Sunday, March 31, 2013

[CLOSED] Luscious Lashes & Lovely Look Giveaway

Happy Easter~! ♪(*´ω`*) ♬ It's giveaway time, and this time it's all about the eyes! Everything you need for luscious lashes and lovely eyes, plus some facial pampering. 

Luscious Lashes & Lovely Look set consisting of:

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Aerial Yoga! St. Ives Ambassadors YogaFly

Way back in January, St. Ives was searching for girls to be their first batch of Brand Ambassadors, and since I absolutely adore their Apricot Scrub, I just had to try my luck! Years before I even started using the Apricot Scrub, my family was already aboard the St. Ives ship; in particular my dad had been using their Hair Repair Thickening Shampoo since I was less than 10; its smell is still ingrained in my nose hahaha. Sadly they discontinued that product a few years ago (´Д`) Anyway, this was the picture I submitted! And a few weeks later, I was so happy when I got the email saying I had been chosen~

They organized a little get-to-know-each-other session in the form of a yoga class at UpsideMotion. Not just any yoga class, but YogaFly - aerial yoga! With the help of a stretchy hammock for support, you can do a whole bunch of acrobatic poses and "fly" in the air~ And because there's the hammock to support your weight, a lot of inversion/upside-down poses can be done, which decompress your spine and help alleviate back pain. Plus, it felt really amazing to swing and flip in the air!

Before the actual session I was looking at UpsideMotion's website and Facebook page, and when I saw the pictures of their classes I was thinking, OMG, it looks terribly hard and possibly even painful? But you don't even need any yoga experience to try aerial yoga! Just have faith in the hammock ♪(*´ω`*) And voila, we were doing those actual poses that I had thought were super hard! Needless to say, despite the sweat and initial fear of dropping, it was an extremely enjoyable experience. 

The lady in pink was our instructor for the session, Saniya. She's super cute and really nice! Aerial yoga was so fun, I'd definitely try it again someday. Pleasantly relaxing and great for destressing; my joints felt good and the tension was gone. Though over the next two days my upper arm/thigh muscles ached sooo much...because I'm not a very active person and lead a very sedentary lifestyle (^^") 

I tried regular yoga for the first time last week, it's not as fun as aerial yoga but still relaxing! Found out I'm a lot more flexible than I thought, though I can't bend backward enough to connect the back of my head to the soles of my feet. Gonna try kickboxing soon cos I received a free pass, hope I don't die hahaha!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Urban Decay Glinda Oz Palette

We're off to see the wizard~ In conjunction with the release of the Disney film, Oz the Great and Powerful,  a "prequel" to the Wizard of Oz, Urban Decay launched two palettes with shades that are supposed to let you recreate the look of the witches Glinda and Theodora. At first it didn't seem as though the Sephora here was going to bring them in, but thankfully they did! ♥ Though they were only launched here 28 Feb, after I'd spent weeks staring at them on my Internet screen wondering if I should place an online order. Anyway, I grabbed my Glinda palette as soon as the store opened hehehe.

There are 6 pans/8 colors in the palette:
Tornado: Deep plum
Aura: Duo of iridescent blue and pink
Magic: Pinkish-purple
Illusion: Champagne peach
Oz: Duo of metallis gold and metallic silver
South: Metallic taupe
There's also a 24/7 pencil liner in Rockstar.

Swatches of the colors!  
The shadows are all made with the revamped, new formula, and are truly smooth, super pigmented and extremely easy to apply.

My favorite is the iridescent blue/purple of Aura! At first glance I thought that the Aura duo was white, but after swatching it in the store, I realized that it was really, really pretty! No picture does the color justice, you  really have to swatch it for yourself! Once it's out of the pan and onto your skin, you'll notice the gorgeous iridescent sheen, and the color subtly hovers between blue and purple depending on the lighting and angle. 

I really like Magic and Tornado too, basically I just adore the purple shades in the Glinda palette; putting Aura around the inner corners instantly makes the eyes look bigger and brighter, and the iridescence is so lovely (*´ω`*)♪

My camera can't quite capture the iridescence of the Aura shade, you must go swatch it for yourself!


The palette also comes with a Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color, in a rose shade called Glinda.
Left without flash, right with flash!

Initially, I had been debating whether to get Glinda or Theodora, because I thought the green duo in the Theodora palette looked interesting. But after swatching Aura, I knew I had to pick the Glinda palette, and I'm so glad I did! I absolutely love the colors~ ♥ Now I think I have enough palettes from Urban Decay to last me a lifetime, the two Naked palettes and this Glinda palette, oh I need to grow more eyelids!

Friday, March 8, 2013

Cleansing with orp TOKYO ♡


Got these cleansing items from Harajucute some time back, been using and testing them out for a while, and now it's time for a review! The Natural Peeling gel and Moist Cleansing Oil from orp TOKYO ♡ And a Loved Loved Nude Bamboo Mask sheet.


orp TOKYO Moist Cleansing Oil.
This is the Moist Cleansing Oil, it comes in a pretty 120ml clear bottle with a rhinestone on it.

It's ranked #1 on cosme.net in 2011 for the cleansing oil section!
You can't go wrong with cosme.net rankings; they're done by regular consumers and not some award-type ranking doled out by magazines/companies, so Japanese cosmetic brands take pride in displaying the cosme.net ranking if their products manage to get one.

Anyway, the cleansing oil claims to be free from six additives:
- alcohol-free
- compound surfactant-free
- antiseptic-free
- genetically modified organism-free
- mineral oil-free
- artificial colorant-free

The product has a slight lemony scent, very refreshing!

It also contains 12 "beauty" oils; Macadamia Nut Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Rice Germ Oil, Hazel Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Jojoba Oil, Camellia Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil and Grapefruit Peel Oil.


Here's demonstrating its removing power:
[1] I've got 4 types of eyeliner on the back of my hand: Dolly Wink's Liquid Eyeliner, K-Palette's Real Lasting Eyeliner Waterproof, Urban Decay's 24/7 Pencil Liner in Perversion, and K-Palette's Real Lasting Pencil Liner.
[2] Pumped out half a pump of the cleansing oil.
[3] Rubbing the oil all over the back of my hand.
[4] After wiping the oil off with a tissue. Tadah~ Everything's gone, with no residue at all. (You're supposed to rinse off with water, but since I did this in the bedroom...I just used a tissue.)


orp TOKYO Natural Peeling.
Like the Moist Cleansing Oil it's also got a pretty rhinestone on the packaging! And it's pink.
As it's also part of the 6 additives-free series, it's alcohol-free, compound surfactant-free, antiseptic-free, genetically modified organism-free, mineral oil-free and artificial colorant-free.


There are many of these "peeling gel" type products in the market. I've tried Dr Jart's Pore Medic one a few years ago...and it broke me out so I stopped using it and other peeling gel type products. But since this one was Japanese, and I absolutely trust Japanese skincare products because of the strict regulations they have regarding the R&D, I decided to give it a try.

[1] Squeeze some product onto the area you want to exfoliate.
[2] Massage the gel around the area, and little balls of dead skin will start to form. It doesn't hurt at all! Rinse it off with warm water. The product can be used on all parts of the body, not just the face.

According to the product description, the gel is a three-chambered electrolyzed alkaline water-based product. It is specially designed to distinguish new from old skin, and provides protection as well as moisture to keep your skin fresh. Plus, the aromatic rose oil will leave your skin feeling soft and clean after usage.

Anyway, here's the rest the lineup of orp Tokyo's "6 additives-free" series.
Left to right: Moist Cleansing Oil, Deep Cleansing Gel, Spots Cleaner, Natural Peeling, Moist Soap, Aqua Charge Lotion, Moisture Honey Milky Beauty Serum.
The packaging is sooo pretty; pink, filigree and rhinestone! ♥
Here's a link to their website: http://www.orptokyo.com/


Also received a Loved Loved Nude Bamboo Mask, but I have yet to try it.
Saving it for a really bad skin day, because for me Japanese masks are great in terms of efficacy!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Asia's Next Top Model Finale Party

Anyone watched Asia's Next Top Model? The Finale Preview Party of Asia's Next Top Model was held on Friday 15th February. The global airing of the final episode would be on Sunday 17th February, so we got like a preview of the episode/result! Plus the contestants and judges of the show were going to be present at the party too. Cameras were not allowed in as they'd be airing footage which had yet to be broadcast, so most these pictures are from the Fox photographers!