Monday, June 22, 2009

in hiatus

hi guys
another quickie, I'm going to be in hiatus for the next 2 weeks coz my camera is not transferring photos.. oh poo

plus need to prepare for a conference paper due in July..

so.. this blog is in hiatus (in fact even my frds in HK can't find me)

I'll be contactable via other means: email etc..

blog when I'm back in UK

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Comment box not working + Evie's travel

Hiya,
quickie:

it seems that my AmileAmila post's comment box is not working (very weird indeed) so if anyone is interested, pls leave a comment in my cbox. CP orders are coming in so I'm doing a big haul in Sasa, anyone thinking of lemming anything let me know.

For those who are here for the Angelfit post, the cost of the Angelfit range is cheaper to buy in Hong Kong Foundation is roughly $20 USD compare to $16 USD

I will be travelling into China to see the Kaiping Diaolou, which is a UNESCO Heritage site, and also Macau. wanna see my travel photos?

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Amileamila, a Japanese x Korean drugstore brand…

Amileamile is a crossover cosmetic brand. Amileamila apparently meant Prince and Princess in Arabic. Their makeup line is produced in Korea and their skincare line is produced in Japan. You can also get it from Momo Shop in Taiwan. Generally, I don’t risk my skin with drugstore skincare as I think it is rather unsafe to be used on skin, but I got my own reason for trying

I have my own way buying makeup, other than bulk buying when I am overseas, I also order from the internet. I only purchased from gooddealer once and I general buy from a few individual sellers. I buy my BB cream from a wholesaler in Hong Kong. She always buy some random brands for 3 months and switch to another. I bought my Elisha Coy BB cream and Lioele cosmetics from her, and she’s usually USD$4-$10 cheaper than other sellers. She only charged me the exact amount she paid for postage and refund me the rest, quite trustworthy. She emailed me to say she acquired AmileAmila for wholesale purpose and asked me if I’m interested. I told her I shall try it first before making a verdict if I shall buy more, thinking I’ll be in HK, I ordered a few skincare for the humid and hot weather. Here’s what I picked from the collection: From left to right:
Shining White Toner
(3800 yen)
Rose Emulsion
(1700 yen)
Rose Cleansing Gel
(1600 yen)
Shining White Whitening Essence
(4200 yen)

I got my reason why I am giving a very full review, here’s why:


Price: (absolutely the only reason why I buy this)

See I put the original price above as comparison..
here’s the Japanese yen conversion on the actual price
I bought

Shining White Toner
(1070 yen from 3800 yen, £7 or $11.2 USD)

Rose Emulsion
(1000 yen from 1700 yen, £6.6 or $10.6USD )

Rose Cleansing Gel
(880 yen from 1600 yen, £5 or $8USD)

Shining White Whitening Essence
(1140 yen from 4200 yen, £7.5 or $12 USD)


You might be thinking, this is crazy, how you can buy it 1/3 of the original price?


Expiry date:
My seller told me that the reason why Amileamila is selling so cheaply is because it is produced last year. They do not want to stock last year products so decided to sell it very cheaply. She tells me generally cosmetic company put the expiry date as 3 years from the manufactured date, so these products in fact only expire in 2011, but being a Japanese company, they are very particular and therefore they have these stock they want to get ride of.

My Verdict:

Shining White series:
Beautiful packaging from the start. The toner is so-so but I quite like the essence. I see my complexion brighten up after applying it, but I doubt if it’ll help brightening at all in long term. I always come across product that brighten initially but does not help to brighten the skin in actual fact. I say the Shining White series can be skipped in general.

Rose Series:

Absolutely surprised!!
I have tons of cleansing product in HK because of the bloody Biore Cleaninsg Gel, I have also Ponds Facial Scrub and Mary Quant Cleansing Gel (I secretly bought the Shu Uemura Cleansing oil but not using it yet). What of all of them, Amileamila cleansing gel is the best out of all. Firstly, it cleanse my makeup off, secondly it is not too dry. £5 = a cleansing gel that works. Bargain!

The emulsion surprised me more. I have been struggling with the hot and humid weather. I bought the Clarins sample I got from my haul, but the humid weather makes both the Day and Night lotion extremely sticky and oily on my skin, and it takes a very long time to be absorb. I truly feel there’s a different for skincare produced for the cold weather and hot weather.
I apply the emulsion using my fingers and circular motion until my skin absorbs it. My skin took 1 day to adjust because it is still resisting to absorb after the clarins episode. After that, the emulsion is totally absorb once I apply to my skin, and my skin feels supple. The acne problem on my forehead is gone (of coz, I blame it on BB cream) and it suits this humid climate. Plus it is 100ml, so I think it’ll last me a long time.

My seller told me she loves the smell of the Rose series, and in fact, the rose series is Amileamila’s star product. I don’t have a particular liking to the smell but it is not dominating. This is my saviour in my HK trip. No blotting needed whole day. She gave me a pricelist of all the products. The makeup line is also available in 1/3 of its price, but the expiry date is in late 2010.

Their lipgloss cube is very pretty

If anyone is interested buying, please send me an email, my seller is a funny person, if you’re a first time customer, she charge you more.

If any European bloggers want to get hold of this as well, I am happy to do this as a spree thing so that no custom tax to be paid ( I’ll bring it back with me from HK)
Check out the website, and see if anything interested you.

http://www.amileamila.jp/products/care/rose/

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Biore Cleansing Oil.. Avoid at all cost


Sometimes, you bought something you totally regret. Biore Cleansing oil I think feature very highly on my list. So this is my review aka do not buy it, and if you still buy it after reading this, I don’t know what to say…

Price: $68

Volume: 150ml

Texture/Scent:

It is not as runny as other cleansing oil, it is half way through a cleansing gel and oil. It says you can take off your makeup in shower and hence the funny texture. It has a lovely green apple smell

Verdict:

Omg… I rather buy myself a nice meal with $68 then buying this bottle. It does not remove makeup well, in fact, everytime I use it, I feel there’s residue remains on my face. I love being squeaking clean, and even I tried to clean my face twice using this cleansing ‘oil’, some of my foundation remains and I need to remove using toner or another cleansing product.

But I can’t not finish this before I leave Hong Kong, so I use this in the morning but not for makeup removal purpose.

Biore.. why did you even thought of selling this in the market???

Grrr

Close up of the ring as requested :)



Monday, June 8, 2009

Quick review, Shiseido Anessa and Maybelline Angelfit range



I have been a good girl. Since my uber-big haul with Jennifer, I didn’t buy a single makeup/skincare item, but I have been window shopping at Watsons and Sasa.

We all know how great these two places are, so I went in thinking I’ll always come out with something in hand.

Went to Watson and Sasa in Aberdeen which is a smaller shop compare to those in the city area. They all have branches spread all over Hong Kong but they don’t really stock makeup in all the Watsons branches. There’s also another drugstore called Mannings, but they are more focus on skincare, you can find Neutrogena and My Beauty Dairies Mask there in very good price.


This is my haul:

MM Mascara

Maybelline Angelfit Foundation W07 (This shade is only available in HK)

Maybelline Angelfit Blush Coral Orange


This is my very quick review:




Anessa Perfect Sparkle Sunscreen N SPF 50+ PA+++


Price: $220 HKD


Reason for Buying: (also called how you convince yourself spend the money in mind)

It is summer, and I heard this is not oily at all, good for body and face


Verdict:

I heard from somewhere that sunscreen expires after 3 months of opening, so when I bought it in a way of impulse buying, I regretted it. I saw there are sunscreen costing at least 5 times less than this.

However, it is really good. I can apply on face without blotting even with makeup on top, and it has little sparkles on body as well. I always thought sunscreen is oily and sticky. Anessa totally changed my view.

Plus, on the logic of you can only use it for 3 months, then splashing a bottle for both face and body is very reasonable.


Maybelline Angelfit Liquid Foundation W07


Price : $119 (on top 5% discount)


Reason for buying:

I can’t use BB cream in HK, it gives me acne on my forehead, so I need a foundation, but I don’t want to use up my LM as my daily foundation, and want to try this Asia only line.


Verdict:

I am totally surprise. I was torn between shade W02 or W07 and bought W07 just in case. (W02 for NC20-25, W07 is defintiely for NC25-30) It suits me well. It gives me a glow and it has really high coverage. It is funny because I look whiter indoors with this foundation than outdoor. It gives a better perfect finish compare to LM, but I can’t then tell people I didn’t put make up on because of the glow.

Very little of this goes a long way. Here’s how much I use:


I put it on from 10am until 9pm, and ok I have been indoors with very little movement, I retouch it at 5pm (with my Ettusais two-way cake, just on the chin)and that’s all. Money well spent. Definitely re-purchase.



Maybelline Angelfit Blush – Coral Orange

Reason for purchase:

This is to replace my Bobbi Brown Coral Blush which I threw away as it is more than 8 years old. I tested it and it stayed on the back of my hand more than 6 hrs and therefore I decided to take it home.


Price: $69 HKD


Verdict:

Jezz… I never ever use a blush that is this pigmented. It took me ages to blend to a natural glow and it stays on.. errr 10 hours without retouching. How can this happen? Is it because it is a cheap blush? (that’s why it is hard to blend) or it is just super-pigmented to be good? I don’t know

I like the colour a lot.. only if I dun need to spend 3 mins blending it out….


finally...

My engagement ring


Next post is coming very soon... promised...

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Wedding and beauty tips




seems I keep running mini-series, oh well.. my friend just send me the photos from her wedding day. Thought it is quite interesting..

I booked a make-up artist for the dayand had my makeup session at home. I thought her home will be very congested/crowded so it is better to do it in leisure. It took 1.5 hr for hair and makeup, and surprising, the makeup kept for the whole day. There’s a few secret I observed

1. Apply foundation powder carefully and make sure it applied and covered every inch of your skin.
2. I have extremely sensitive eyes, and the false eyelashes didn’t stick. However, by using MM mascara, we manage to re-create the same effect
3. There’s no need to reapply/re-do makeup during the day. My MU Artist said you only need to blot with tissues. Starbucks napkin is the best for blotting.
4. No concealer is needed if you apply your foundation well. She used Shu Uemura liquid foundation on me and there’s no need for concealer at all

I have done all the necessary shopping in Hong Kong,
• engagement ring: made.
• Wedding dress: paid,
• Parents: told
• Wedding ring: quoted
• Honeymoon: planned
• Wedding banquet: decided

I probably covered everything I need to cover in Hong Kong and relieved.

Ooo.. very finally:
I went to Watsons in Causeway Bay today, spotted all the Japanese drugstore brand, they’re doing promotion on Granesebon and K-Palette with 15% off, the price is around £1 cheaper than Japan and thinking of snapping up the foundation from Granesebon… ( shame I can’t snap up the blush coz they only stock 3 colours of the blush in stead of 8)

Also just compare price, Lavschuca seems to be a lot cheaper in Hong Kong, the eyeshadow quad is around $90 only, which is £7.5. I think I’ll snap up a few..

For some reason, the MM counter in Watsons is filled with sales.. I wanted to play with the mascara and quad but feel pressurised all the time. I’ll probably pick up their mascara before my Japan trip and buy a Lavschuca quad instead (better value anyway)

(Jennifer: are you tempted to come with me??)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

In Hong Kong + Beijing –no more BB cream

I have been baby-sitting all the time in Bejing, and what do you do with kids? Make sure you have a game console, and they will then sit quietly like a robot. Perfect!


In Hong Kong + Beijing –no more BB cream

I can finally settle down a bit and upload a few pics.


yes bon Maman jam. Cost 50p in Beijing.


My hotel room in Bejing. Best Western Airpot Hotel. Apparently, Beijing has a rule that only if the temperature is over 26’C then the air-conditioning can be switched on. Most of my time is spent sweating under the super-thick duvet naked in bed.


here’s my makeup bag, so messy right? I took nearly everything with me and put them in it. On the left, in the long black bag, are all my foundations. The big bag is with point makeup.

Now onto the long-awaiting beauty post:

No more BB cream…

Why all of a sudden? I thought BB cream is more suitable in the hot weather so except the new LM foundation which I brought with me for a just in case purpose. I brought most of my BB cream wth me. L’egere and Nanoce. Unfortunately, just after 1 day in Hong Kong, the BB cream is not applying smoothly on my face. Especially on my forehead, it is blocking pores and I started to get pimples. Also, all my T-zone area become soo dry that I can’t even use Powder at all. I tried with Nanoce, because it is thicker than L’gere, it looks really horrid on me. I tried L’egere, still not working, especially the foundation is ‘floating’ up on my face after 3-4 hours.

So my make-up routine change. I’m totally in love with Anessa Sunscreen, it is with SPF 50+ and I can apply both on face and body, also for some reason it is quite hydrating so it applies smoothly on my face, I then use the LM foundation in Bamboo Beige (good match) and it has perfect cover. In this combination, it really last for a long time. I need not to apply until early evening.

I’ll promise to update more. Very very soon…

Monday, June 1, 2009

will be back real soon plus little annoucement

hi girls.
sorry for the non-update. things get out of hand completely for the following reasons:

  1. my mobile internet is very restricted. I can't really use the bandwidth until they gave me the extra allowance on 4th June
  2. I just been to Beijing for 4 days, unhappy experience but I'll report on the weather and what to bring for Beijing summer
  3. I have been quarantined in Beijing Airport for 1.5 hours as a swine flue suspect. My body temperature just 37.1'C with no air-con in the airport, and they let me go when I told them I'm there for my father's shop opening.
  4. My dad blame my quarantin on my weight. His comment ' Dieting is woman's lifetime job. you can't quit for one day' hello? My BMI is only 24.5
  5. My laptop is completely broken down. I struggle to find money even to fix it. using the eepc atm for all computer related work
  6. My trip so far been dominated the following things: weddings
the bouquet you saw was my friend. Back in Jan, she asked if I can be her bridemaids and I promised her I'll be back in time. She gave me the bouquet and wished me well.

The diamond ring is for myself. We have asked for the permission and I'm getting married in Oct 2010.

Have been really busy because of the proposal. Telling my parents, telling S' parents, meeting the parents, organising the ring. We've tried to do things as simple as possible but even it is 1 year away, there's so much to do.

I'll update with reviews and pics as soon as 4th June arrive. I'm already writing, just can't post due to bandwidth.

I've update my right hand column to show what's coming. Hopefully everyone can stay tune.

P.S For those who asked / email for CP: sorry I haven't reply.

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