duo but I find that because of the squeezy bottle style, I can't control the amount of glue that comes out and sometimes it'll be a huge glob of glue and that's wasteful and messy. The glue dries clear so that's not too shabby but I don't feel like the lashes stay put for very long. I'd rate it a 6/10. 

Starlash
I got this in white (which dries clear) first and I liked it, the applicator wand style means I can control the amount of glue that goes on the lash. I then bought the black since I thought I could handle it. This was a mistake because I am not 100% able to stick the lashes great the first time round so this leaves black stains all around my eye which is a pain to clean off. This is my fault, rather than the glue's, so I'm not judging it based on that. Just a word of warning I guess. The thing I don't like about this glue is that when you remove the lashes, some of the glue ultimately remains along the lash line. Which makes you end up looking like you're got eye-poop. I guess this means the glue sticks really well but it's such a mess to clean up and I end up having to mad scrub my lids and pick at them. I give this a 7/10 rating.

Shiseido 
Nic bought this for me from Japan and I really really really liked it the first time I used it (partly due to the fact that I was able to apply the lashes well the first time round that day). The squeezy bottle thing still means that I can't totally control the amount of glue that comes out every single time. Maybe I'm just defective. However, this glue has great sticking power. I wore it for several hours and my lashes didn't budge at all. One bad thing is that it doesn't dry clear so if you apply too much glue, you'll have white globs around your lash line. But for all it's stickiness, when I remove it, it doesn't leave any glue behind. I would rate this 7/10.

So that brings me to the end of the sharing session. I hope you learned a lot. Please do let me know if you've got better stuff to introduce to me! I'm always happy to get recommendations.

Thanks for reading!

The fix

My version of gang signs

Top: Smooch the Label | Skirt: Padini (Similar here) | Shoes: Vincci (Similar here) | Bag: Vintage Celine (Similar here)

Sunglasses: Coach (Similar here) Earrings: Old (Similar here) | Ring: Old (Similar here) 

BREAKING NEWS: My toe nail has healed.

Remember when I told you I had the super disgusting toe fungus of death? Well, I don't have it anymore so I would like to confirm that Fungus Fix works (YAY and PHEW cos that shizz is expensive). I know it's kind of hard to believe since I didn't show you a before pic and now here's a pic of a seemingly normal toe (can't say the same about the owner of said toe. Who in their right mind takes photos of their toes and puts it on the internet???), but just trust me. It works. Previously, the toe nail was discoloured and had a big yellowish-whitish-disgustingish blob on the nail bed. After applying the stuff to the nail bed (I would squeeze a drop where the nail meets the skin on the tip of the toe) consecutively for about 14 days, the fungus started going byebye... But how you might ask?

My toenail started breaking off at the bit where the fungus was, then the fresh unfungusy part continued to grow until it became the normal toenail you see here today. It's all very scientific and I shan't bore you with details but I was surprised because I thought it would just kill the fungus but I guess the nail itself was dead and had to go.

And now, some tips to prevent nail fungus so you won't have to go and spend $40++ on fungus fix.

1. Be clean - wash your hands and feet regularly. 
2. Stump those nails - keep them short and dry
3. Deal with sweat - if you have sweaty feet, wear absorbent socks 
4. Don't pick - as tempting as it is, stop picking at the dried skin around the nail bed.  

Thanks for reading!

Germ busters

Top: Uniqlo | Skirt: ASOS (skirt's sold out but get the top) | Shoes: YRU (Similar here) | Sunglasses: Ray Ban

Bag: Y-3 (Similar here) | Necklace: Tatty Devine | Ring: V&A Museum (Similar here)  

As a particularly weak individual, I fall prey to germs quite easily so I'm often down with some ailment or another. When I get sick, I go on the offense big time. I turn into a walking pharmacy and the following are my must-haves for battling a sore throat or a cough.

If I feel a little itch in the throat... Out comes the Danzen which you can buy off the shelf from pharmacies like Watsons or Guardian. It's a little anti-inflammatory drug that you can take 3 times a day and I don't know if it works but I think part of the fight is psychological innit? I BELIEVE it works and so I feel better.

Little pink pills of goodness

Then the battle rages on with Ho Yan Hor, a black herbal tea that tastes somewhat unpleasant (although not bitter) but works wonders. It's very cooling, as we Singaporeans like to say. For the non-Singaporean, I don't know how to describe it but I suppose it's also anti-inflammatory? Like, if your insides were on fire, then this would be the fire extinguisher.

The boo's mom introduced this to me.

I learned this from the boo who swears by it: gargle with mouthwash to cool that throat and kill icky germs. This Pearly White mouthwash is great because it feels kind of gentle on the throat still. Some mouthwashes tend to be really acidic feeling, as if I just stripped my throat of a layer of lining. Ew.

Minty fresh breath + germ killing = power

My go-to supplement whenever I feel poorly is Echinacea. Momster used to make me drink it in a liquid form which was disgusting. Imagine drinking the liquified bark of the most angry tree in the forest of bitterness and sorrow. Nowadays I just take the pill which doesn't smell great but I swear this thing is the bomb. I don't have a preference for any specific brand, I just like it cheap. Lol.

Tree bark, no bite

Anyway, it's durian season now (YUM!!!) so it's pretty much the right time to be stocking up on these things, although I hope you won't have to resort to using them.

Thanks for reading!

Paint me like one of your French girls

Top: ASOS (Similar here) | Skirt: J. Crew (Similar here) | Shoes: ASOS | Bag: Tangs (Similar here)

 Necklace: Gift from Mousie (Similar here) | Scarf (wound around necklace): ASOS | Ring: Tsumori Chisato (Similar here)  

I'm definitely no makeup junkie but I know what I like and I know that makeup makes me look waaaaaaay better. I know that inner beauty is important but I am also really vain ok??

I like a very natural look that's all about concealing flaws without being too BOOMZWOWZABAZINGA. Also, I like the natural look because I am L-A-Z-Y and if anyone asks why I look so messed up, I can just say it's the natural look. What this means is that I go easy on the shimmer, the glitter and the gloss. My beauty essentials are below and these are what I use on a daily basis:

The tricks of the trade

Peter Thomas Roth CC Cream
I've mentioned this before and I seriously cannot stop praising it. Ever since I started using it, I've gotten several compliments on my 'good skin' from various people (even some I don't know). I use this as a base after applying my sunblock. Initially they were only selling the 'light to medium' shade in Sephora which was a little dark for my face but now they've started selling the 'light' shade and because my skin tone is somewhere in between, I mix the two to get what I feel is a more complimentary shade. I think I could possibly use 'light' alone since some oxidation is bound to occur. 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer
I find my dark circles quite epic so I like this paste-like concealer in shade 1C Light (cool) because it gives quite a lot of coverage and has quite a lot of staying power. Plus it's labelled 'cool' which is clearly a reflection of my personality. Of course, the bad thing is that it can be a little cakey and dry after I apply powder over it. 

Maybelline White Superfresh Compact Powder Foundation
I don't bother with expensive face powder because I bought a Shu Uemura one once and it seems flaky and too light compared to this Maybelline powder in a 03 Natural shade which has never gone wrong and is like a bajillion dollars cheaper. Even at the end of the day, I am happy, it still remains on my face (maybe because of awesome CC cream mentioned above) and it has SPF and gives me a nice matte finish. I'm not a fan of the dewy look because I just look oily.

Maybelline HyperSharp Eyeliner in black and brown
Because of my tiny squinty eyes, I love liquid eyeliner for a sharp and defined look rather than the smudgy kohl pencil type which overwhelms my eyes. These liners are great because they dry quite quickly, don't smudge unless I rub it a lot at the end of the day (I have oily eyelids so everything smudges and I've given up on the 24-hour no smudge dream) and most of all, they are way affordable. I use the black one for the top lid and the brown one for the bottom because I read that using black on both will make the eyes look smaller.

Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Colour
I like this blush because it's non-shimmery and it's really kinda hard to find a non-shimmer blush that has good pigments which last throughout the day. I have no complaints about this blush which is quite natural in the 'Rose Petal' shade (depending on how heavy I apply it of course) and since I never apply that much blush at a time, it's lasted me probably longer than most so the cost factor really isn't high.

Yup, so that rounds up my daily makeup consumption habits. Thanks for reading, you beautiful creature, you.

Travel toiletries and troubles

Dress: Smooch the Label

Bag: Kate Spade (Similar-ish here)

Sunglasses: Karen Walker

Necklace: Twentyeight Lane (Similar here) | Ring: Lovisa/Gift from Wens (Similar here)

Shoes: Pedder Red (Similar here)

I do short overnight business trips to KL pretty often and I really hate lugging around loads of things so I think I've become quite the pro at packing for such trips and I'd like to share some of my must-have toiletries for these trips.

Must have toiletries when travelling (from left in a clockwise direction)

Travel-size everything!

1. Dalacin in a 10ml bottle: I need acne prevention especially when I travel because travelling stresses my skin out. This handy little bottle means I apply the solution to my finger and dab the affected zitty areas. 
2. Theramed travel sized toothpaste: It tastes nice and keeps my breath fresh. 
3. Suisal beauty clear powder: This is awesome. My mommy bought it for me from Japan, it's little pots of facewash in powder form (kinda like powdered detergent for the face) and it gives that squeaky clean feeling. Just pour a little powder out on your hand and lather into a paste with waster and voila, foamy facewash! 
4. Laneige moisturiser: Throwaway sample packs of moisturisers are perfect for short trips. 
5. Makeup brushes: These travel-size makeup brushes and pouch are from Kumano, Japan, which is a town in Japan that is famous for its brushes. Apparently all the makeup artists in Japan only use brushes from Kumano. I can't recall what brand this one is but check out Mizuho or Hakuhodo
6. Toothbrushes: A toothbrush with a cover is basically the only way to go because HYGIENE. 
7. Biore makeup wipes: I think this has about 10 pieces of pre-soaked pads and it's good to remove even stubborn mascara 
8. Ok I realise the layout might be confusing but now I'm talking about the round green thing is is travel sized dental floss: So much yes. Flossing is next to cleanliness which is next to godliness which is next to awesomeness. 
9. Lastly, the blue crocodile: This crocodile is actually a pair of scissors that Mouse Squad member Nic, bought for me from Iceland. Having scissors is great because sometimes you have loose threads or need to cut open packs of things (eg. the moisturiser samples).

With regard to must-have no. 9, if you carry a pair of scissors, remember to check in your luggage! I forgot I had these in my cabin bag and it went through the scanner and the airport security made me open my bag to show them I didn't have a concealed weapon. They couldn't locate the offensive weapon (and I didn't know I had it on me) so they let me pass, but only after I had forgotten to zip up my bag thus lifting it up and letting the entire contents of my bag, including panties and bra, spill out on to the floor. I was so flustered by the way, that I did it TWICE. I am the coolest.

Thanks for reading!